Health impacts of exposure to noise from transport

Long-term exposure to noise from transport has negative effects on health. Based on data reported in 2017 under the Environmental Noise Directive, it is estimated that at least 18 million people are highly annoyed and 5 million are highly sleep disturbed by long-term exposure to noise from transport in the EU. The EU’s zero pollution action plan aims to reduce the share of people affected by noise from transport by 30% relative to 2017 levels by 2030. Achieving this will require a decline in the number of people highly annoyed and highly sleep disturbed by transport noise of 5.4 million and 1.5 million, respectively.

Estimated number of people highly annoyed and highly sleep disturbed by noise from road, rail and aircraft traffic based on EU Environmental Noise Directive thresholds in the EU-27 and zero pollution target for 2030

Chronic exposure to environmental noise significantly affects physical and mental health and well-being. It can lead to annoyance, stress reactions and sleep disturbance, and cognitive impairment in children, and can have negative effects on the cardiovascular and metabolic systems . A key target of the European Commission’s zero pollution action plan is to reduce, by 2030, the number of people chronically disturbed by noise from transport in the EU by 30%, compared with 2017 .

Noise annoyance and sleep disturbance are the most prevalent health effects of exposure to noise from transport sources. In 2017, it was estimated that more than 18 million people were highly annoyed by environmental noise and 5 million were highly sleep disturbed . Since some people can already be highly annoyed or sleep disturbed at noise levels below the END reporting thresholds, the number of highly annoyed and highly sleep disturbed is likely to be underestimated. Based on baseline data from 2017, the numbers of people highly annoyed and highly sleep disturbed by noise in the EU would need to be reduced by 5.4 million and 1.5 million, respectively, to achieve the aim of reducing the number of people chronically disturbed by transport noise by 30% by 2030.

Road traffic noise is the most prevalent source of environmental noise and contributes the most to the overall effects of noise on health. A large proportion of people highly annoyed and highly sleep disturbed by transport noise live in urban areas of more than 100,000 inhabitants. A large share of the population chronically disturbed by noise is exposed to noise levels below 60 dB during the day (L_den) and 55 dB during the night (L_night). Therefore, to achieve the zero pollution action plan’s goal, measures need to target populations living not only in noise hotspots but also in areas of lower noise, by focusing on better urban and transport planning and reducing the use of motorised transport.

Additional health impacts from transport noise are presented in available here in table form. The zero pollution action plan also proposes monitoring the impacts of transport noise on human health using disability adjusted life years (DALYs) , with 1 DALY corresponding to 1 year of healthy life lost, attributable to morbidity, mortality or both. Because of the large number of people affected, high annoyance and high sleep disturbance due to environmental noise are important drivers of the total burden of disease.

Estimated number of people per 100,000 highly annoyed and highly sleep disturbed by noise from road, rail and air traffic in the EEA countries (excluding Türkiye) in 2017

It is difficult to make comparisons between countries of the number of people per 100,000 highly annoyed and highly sleep disturbed by noise from road, rail and air traffic, because of the different noise-mapping methodologies used (particularly in urban areas, as some countries map all streets in cities while others map only the busiest streets). However, it is clear that in most countries in Europe a large proportion of the populations suffer from negative health effects due to noise. Road traffic is the main source contributing to high annoyance levels due to noise across countries, while rail traffic is particularly relevant at night in countries with large railway networks, contributing to sleep disturbance.

Supporting information

Definition

This indicator sets the baseline and shows the range and magnitude of chronic high annoyance and high sleep disturbance due to noise from transport in Europe. It presents the estimated number of people suffering long-term high annoyance and long-term high sleep disturbance due to noise from:

· roads with more than 3 million vehicle passages per year;

· railways with more than 30,000 railway movements per year;

· airports with more than 50,000 air traffic movements per year; and

· in urban areas with more than 100,000 inhabitants and a population density such that the Member State consider it an urbanised area.

