Air Traffic Noise Research Articles

Understanding the relationship between air traffic noise exposure and annoyance in populations living near airports in France

Since the 2000s, increased aircraft noise annoyance has been observed in the populations living near airports. The DEBATS-study compared the exposure–response relationship estimated among airports’ residents in France with old and new EU standard curves. It also examines whether non-acoustical factors may explain this annoyance. For 1244 adults living near three French airports, information about demographic and socio-economic factors as well as aircraft noise annoyance, situational, personal and attitudinal factors was collected with a face-to-face questionnaire. Outdoor aircraft noise exposure was estimated by linking home address to noise exposure maps. Logistic regression models were used to investigate the association between annoyance and a broad range of other variables in addition to the Lden. Severe noise annoyance was associated not only with increased aircraft noise levels, but also with non-acoustical factors. Annoyance was higher than predicted by the old EU standard curve when estimated with the model including non-acoustical factors in addition to the Lden. It was even higher when only noise exposure was considered. However, annoyance was lower in DEBATS than predicted by the new EU standard curve provided by WHO. The increase of noise annoyance does not seem to be explained by the factors already mentioned in the literature as possible explanations. However, it cannot be ruled out that methodological differences in the HA assessment may be the reason for changes in annoyance over the years. For this reason, we argue for a definition of HA derived substantially as recommended by ICBEN. The findings of the DEBATS study also confirm that taking into account non-acoustical factors such as situational, personal and attitudinal factors would improve annoyance predictions.

Explaining the impact of environmental risk factors on cardiovascular health by the “exposome” concept

There is growing evidence that environmental risk factors (pollution and non‐chemical stressors) contribute to the global burden of cardiovascular, metabolic and mental disease. Clinical and epidemiological studies support that traffic‐associated environmental risk factors, air pollution and noise exposure, are associated with a higher risk for cardiovascular disease and significantly contribute to overall mortality. According to the results of the Lancet Commission on pollution and health, up to 9 Mio global annual deaths can be attributed to environmental pollution [Landrigan et al., Lancet 2018]. The numbers will rather increase in the future, because of increasing urbanization and continuous refinement of global exposure‐mortality models, which is supported by the recently reported global all‐cause mortality rate attributable to ambient air pollution by PM2.5 and O3 of 8.79 Mio [Lelieveld et al. and Münzel, Eur Heart J 2019]. Air pollution is obviously the leading health risk factor in the physical environment, followed by water and soil pollution with heavy metals, pesticides, other chemicals and occupational exposures. However, non‐chemical environmental health risk factors such as mental stress, light exposure, climatic changes and traffic noise are so far ignored by global health action plans. Especially for traffic noise‐related health effects there are numerous clinical and epidemiological studies reporting significant impact on cardiovascular disease. In this respect, the “exposome” concept represents a comprehensive description of lifelong exposure history and a rather novel scientific field that is now investigated more systematically. We here provide an in‐depth overview on the health effects of the external exposome, with emphasis on air pollution and traffic noise, and briefly present the actual studies on this topic. In addition, we summarize our previously published experimental research investigating effects of aircraft noise exposure in mice and men providing mechanistic insights on how noise contributes to non‐communicable disease.Support or Funding InformationThe present work was supported by the Boehringer Ingelheim Foundation “Novel and neglected risk factors” (to A.D. and T.M.).The exposome concept. The external exposome represents the sum of all environmental exposures including behavioral/ lifestyle factors. The external exposome (e.g. mental stress and environmental pollution) confer changes of the internal exposome (e.g. altered circadian clock by forward/backward shift, stress hormones, inflammation and oxidative stress) leading to health risks and disease conditions (e.g. atherosclerosis, vascular stenosis and myocardial infarction). BJP, submitted.Figure 1

Noise, screaming and shouting: Classroom acoustics and teachers’ perceptions of their voice in a developing country

