The social cost of noise amounts to more than 57 billion euros per year in France, according to a study. It can be compared to the National Education budget. It is 3% of the national GDP in 2016.
The finding is alarming. Nearly 9 million people in France are highly exposed to noise from transport on a daily basis. Whether it’s cars, trains or planes, they all pollute our daily lives. So much so that one in two French people say they are embarrassed on a daily basis. But beyond the people, the noise continues its shock wave on the finances of France. This is what shows a study conducted by the firm EY made public a few days ago.
Authors estimate that the health cost of transport noise in France amounts to around 11.5 billion euros each year: 89% attributable to road traffic, 9% to rail traffic and 2% to air traffic.
Sleep disorders represent the strongest impact (54% of the total cost on health), ahead of discomfort (40%) and cardiovascular disease (6%). “It should be noted that the effects of noise in terms of cardiovascular diseases were limited to the quantification of the impacts of exposure to road noise, which is a probably significant underestimation factor”, underline the researchers. Nothing to reassure …
Loss of real estate value
In addition, noise also impacts the value of goods. Here, the loss is estimated at nearly 7.1 billion euros in annual discount on the residential real estate stock in France. But the charges don’t end there.
In both professional and school environments, noise is accused of causing economic losses “much more substantial” than past estimates. In these works, the authors evoke the sum of 1.7 billion euros of lost productivity at work. It is due to a decrease in performance in cognitive tasks, but also to the degradation of job satisfaction, and loss of concentration. At school, learning disabilities would reach 300 million euros because of noise.
On the side of pathologies at risk, one keeps coming back: occupational deafness. Its social cost can be estimated at 85 million euros each year. This is less than the social cost of noise-related accidents at work (masking of warning signs, distraction of attention) which can reach 1.1 billion euros. The authors recall the results of a recent survey where employees who work in noise declared themselves to be 80% nervous tired (against 70% on average). And 72% said they had a physically tiring job (compared to 47% on average).
Neighborhood noise
Finally, neighborhood noise is one of the noises most severely felt by the French. Again, the annoyance, sleep disturbances and other health impacts (cardiovascular disease) caused by neighborhood noise would cause colossal social costs. In the order of 11.5 billion euros each year in France.
In total, noise pollution could cost in France around 57 billion euros each year, “with unknown factors which justify deepening knowledge on the subject and which suggests that this figure is likely to increase”, predict the study authors.
Anyway, today’s figure can be compared to the National Education budget which amounts to 65 billion euros each year. No wonder when you know that Paris is the second most polluted city in Europe. Its inhabitants lose, on average, 7 months of healthy life compared to other French people. The overall cost of noise in France would correspond to 3% of GDP in 2016.
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