In accordance with the Environmental Noise Directive (END), countries report data for 55dB for the day-evening-night period and 50dB for the night-time period. Therefore, data on exposure to noise below these levels are not used in the indicator.

Methodology

Methodology for indicator calculation

The indicator is based on the following data:

- Data reported by EU Member States in accordance with Directive 2002/49/EC (the END). In addition, a disaggregated assessment that includes EEA member countries (excluding Türkiye) is presented. The data used cover the population exposed to noise above END thresholds (i.e. noise levels of 55dB or higher during the day-evening-night period and to night-time noise levels of 50dB or higher) for the following noise sources: roads with more than 3 million vehicle passages per year; railways with more than 30,000 train passages per year; airports with more than 50,000 aircraft movements per year; and all roads, railways, airports and industries in urban areas with more than 100,000 inhabitants.

Exposure-response functions for high annoyance and high sleep disturbance presented in the Environmental noise guidelines for the European region. These are generalised functions and are in line with Annex III of the Environmental Noise Directive.

- Data on age distribution from Eurostat (ETC/ACM, 2018). The number of highly annoyed and highly sleep disturbed people is calculated from only the population over the age of 17 years because the exposure-response functions are based on responses from the adult population and cannot be extrapolated to children.

- For table 1, the calculation of ischemic heart disease incidence, premature deaths and DALYs are described in ETC/ACM (2018) and EEA (2020).

It should be noted that, for the data presented in this indicator, countries have used a wide variety of calculation methods and approaches in developing their noise maps. Therefore, the results of the different countries or years generated by different prediction methods may not be fully comparable and therefore trends reported should be interpreted with caution. For instance, some countries map all streets in cities while others map only the busiest streets. A new, common noise calculation assessment method was introduced in 2019 and therefore the baseline data will be re-evaluated to address any comparability issues between 2017 and subsequent years.

Methodology for gap filling

Because of the incomplete reporting of data by some countries, gap filling was performed to complete any missing information and ensure a full assessment of environmental noise in Europe. Detailed information on the gap-filling methodology can be found in ETC/ATNI (2021). Detailed completeness of the data by country can be seen in the EEA noise fact sheets.

Policy/environmental relevance

Context description

Chronic exposure to environmental noise has significant impacts on physical and mental health. WHO has identified noise as the second most significant environmental cause of ill health in western Europe, the first being air pollution. Exposure to environmental noise can lead to annoyance, stress reactions, sleep disturbance, poor mental health and well-being, and cognitive impairment in children, and can have negative effects on the cardiovascular and metabolic systems.

Environmental noise guidelines for the European region

The strongest base of evidence regarding cause-effect relationships between noise and health was published by the WHO Regional Office for Europe in the form of a guidance document Environmental noise guidelines for the European region. These guidelines also include recommendations for different types of transport sources. For instance, WHO recommends that long-term exposure to noise from road traffic should not exceed 53dB during the day-evening-night period and 45dB during the night to avoid adverse consequences on health. The recommended values for rail are 54dB during the day-evening-night period and 44dB during the night, and for aircraft they are 45dB during the day-evening-night period and 40dB during the night.

WHO’sEnvironmental noise guidelines for the European region consider long-term annoyance and sleep disturbance due to noise to be critical health outcomes. According to the WHO definition of health, which is ‘a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity’, documenting only physical health does not present a complete picture of general health. Therefore, being undisturbed by noise in all activities, including sleep, constitutes an asset worthy of protection. The importance of considering both annoyance and self-reported sleep disturbance as health outcomes is further supported by evidence indicating that they play a part in the causal pathway of noise-induced cardiovascular and metabolic diseases .