Background: The vocal demand on teachers may predispose them to vocal difficulties. This concern is exacerbated by unfavourable classroom acoustics and a large number of learners in a classroom in developing countries such as South Africa. There is a dearth of classroom acoustic protocols in South Africa, which intensifies the effect of noise on teachers as well as learners.Aims: The aims of this study were to determine the acoustic properties within the teaching environments and to fix the foundation-phase teachers’ perceptions of their voice.Setting: The study was conducted in Foundation Phase classrooms in South Africa.Methods: A classroom acoustical screening survey was utilised to conduct classroom observations. A voice handicap questionnaire was used to determine teachers’ perceptions.Results: There were two sample groups: ten schools with 31 foundation-phase classrooms and 31 teachers. Teachers perceived that their voices are affected by occupational demands, with predominantly physical symptoms being reported. Excessive background noise levels were evident in all classrooms. Air traffic noise and noise from adjoining classrooms were the main contributors.Conclusions: The need for classroom acoustic specifications and design of classrooms are essential as both teachers and learners experience the effects of noise exposure. The implementation of noise reduction in classrooms has the potential to improve the performance of teachers and learners. In a developing country, schools are unique institutions in terms of structure, and therefore additional research is required to determine what building structures may be beneficial for future school buildings. The findings could assist developing countries in the formulation of polices that align with the best practices for acoustically suitable educational settings that benefit both teachers and learners.

Using a geographical detector to identify the key factors that influence urban forest spatial differences within China

Increasing urbanization is a global phenomomen that has led to numerous urban problems, including air pollution and traffic noise. Urban forests are important, therefore, because they are able to effectively alleviate such unsustainable problems. Systematic analyses of spatial differences in urban forest coverage (UFC) and the factors that influence this cover type, however, need to be further explored within Chinese cities, especially on the basis of spatial data. The intensity gradient (IG) method was applied in this study to identify urban areas across China using Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP)/Operational Linescan System (OLS) data. Urban forests were then extracted from the global land cover dataset GlobeLand30 to enhance comparability of this land cover type between cities. The factors influencing spatial differences in UFC in 286 major Chinese cities were then detected using a geographical detector method, an approach which differs from the more traditional use of multiple regression as it better illustrates the explanatory power of variables and their interactions. The results of this study reveal that average UFC across China was 19.7 % in 2010 and that clear differences were present between south China (27.6 %) and north China (11.1 %). The factors underlying UFC differences between Chinese cities are complicated; data show that biogeoclimatic factors have exerted the greatest impact while the effects of socioeconomic factors have generally been weak. The impact of variables interacting with one another has also tended to be stronger than the influence of single factors. The results presented here also imply that there were no significant spatial differences in average UFC between cities with the title Chinese ‘National Forest City’ (NFC) and others.

Associations of exposure to surrounding green, air pollution and traffic noise with mortality in a large national health survey

PDS 70: Green space, Johan Friso Foyer, Floor 1, August 28, 2019, 1:30 PM - 3:00 PM Background/Aim: Most previous studies investigated associations of mortality with air pollution, traffic noise and surrounding green focusing on single exposures. We evaluated associations of combined long-term residential exposures to surrounding green, air pollution and traffic noise with non-accidental mortality in a large health survey. Methods: A national health survey, conducted in 2012, covering personal characteristics, lifestyle and socio-economic status (SES), was linked to the Dutch longitudinal mortality database. Subjects of the survey who were 30 years or older on 1 January 2013 (n=339,633) were followed from 1 January 2013 to 31 December 2017. Subjects with missing lifestyle data were more likely to die during follow-up. We therefore applied multiple imputation of missing values using chained equations to impute missing values for potential confounders. We used Cox proportional hazard models to evaluate associations of residential surrounding green (the average Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) in buffers of 300m and 1000m), annual average air pollutant concentrations (including particulate matter (PM10, PM2.5), NO2) and traffic noise with mortality. Results: In the 5-year follow-up, we observed 26,886 non-accidental deaths. After adjustment for individual SES, lifestyle factors, such as physical activity and smoking status, and neighborhood SES, we found no significant associations with non-accidental mortality for any of the exposures. For example, an interquartile range (IQR, 0.13) increase in NDVI 300m was associated with a HR of 0.99 (95% CI: 0.98, 1.01) in natural mortality, an IQR (7.6 µg/m3) increase in NO2 was associated with a HR of 0.99 (95% CI: 0.97, 1.01) and an IQR (7.4 dB) increase in road-traffic noise was associated with a HR of 0.99 (95% CI: 0.97, 1.01). Conclusion: We found no evidence for effects of long-term residential exposures to surrounding green, air pollution and traffic noise with non-accidental mortality in a large population based survey in the Netherlands.

