Life in a built-up area is not easy. Among the various types of pollution, noise pollution, generated in particular by road, rail and air traffic, has negative effects on our health. A report published by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2014 had already reported a link between urban noise and increased risk of stroke, from heart troubles and sleeping troubles. A new study has just been carried out by the association for noise measurement in Île-de-France Bruitparif and the Île-de-France Regional Health Observatory. These organizations used the DALY indicator (disability-adjusted life years) developed by the WHO, which quantifies the “healthy years of life” lost as a result of pathologies generated by noise pollution. In total, no less than 75,000 years of healthy life would thus be lost in Île-de-France due to urban noise, ie an average of seven months per inhabitant. This individual figure could reach two years for people living in the most exposed environments.
Road traffic, the main source of nuisance
Noise pollution first of all impacts the sleep of Ile-de-France residents, which corresponds to a total loss of 44,000 years of healthy life. The mere annoyance of noise would result in a loss of 33,000 healthy years of life. As for noise sources, road traffic alone is responsible for 84% of these nuisances. The share of air traffic only reaches 7% of DALYs, but it could be greatly underestimated according to Bruitparif.
Solutions under construction
In 2014, the WHO began discussions between experts aimed at finding solutions to limit noise pollution in large cities. Among them: the construction of noise barriers but also the design of quieter engines. Since July 2015, the National Institute for Research in Computer Science and Automation (Inria) has also drawn up a mobile application, Soundcity, which allows every Parisian to record the decibels in the various streets of our capital. The results transmitted to the Paris city hall will make it possible to develop anti-noise measures specific to the needs of each district.
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