This group presentation was developed in a "fast-task" situation for the National Environmental Short Course in 2005. It used a hypothetical example of a school subjected to environmental noise from several sources. This won the best presentation award for 2005.

1. Aircraft Noise and Child
Development: An
Environmental Health Risk
Assessment
NSCEH Student Project Nov 2005

2. The Identified Issue
• Has aircraft noise affected, or likely to affect, the
cognitive development of children, in a school of
200, located under the flight path?
• If yes, what is the level of risk and what
recommendations can be provided to the school
population and authorities?
• Airport due for expansion
• Recent school academic results indicated a six month delay
compared to state average
• Parents extremely concerned about test scores, and the
potential impact of aircraft environmental noise on their
children’s reading skills, attention, memory, thinking
ability and general health
• Risk Assessment undertaken by local scientists in
consultation with school, PTA and authorities

3. Process Undertaken
• Hazard Identification
– Noise health effects & researched evidence
• Dose Response
– Response of children to noise levels
• Exposure Assessment
– Means and level of exposure by the children
• Risk Characterisation
– Integration of information to assess risk; explanation
of confounders, uncertainties & limitations
• Risk Management & Communication
– Recommendations & communication plan

4. HAZARD
IDENTIFICATION
Aircraft Noise - affecting children's
cognitive performance?

5. Adverse effect of noise…….?
WHO DEFINITION:
“a change in the morphology and physiology of an organism
that results in”:
• Impaired functional capacity, or
• Impaired capacity to compensate for additional stress, or
• Increase in susceptibility of an organism to the harmful
effects of other environmental influences.
This definition includes any temporary or long-term
lowering of the physical, psychological or social
functioning of humans or human organs.”

6. Health Effects from Noise
• Hearing • Sense of well-being
• Annoyance • Concentration
• Sleep disturbance • Impairs cognitive
• Stress / Hormonal performance
• Cardiovascular effect • Reduces task
• Communication performance
• Diminishes memory
• Auditory discrimination
• Motivation
• Speech perception

7. Comparative noise levels
Quiet conversation 50 – 60dB(A)
Vacuum Cleaner 70dB(A)
85dB(A)
Aircraft 87 – 100dB(A)
Take Off / Landing
MP3 Headphones 94dB(A)
Rock Band 120 – 150dB(A)

8. Noise - Health Effects on Children
• Vulnerable group @ 5 – 11 years
– Critical stage in cognitive development.
– Less coping mechanisms for additional stressors
– Reading and language acquisition – complex cognitive tasks
• Physiological and Psychological Effects
• Noise affects the ability to perform complex
cognitive tasks due to:
– Communication - auditory discrimination & speech perception
– Distraction – sustained attention, memory and recall
– Fatigue – sleep disturbance
“reading, attention, problem solving and
memory are most strongly affected by
noise” (WHO)

9. Evidence – related studies
• Los Angeles Airport Study (Cohen et al, 1980, 1981)
• New York Airport City (Evans & Maxwell, 1997)
• Munich Airport Study (Evans et al, 1995; 1998)
• Heathrow Studies (Haines et al, 2001 a,b,c; 2002)
“Over 20 studies have reported that noise
adversely affects children’s academic
performance”
Stansfield S (2004), ‘Review on state of the art in children and noise”, 3rd International Conference on
Children’s Health and the Environment, Centre for Psychiatry, Queen Mary University of London

10. DOSE RESPONSE
Aircraft Noise - affecting children's
cognitive performance?

11. Dose-response
Table 1: Noise levels in a classroom below which
health effects would not be expected
Noise location dBLAeq16hr, 6am-10pm
Outside 50-55
Inside 35
Source: Berglund et al (1999)

12. Relationship of Test Scores to Noise
Source: Stansfeld et al (2005)

13. Comparison of Test Scores pre/post
Airport Closure (ie:Noise Removal)
Source: Hygge, Evans and Bullinger (2002)

14. • “Stimuli context effect”
– Impact of noise range, duration and time
between noise
– Annoyance with noise greater when exposed
to loud noise intermittently, lesser when noise
constant.
– (Aasvneg and Engdahl, 1999)
• Aircraft noise levels above 50 dB(A) in
a classroom can affect performance