Green space, air pollution, traffic noise and saliva cortisol in children aged 12 years

OPS 43: Noise, stress and mental health, Room 217, Floor 2, August 27, 2019, 4:30 PM - 5:30 PM Background: Green space, air pollution and traffic noise may be associated with stress levels in children. Secretion of the stress hormone cortisol is characterized by a peak in the early morning, followed by declining cortisol levels throughout the day. A slower rate of decline in cortisol across the day has been related to chronic psychosocial stress. Aim: To examine the associations of green space, air pollution and traffic noise with the diurnal change in saliva cortisol levels in children aged 12 years. Methods: We used data of 1061 participants aged 12 years of the Dutch PIAMA birth cohort. Children collected saliva samples during a single day: 30 minutes after awakening and at 20.00hr (in the evening). We calculated the change between evening and morning saliva cortisol levels (in ng/ml per hour). We estimated residential exposure to green space (i.e. the average Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and percentages of green space in circular buffers of 300m and 3000m), air pollution and traffic noise. Associations of these exposures with the diurnal cortisol change were assessed by multiple linear regression, adjusted for potential confounders. Associations are presented for an interquartile range (IQR) increase in exposure. Results: The average NDVI, total percentage of green space and percentage of agricultural green space in a buffer of 3000m were associated with a stronger diurnal decrease in cortisol levels (adjusted difference -0.05ng/ml/hr [95%CI -0.08, -0.01ng/ml/hr] per IQR (0.13) increase in the average NDVI; adjusted difference -0.05ng/ml/hr [95%CI -0.09, -0.01ng/ml/hr] per IQR (31.1%) increase in the total percentage of green space). We found no associations of air pollution or traffic noise with the diurnal cortisol change. Conclusions: This study indicates that residential exposure to green space may be associated with lower stress levels in children aged 12 years.

Long-term exposure to ultrafine particles and cause-specific mortality in the Rome Longitudinal Study

OPS 51: Air pollution and mortality: what’s new? Beatrix Theater, August 26, 2019, 4:30 PM - 5:30 PM Background/Aim: Few studies evaluated the association between long-term exposure to ultrafine particles (UFP) and mortality. We aimed to study the association between UFP and mortality in a large administrative cohort (Rome Longitudinal Study, RoLS) and to evaluate whether the role of UFP is independent of other exposures. Methods: We selected 1,009,434 30+ year olds living in the Rome urban area, and we followed them from 2001 to 2013. We used land use regression models for PNC (particle number concentrations) as proxy for UFP, NO2, PM2.5, PM2.5 absorbance (as proxy for soot), and zinc component of PM2.5 (as proxy for non-tail-pipe emissions). We used the acoustic model SoundPLAN7.4 to assess road traffic noise indicators (Lden, Lnight). All exposures were attributed to the residential address of each subject. We analyzed non-accidental, cardiovascular, and ischemic heart disease (IHD) mortality. We applied Cox proportional hazard models adjusted for age, sex, education, place of birth, marital status, occupation, area-level socioeconomic position. We performed single-pollutant and two-pollutant models. Results: The average population exposure was 16,014 (interquartile range, iqr=2,659) n/cm3 PNC, 47 (iqr=8) µg/m3 NO2, 20 (iqr=2) µg/m3 PM2.5, 2.8 (iqr=0.3) 10–5/m PM2.5-absorbance, 25 (iqr=3.4) ng/m3 PM2.5-Zn, 61 (iqr=11) dB. The correlation between UFP and the other exposures ranged from 0.45 (UFP-noise) to 0.61 (UFP-PM2.5). We observed 166,787 deaths for non-accidental causes, 69,034 for cardiovascular causes, and 25,092 for ischemic heart disease. We estimated an increase in non-accidental (Hazard Ratio [HR]=1.010, 95%CI:1.004-1.016), cardiovascular (HR=1.029, 95%CI:1.020-1.038), and IHD (HR=1.032, 95%CI:1.016-1.047) mortality, per iqr increments in PNC. Results were robust to adjustment for all other exposures for cardiovascular and IHD mortality. For non-accidental mortality, adjustment for NO2 and PM2.5-absorbance substantially decreased the PNC effect estimates. Conclusions: We found an effect of UFP exposure on cardiovascular mortality independent of the concomitant exposure to other air pollutants and traffic noise.

