Public Comment – Bernedine Lund, resident of Federal Way, presented to 11-10-2020
PoS Commissioner’s meeting
Noise effects and possible action to take
It has been almost two years since the WHO published its Environmental Noise Guidelines for the
European Region 2018. The recommendation was to reduce aviation noise exposure to 45 db or less
during the day and 40 db or less for nighttime. The report noted that ”in terms of their health implications,
the recommended exposure levels can be considered applicable in other regions suitable for a global
audience.”
Over the last two years, other studies continue to find and report on similar negative health effects from
aviation activity. This includes studies that show noise contributes to significant health problems,
including
- cardiovascular diseases in older adults
- diminished learning in children, including lower reading and math scores
- sleep disturbance,
- mental health problems such as depression
- increased hospitalizations
- metabolic outcomes such as increased waist circumference and Type 2 diabetes
- may increase people’s chances of dementia
For Seattle, noise pollution also has a disparate impact on marginalized communities and communities of
color.
These more recent findings add further evidence and strength to the WHO findings of the negative health
impacts of aviation noise. Having multiple studies done by different research groups, on different
populations, races, ages, with different levels of exposure all showing the same results adds strength to
the conclusions.
At the 10-28-2020 StART meeting Eric Schinfeld provided a list of federal agency issues StART was
addressing. One issue was the WHO Europe Study. The table read:
Issue
Goal
Result
WHO Europe
Study
Request FAA formal explanation of interpretation
of the study and how they are including it in their
policymaking (from letter Adam Smith sent to the
FAA)
The FAA responded via email to
US Representative Smith that they
do not consider this study to be
valid.
The WHO report and more recent studies make the FAA’s dismissal of the WHO Noise Report as not
valid all the more egregious. It's similar to the tobacco industry saying that all the studies linking smoking
to lung cancer are inadequate.
Request for Possible actions:
- Will you reach out to the FAA about the noise complaints?
- Will you work with the cities and residents to support any communication they have with the FAA?
- If the FAA will not develop a more realistic noise measure, can you ask the Port’s noise team to
suggest more realistic measures and work with knowledgeable staff to develop one?
Studies/articles
2018 WHO Noise Guidelines:
https://www.euro.who.int/en/publications/abstracts/environmental-noise-guidelines-for-the-
european-region-2018
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2020/650787/IPOL_STU(2020)650787_
EN.pdf
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/10/201021085106.htm
https://deptofcommerce.app.box.com draft report – not for distribution
https://www.bmj.com/content/347/bmj.f5561
https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/doi/10.1289/ehp.1307115
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0013935116305461?via%3Dihub