Environmental Noise Directive

The END provides the primary legislative framework for avoiding and preventing exposure to harmful levels of environmental noise through the reporting of noise mapping and action planning. It defines environmental noise as ‘unwanted or harmful outdoor sound created by human activities, including noise emitted by means of transport, road traffic, rail traffic, air traffic and from sites of industrial activity’. It places an obligation on EU Member States to assess noise levels by producing strategic noise maps for all major roads, railways, airports and urban areas for levels above specific END threshold values (i.e. 55dB averaged across day-evening-night periods (L_den) and 50dB averaged across night-time periods (L_night)). Based on these noise-mapping results, Member States must prepare action plans containing measures that address noise issues and their effects. The END neither sets limit values for noise exposure nor prescribes measures for inclusion in the action plans. Finally, Member States are required to select and preserve areas of good acoustic environmental quality, referred to as ‘quiet areas’, to protect the European soundscape.

Targets

One of the key targets of the European Commission’s zero pollution action plan is to reduce the share of people chronically disturbed by transport noise by 30% by 2030, compared with 2017.

Accuracy and uncertaintiesData sources and providers

Metadata

DPSIRTopicsTagsTemporal coverageGeographic coverage

TypologyUN SDGsUnit of measureFrequency of dissemination

References and footnotes

WHO Europe, 2018, Environmental noise guidelines for the European region, World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe, Copenhagen.

^a^b^c^d^e^f^g
EC, 2021, Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions — Pathway to a healthy planet for all: EU action plan ‘Towards zero pollution for air, water and soil’, COM(2021) 400 final.

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EU, 2002, Directive 2002/49/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 June 2002 relating to the assessment and management of environmental noise, OJ L 189, 18.7.2002, p. 12-25.

^a^b
EC, 2021, Commission staff working document: Towards a monitoring and outlook framework for the zero pollution ambition accompanying the document Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions — Pathway to a healthy planet for all: EU action plan ‘Towards zero pollution for air, water and soil’, SWD(2021) 141 final.

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EC, 2020, Commission Directive (EU) 2020/367 of 4 March 2020 amending Annex III to Directive 2002/49/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the establishment of assessment methods for harmful effects of environmental noise, OJ L 67 5.3.2020, p. 132.

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ETC/ACM, 2018, Implications of environmental noise on health and wellbeing in Europe, Eionet Report ETC/ACM 2018/10, European Topic Centre on Air Pollution and Climate Change Mitigation.

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EEA, 2020, 'Health risks caused by environmental noise in Europe', European Environment Agency (https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/health-risks-caused-by-environmental) accessed May 11, 2022.

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ETC/ATNI, 2021, Noise indicators under the Environmental Noise Directive 2021. Methodology for estimating missing data., Eionet Report ETC/ATNI 2021/06, 2021/06, European Topic Centre on Air Pollution, Transport, Noise and Industrial Pollution.

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EEA, 2021, 'Noise country fact sheets 2021', European Environment Agency (https://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/human/noise/noise-fact-sheets) accessed August 2, 2021.

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WHO Europe and JRC, 2011, Burden of disease from environmental noise — quantification of healthy life years lost in Europe, World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe, Copenhagen.

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Hänninen, O., Knol, A. B., Jantunen, M., Lim, T.-A., Conrad, A., Rappolder, M., Carrer, P., Fanetti, A.-C., Kim, R., Buekers, J., Torfs, R., Iavarone, I., Classen, T., Hornberg, C. and Mekel, O. C. L., 2014, 'Environmental burden of disease in Europe: assessing nine risk factors in six countries', Environmental Health Perspectives 122(5), pp. 439–446 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4014759/) accessed December 9, 2021.

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Eriksson, C. and Pershagen, G., 2018, Biological mechanisms related to cardiovascular and metabolic effects by environmental noise, WHO Regional Office for Europe, Copenhagen.

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Health impacts of exposure to noise from transport

Figure 1. Estimated number of people highly annoyed and highly sleep disturbed by noise from road, rail and aircraft traffic based on EU Environmental Noise Directive thresholds in the EU-27 and zero pollution target for 2030

Figure 2. Estimated number of people per 100,000 highly annoyed and highly sleep disturbed by noise from road, rail and air traffic in the EEA countries (excluding Türkiye) in 2017

Supporting information

Metadata

References and footnotes