The "exposome" concept - how environmental risk factors influence cardiovascular health.

There is general consensus that environmental pollution and non-chemical stressors contribute to the incidence and prevalence of chronic noncommunicable disease (e.g. cardiovascular, metabolic and mental). Clinical and epidemiological studies support that air pollution and traffic noise are associated with a higher risk for cardiovascular disease and significantly contribute to overall mortality. In this respect, the "exposome" provides a comprehensive description of lifelong exposure history. A recent publication using an updated global exposure-mortality model found that the global all-cause mortality rate attributable to ambient air pollution by PM2.5 and O3 was 8.79 (95% CI 7.11-10.41) million in 2015 - much higher than previously calculated. For Europe this corresponds to 790,000 premature deaths due to ambient air pollution. Various large scale studies and expert commissions have identified air pollution as the leading health risk factor in the physical environment, followed by water and soil pollution with heavy metals, pesticides, other chemicals and occupational exposures, however neglecting the non-chemical environmental health risk factors: mental stress, light exposure, climatic changes and traffic noise. Especially for traffic noise-related health effects there are numerous clinical and epidemiological studies reporting significant impact on cardiovascular disease. We here provide an in-depth review on the health effects of the external exposome, with emphasis on air pollution and traffic noise and to a lesser degree mental stress and other environmental pollutants. In addition, we summarize our previously published experimental research investigating effects of aircraft noise exposure in mice and provide mechanistic insights on how noise contributes to noncommunicable disease.

Combined Effects of Aircraft, Rail, and Road Traffic Noise on Total Noise Annoyance-A Cross-Sectional Study in Innsbruck.

Noise legislation in Austria does not provide an assessment of the cumulative effect of noise from different sources. The desire of citizens for a total noise assessment is getting stronger. Within the pilot project “Gesamtlärmbetrachtung” (Total Noise Investigation) Innsbruck, data from 1031 face-to-face interviews were correlated with exposure data from road, rail and air traffic noise. The interviews were selected in clusters according to the exposure combinations of these three sources. In addition to exposure-response relationships, it has also been found that the annoyance response to air and rail traffic noise is independent of the background noise from road traffic. The total noise annoyance response shows a cumulative effect in each source considered. From the source specific exposure-response relationships, a total noise assessment model based on the annoyance equivalents model was developed. This model is more suitable than the dominant source model and thus also considerable for legal application.