15. EXPOSURE ASSESSMENT
Aircraft Noise - affecting children's
cognitive performance?

16. Exposure Assessment
• Exposure route is auditory
• Disruption caused by aircraft is a key
factor in this issue
• Health effects above 70db(A)
• Range : between 85.7 - 100.8 dB(A)

17. Model representing noise effects
noise speech impaired
exposure perception reading
predictor mechanism outcome

18. • Exposure measured using noise loggers,
questionnaires, tape recordings
– NB: Loggers require calibration, so data
interpretation may also be influenced by
position and other environmental noises
(traffic, wind, playground)

19. RISK CHARACTERISATION
Aircraft Noise - affecting children's
cognitive performance?

20. • Average number of flights/day = 19.5 (1/hr)
• Aircraft noise impact ~ 15 sec/flight
Relationship between
Aircraft Noise Exposure
Forecast (ANEF) Level
and
Community Reaction in
Residential Areas
(National Acoustic
Laboratories Report No 88)

21. • Increased air traffic
has potential to
adversely affect
reading results,
anxiety levels,
affecting children,
parents, school staff
and other local
population

22. Potential Costs
• Potential costs associated with long-term
noise exposure include:
– remedial education,
– decreased cognitive development
– decreased attention
– health costs

23. Risk Uncertainty
Assumptions:
• All flights pass over the school
Risk Assessment Limitations:
• Interpretation of noise data-contribution affected by
noise logger location, and other noise sources
• Questionnaires highly subjective
• Data from one school (200 pupils) – no control
• Climate - wind, humidity etc affect sound transmission
in the air

24. Risk Uncertainty
Confounding Factors:
• Unknown other factors include:
– socio-demographics,
– excess noise in home setting,
– other chemical/biological factors (eg: Pb),
– children’s hyperactivity / developmental disability,
– teacher quality
• Other sources of environmental noise at the school
include road traffic, other classrooms
• Flight paths are affected by wind direction

25. RISK MANAGEMENT
Aircraft Noise - affecting children's
cognitive performance?

26. Evidence Findings
• Sufficient evidence indicates that noise has a
negative effect on cognitive performance.
• However, it is uncertain whether the current school
performance can be directly attributed to aircraft
noise:
– Existence of confounding factors and data limitations
– A lack of control studies in the local situation and lack of
evidence about prior test results
– Insufficient evidence on effects of combined noise (WHO)
• Risk management is recommended to address
relevant standards

27. Site Plan of St Stephens School
North Wing
West Wing
Hall
90dBA
Main South Road
South Wing
Henley Beach Road

28. Noise Control Recommendations
Existing Noise Measurements
100dBA
Noise Level Measurements
During Aircraft Flyover
South Wing: 90dBA
North Wing: 90dBA
West Wing: 90dBA
Hall: 95dBA
Noise Levels while
Semi-Trailer on South Road
South : 75dBA
North : 75dBA
West: 85dBA
90dBA Hall: 65dBA
AS2021-2000 Table 3.3 Design Noise Level = 50dBA

29. Noise Control Recommendations
100dBA
90dBA 50dBA

30. Noise Control Data and Solution
Control Description ANR $ Responsibility
dBA
Ceiling High Density Insulation 30 $15/m2 School & PTA
Insulation Batts laid on existing
ceiling
Roof Acoustic frame consisting 30 $25/m2 Commonwealth
Insulation of insulation and battens Government
Grant
Double Additional windows added 35 $150/ Commonwealth
Glazed to create double glazing, or unit Government
Windows replace existing windows Grant
and Doors and doors.
Screen Single brick wall 115mm 45 $100/m School & PTA
Wall Thick rendered one side.

31. Risk Management &
Communication
• Formation of an ad hoc group involving EPA,
Health, AAL, Commonwealth Government, and
school representatives.
• Further monitoring to be co-ordinated by this
group throughout the remediation process
• Proposed communication strategy
– Letter to parents informing them of school information session
– Notice of information evening to be advertised in community media
– School information session to explain situation and future plans
– Parents to receive regular updates on remediation status of school
– Fact sheet to be made available to media

32. Team:
Alison Jones, Xiao Liu
Colin Marsh, Lester Nation
Graham Ohmsen, Louise Miller-
Frost, Barry Mortimer
Peter Collins, Kirsten
Supported by:
Hannah Aumann and A/Prof Dino
Pisaniello
Questions?