A ground-breaking seminar discussing the impact of aircraft noise on mental health will be held in Parliament on 4th July. The seminar, by HACAN and the Aviation Environment Federation (AEF) brings together experts from across Europe to explore the issue. It will be hosted by Dr Tania Mathias, MP for Twickenham. Amongst the speakers will be Dirk Schreckenberg, one of the authors of the seminal NORAH study which looked at the link between noise and health at Frankfurt Airport, and Matt Gorman from Heathrow Airport. The third speaker will be West London resident Chris Keady who will talk about the impact on his mental health of living under a flight path. A sizeable number of MPs, noise experts and aviation campaigners are expected to attend the seminar. Not enough is known about the impact of exposure to aircraft noise, especially loud noise, often repeated, at different times of day and night, on mental health and stress levels. The evidence suggests that people who already have mental health issues can find aircraft noise particularly disturbing. There is a real problem if there is no escape from the noise, and people feel powerless and impotent against this imposition. We need a constructive dialogue involving noise experts, politicians, campaigners and the aviation industry to give proper consideration to this issue.
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Ground-breaking seminar on aircraft noise and mental health
4.7.2016 (HACAN)
A ground-breaking seminar discussing the impact of aircraft noise on mental health will be held in Parliament on 4th July (1). The seminar, staged jointly by Heathrow campaign group HACAN and the Aviation Environment Federation [2], brings together experts from across Europe to explore the issue. It will be hosted by Dr Tania Mathias, the Conservative MP for Twickenham.
Amongst the speakers will be Dirk Schreckenberg, one of the authors of the seminal NORAH study which looked at the link between noise and health at Frankfurt Airport, and Matt Gorman, Sustainability Director at Heathrow Airport. The third speaker will be West London resident Chris Keady who will talk about the impact on his mental health of living under a flight path. A sizeable number of MPs, noise experts and aviation campaigners are expected to attend the seminar.
John Stewart who chairs HACAN said, “Not too much is known about the impact of aircraft noise on mental health but the evidence that does exists suggest that people who have mental health issues can find aircraft noise particularly disturbing. There is a real problem if there is no escape from the noise which is why periods of respite are so important.”
Tim Johnson, Director of Aviation Environment Federation, said, “We see this as the beginning of a constructive dialogue involving noise experts, politicians, campaigners and the aviation industry to come up with practical ways of dealing with the impact of aircraft noise on people with mental health problems.“
ENDS
Notes for Editors:
[1] The seminar will take place in Room Q in Portcullis House, Westminster from 3.00pm – 4:30pm.
[2] The Aviation Environment Federation is a policy focused non-profit organisation supported by individuals and community groups. We work at national, European and international levels to secure effective regulation of the aviation industry.
For further information:
John Stewart on 0207 737 6641 or 07957385650
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Earlier:
AEF report finds UK’s out-of-date aircraft noise policies putting the health of over one million people at risk
A new report by the AEF has identified that the Government’s aircraft noise policies are risking the health of over one million people and an urgent policy rethink is needed ahead of runway decisions in 2016. Aircraft noise is associated with increased risk of increased blood pressure, and higher risk of heart attack, heart disease and stroke. Health is also detrimentally affected through sleep disturbance and annoyance. Aircraft noise impedes the memory and learning ability of school children. The UK’s aircraft noise policy has not been updated in line with this mounting evidence base, with some noise policies based on studies dating back to the early 1980s. The Government’s lack of response to emerging evidence on noise may be costing the UK £540 million each year.The noise problem is particularly acute at Heathrow, including many affected schools, but there are serious problems at many other airports too. The health burden is not just experienced close to airports, with high levels of noise miles from the runway. The current policy on flight paths does not consider the impact of sudden changes, or the health impacts of newly affected communities. The report calls for the Government to act now to reduce the health burden from aircraft noise. Long-term noise targets are needed to protect health, and all noise policies should be reviewed in the light of these targets. A new runway should only be permitted if the noise burdens are reduced.
The report: !Aircraft Noise and Public Health: the evidence is loud and clear”
- Summary
- Full report (58 pages)
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