Residential surrounding greenspace and age at menopause: A 20-year European study (ECRHS)

BackgroundMenopause is associated with a number of adverse health effects and its timing has been reported to be influenced by several lifestyle factors. Whether greenspace exposure is associated with age at menopause has not yet been investigated. ObjectiveTo investigate whether residential surrounding greenspace is associated with age at menopause and thus reproductive aging. MethodsThis longitudinal study was based on the 20-year follow-up of 1955 aging women from a large, population-based European cohort (ECRHS). Residential surrounding greenspace was abstracted as the average of satellite-based Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) across a circular buffer of 300 m around the residential addresses of each participant during the course of the study. We applied mixed effects Cox models with centre as random effect, menopause as the survival object, age as time indicator and residential surrounding greenspace as time-varying predictor. All models were adjusted for smoking habit, body mass index, parity, age at menarche, ever-use of contraception and age at completed full-time education as socio-economic proxy. ResultsAn increase of one interquartile range of residential surrounding greenspace was associated with a 13% lower risk of being menopausal (Hazard Ratio: 0.87, 95% Confidence Interval: 0.79–0.95). Correspondingly the predicted median age at menopause was 1.4 years older in the highest compared to the lowest NDVI quartile. Results remained stable after additional adjustment for air pollution and traffic related noise amongst others. ConclusionsLiving in greener neighbourhoods is associated with older age at menopause and might slow reproductive aging. These are novel findings with broad implications. Further studies are needed to see whether our findings can be replicated in different populations and to explore the potential mechanisms underlying this association.

Improving future low-noise aircraft technologies using experimental perception-based evaluation of synthetic flyovers.

Residents living in the vicinity of airports are exposed to noise from departing and approaching aircraft. Noise may be reduced by introducing novel aircraft technologies into vehicle retrofit, aircraft design and flight procedures. Nowadays, noise assessment and communication of noise are accomplished using conventional noise indicators that consider neither the perception of sound, nor its health effects. To overcome these limitations, this article presents a more comprehensive approach that supports the movement for perception-influenced design in order to reduce the negative environmental impacts and adverse health effects caused by increased air traffic noise. By means of auralization (the acoustical counterpart of visualization), possible future changes can be evaluated by considering the human perception of sound. In this study, in a virtual acoustic environment flyovers of different aircraft types and flight procedures are auralized for ground-based receiver locations, and subsequently evaluated in a psychoacoustic laboratory experiment with respect to short-term noise annoyance. Flight approaches of an existing reference aircraft, a possible low-noise retrofitted vehicle and a future low-noise vehicle design were simulated along standard and tailored flight procedures. To create realistic listening experiences of synthetic flyovers, auralization technologies were further developed regarding source synthesis, transitions between aircraft conditions, sound propagation effects and immersive sound reproduction. Listening experiments revealed significant annoyance reductions for low-noise aircraft types and tailored flight procedures, and that maximum benefit is achieved by the combined optimization of aircraft design and flight procedure. Further, it is shown that spatially distributed receivers need to be considered for a reliable low-noise aircraft technology evaluation. The reduction potential in terms of perceived noise by retrofitting current vehicles and designing new vehicle architectures is thus demonstrated. These findings suggest applying the proposed comprehensive approach to effectively reduce the impact of perceived air traffic noise in the future.

Green space, air pollution, traffic noise and cardiometabolic health in adolescents: The PIAMA birth cohort

BackgroundGreen space has been hypothesized to improve cardiometabolic health of adolescents, whereas air pollution and traffic noise may negatively impact cardiometabolic health. ObjectivesTo examine the associations of green space, air pollution and traffic noise with cardiometabolic health in adolescents aged 12 and 16 years. MethodsWaist circumference, blood pressure, cholesterol and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) were measured in subsets of participants of the Dutch PIAMA birth cohort, who participated in medical examinations at ages 12 (n = 1505) and/or 16 years (n = 797). We calculated a combined cardiometabolic risk score for each participant, with a higher score indicating a higher cardiometabolic risk. We estimated exposure to green space (i.e. the average Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and percentages of green space in circular buffers of 300 m and 3000 m), air pollution (by land-use regression models) and traffic noise (using the Standard Model Instrumentation for Noise Assessments (STAMINA) model) at the adolescents' home addresses at the time of the medical examinations. We assessed associations of these exposures with cardiometabolic health outcomes at ages 12 and 16 by multiple linear regression, adjusting for potential confounders. ResultsWe did not observe consistent patterns of associations of green space, air pollution and traffic noise with the cardiometabolic risk score, blood pressure, total cholesterol levels, the total/HDL cholesterol ratio and HbA1c. We found inverse associations of air pollution with waist circumference at both age 12 and 16. These associations weakened after adjustment for region, except for particulate matter with a diameter of <2.5 μm (PM2.5) at age 12. The association of PM2.5 with waist circumference at age 12 remained after adjustment for green space and road traffic noise (adjusted difference − 1.42 cm [95% CI −2.50, −0.35 cm] per 1.16 μg/m3 increase in PM2.5). ConclusionThis study does not provide evidence for beneficial effects of green space or adverse effects of air pollution and traffic noise on cardiometabolic health in adolescents.

Aviation Noise-Pollution Mitigation Through Redesign of Aircraft Departures

The ecology of air traffic includes society attitudes toward reducing fuel consumption and minimizing noise emissions. Aircraft noise exposure can be reduced by optimizing standard instrument departure (SID) routes according to area navigation (RNAV) specifications to reduce noise pollution for people who live in the airport vicinity. Various airport construction projects, aircraft departures, and increased density can have unintended noise pollution to those nearby an airport. Issues and concerns of airport traffic noise abatement through departure route RNAV optimization are demonstrated for the Birmingham Airport. The paper describes the proposal for a new Birmingham Airport SID, which effectively directs air traffic noise outside Balsall Common. The description of the construction of the new route is verified by calculations, not only of the minimum altitudes above obstacles, but also of the minimum distance between waypoints. The construction of protective zones at individual waypoint turns, where strict rules for minimum altitudes over obstacles apply, facilitates meeting safety standards. A map of the areas that will be most exposed to excessive noise is visualized to verify the results. The departure noise abatement procedure could be successfully used for conducting a local environment noise study to predict and mitigate noise in the area, and eventually optimize aircraft guidance on the departure route to improve the quality of life in Balsall Common.

Neighbourhood characteristics and prevalence and severity of depression: pooled analysis of eight Dutch cohort studies.

Studies on neighbourhood characteristics and depression show equivocal results.AimsThis large-scale pooled analysis examines whether urbanisation, socioeconomic, physical and social neighbourhood characteristics are associated with the prevalence and severity of depression. Cross-sectional design including data are from eight Dutch cohort studies (n = 32 487). Prevalence of depression, either DSM-IV diagnosis of depressive disorder or scoring for moderately severe depression on symptom scales, and continuous depression severity scores were analysed. Neighbourhood characteristics were linked using postal codes and included (a) urbanisation grade, (b) socioeconomic characteristics: socioeconomic status, home value, social security beneficiaries and non-Dutch ancestry, (c) physical characteristics: air pollution, traffic noise and availability of green space and water, and (d) social characteristics: social cohesion and safety. Multilevel regression analyses were adjusted for the individual's age, gender, educational level and income. Cohort-specific estimates were pooled using random-effects analysis. The pooled analysis showed that higher urbanisation grade (odds ratio (OR) = 1.05, 95% CI 1.01-1.10), lower socioeconomic status (OR = 0.90, 95% CI 0.87-0.95), higher number of social security beneficiaries (OR = 1.12, 95% CI 1.06-1.19), higher percentage of non-Dutch residents (OR = 1.08, 95% CI 1.02-1.14), higher levels of air pollution (OR = 1.07, 95% CI 1.01-1.12), less green space (OR = 0.94, 95% CI 0.88-0.99) and less social safety (OR = 0.92, 95% CI 0.88-0.97) were associated with higher prevalence of depression. All four socioeconomic neighbourhood characteristics and social safety were also consistently associated with continuous depression severity scores. This large-scale pooled analysis across eight Dutch cohort studies shows that urbanisation and various socioeconomic, physical and social neighbourhood characteristics are associated with depression, indicating that a wide range of environmental aspects may relate to poor mental health.Declaration of interestNone.

The Cardiovascular Effects of Noise.

Traffic noise can induce chronic stress reactions and thereby elevate the risk of cardiovascular disease. The responsible pathophysiological mechanisms are as yet unclear. This review is based on publications retrieved by a selective search in PubMed for epidemiological and experimental studies (2007-2018) on the relation between noise and the risk of cardiovascular disease. The search terms were "noise AND cardiovascular effects" and "noise cardiovascular effects." Epidemiological studies have shown that noise caused by air, road, and rail traffic has a dose-dependent association with elevated cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. A current meta-analysis commissioned by the World Health Organization concludes that road-traffic noise elevates the incidence of coronary heart disease by 8% per 10 dB(A) increase starting at 50 dB(A) (95% confidence interval [1,01; 1,15]). Traffic noise at night causes fragmentation of sleep, elevation of stress hormone levels, and oxidative stress. These factors can promote the development of vascular dysfunction (endothelial dysfunction) and high blood pressure, which, in turn, elevate the cardiovascular risk. Traffic noise, and air-traffic noise in particular, is an important cardiovascular risk factor that has not been sufficiently studied to date. Preventive measures are needed to protect the population from the harmful effects of noise on health.

Traffic noise in Georgia: Sound levels and inequality

Using Lorenz-type curves, means tests, ordinary least squares, and locally weighted regressions (LWR), we examine the relative burdens of whites, blacks, and Hispanics in Georgia from road and air traffic noise. We find that whites bear less noise than either blacks or Hispanics and that blacks tend to experience more traffic noise than Hispanics. While every Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) showed that blacks experienced relatively more noise than average, such a result did not hold for Hispanics in roughly half of the MSAs. We find much heterogeneity across Census tracts using LWR. For most Census tracts, higher black and Hispanic population shares are associated with increased noise. However, 5.5% of the coefficients for blacks and 18.9% for Hispanics are negative, suggesting larger population shares are associated with less noise. The noise LWR marginal effects for black populations across most tracts in the state are consistent with diminishing marginal noise from additional black population, while those in Atlanta exhibit diminishing marginal noise for Hispanics. In many regions of the state where the potential for health-damaging noise exists, we find relatively high disproportionality in noise experienced by the black and Hispanic populations compared to the rest of the overall population. Our findings underscore the importance of using nonparametric estimation approaches to unveil spatial heterogeneity in applied urban and housing economics analyses.

Abstract P102: Air Pollution, Traffic Noise and Development of Subclinical Atherosclerosis in the Thoracic Aorta

Background: Air pollution and noise are suggested to be related to subclinical atherosclerosis, but evidence is scarce and inconsistent. We investigated the independent associations and interactions of long-term exposure to air pollution and road traffic noise with development and progression of thoracic aortic calcification (TAC). Methods: We used baseline (2000-2003) and follow-up (2006-2008) data from the German Heinz Nixdorf Recall Study, a population-based cohort of 4,814 randomly selected participants. We assessed residential long-term exposure to air pollution and noise with chemistry transport and noise propagation models, respectively. TAC was quantified from non-contrast enhanced electron beam computed tomography. Incident TAC and percent increase in TAC progression were analyzed with multiple logistic and linear regression, respectively, adjusted for age, sex, lifestyle variables, and individual and area-level socioeconomic status. Results: The analysis sample comprised 3,125 participants (mean age 59.4 years, 49.9% male) with a mean follow-up of 5 years. Traffic-related air pollutants and night-time noise (L night ) were associated with incident TAC (OR 1.18 [95%CI: 0.98-1.41] per IQR of particle number concentration and 1.20 [0.99, 1.46] per 5 dB(A) L night ). Similar associations were observed for TAC progression (0.14% [0.00; 0.28%] per IQR of NO 2 and 0.18% [0.02; 0.35%] per 5 dB(A) L night ), in those with minimal calcification at baseline. Results did not change upon mutual adjustment. Conclusion: Our study suggests that air pollution and road traffic noise may be weakly associated with the development of subclinical atherosclerosis, which remained robust when taking the other exposure into account.

The use of green walls and the impact on air quality and life standard

People living in urban areas are exposed to a number of threats related with dense urban tissue and high number of vehicles. These include air pollutions, traffic noise and high temperatures. In addition, large cities are struggling with high energy consumption for heating and cooling purposes. One of the possibilities to reduce the mentioned undesirable effects is the use of vegetation on the walls. Plants absorbs the pollutants of air, produced the oxygen, mounted on external walls create thermal insulation and positively affect the psychological aspect. Green walls can be used both indoors and outdoors. The article presents literature review on green walls, describes their benefits and presents the calculations SPBT and possible energy savings taking into account the transmission losses for small residential building.

Environmental public health risks in European metropolitan areas within the EURO-HEALTHY project

Urban areas in Europe are facing a range of environmental public health challenges, such as air pollution, traffic noise and road injuries. The identification and quantification of the public health risks associated with exposure to environmental conditions is important for prioritising policies and interventions that aim to diminish the risks and improve the health of the population. With this purpose in mind, the EURO-HEALTHY project used a consistent approach to assess the impact of key environmental risk factors and urban environmental determinants on public health in European metropolitan areas. A number of environmental public health indicators, which are closely tied to the physical and built environment, were identified through stakeholder consultation; data were collected from six European metropolitan areas (Athens, Barcelona, Lisbon, London, Stockholm and Turin) covering the period 2000–2014, and a health impact assessment framework enabled the quantification of health effects (attributable deaths) associated with these indicators. The key environmental public health indicators were related to air pollution and certain urban environmental conditions (urban green spaces, road safety). The air pollution was generally the highest environmental public health risk; the associated number of deaths in Athens, Barcelona and London ranged between 800 and 2300 attributable deaths per year. The number of victims of road traffic accidents and the associated deaths were lowest in the most recent year compared with previous years. We also examined the positive impacts on health associated with urban green spaces by calculating reduced mortality impacts for populations residing in areas with greater green space coverage; results in Athens showed reductions of all-cause mortality of 26 per 100,000 inhabitants for populations with benefits of local greenspace. Based on our analysis, we discuss recommendations of potential interventions that could be implemented to reduce the environmental public health risks in the European metropolitan areas covered by this study.

The associations of air pollution, traffic noise and green space with overweight throughout childhood: The PIAMA birth cohort study

BackgroundAir pollution, traffic noise and absence of green space may contribute to the development of overweight in children. ObjectivesTo investigate the combined associations of air pollution, traffic noise and green space with overweight throughout childhood. MethodsWe used data for 3680 participants of the Dutch PIAMA birth cohort. We estimated exposure to air pollution, traffic noise and green space (i.e. the average Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and percentages of green space in circular buffers of 300 m and 3000 m) at the children's home addresses at the time of parental reported weight and height measurements. Associations of these exposures with overweight from age 3 to 17 years were analyzed by generalized linear mixed models, adjusting for potential confounders. Odds ratios (OR's) are presented for an interquartile range increase in exposure. Resultsodds of being overweight increased with increasing exposure to NO2 (adjusted OR 1.40 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.12–1.74] per 8.90 µg/m3) and tended to decrease with increasing exposure to green space in a 3000 m buffer (adjusted OR 0.86 [95% CI 0.71–1.04] per 0.13 increase in the NDVI; adjusted OR 0.86 [95% CI 0.71–1.03] per 29.5% increase in the total percentage of green space). After adjustment for NO2, the associations with green space in a 3000 m buffer weakened. No associations of traffic noise with overweight throughout childhood were found. In children living in an urban area, living further away from a park was associated with a lower odds of being overweight (adjusted OR 0.67 [95% CI 0.52–0.85] per 359.6 m). ConclusionsExposure to traffic-related air pollution, but not traffic noise or green space, may contribute to childhood overweight. Future studies examining the associations of green space with childhood overweight should account for air pollution exposure.