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Title: Noise Pollution Harms Health of Millions Across Europe, Report Finds

Link: https://science.slashdot.org/story/25/06/24/2...

More than 110 million people across Europe suffer high levels of health-
damaging noise pollution, according to a report. The resulting physiological
stress and sleep disturbance leads to 66,000 early deaths a year and many
cases of heart disease, diabetes and depression. The Guardian: The report,
from the European Environment Agency (EEA), focuses on noise from cars,
trains and aeroplanes and found that 20% of the population of the European
Economic Area (EEA) were affected. Separate research, using a slightly lower
threshold for dangerous noise pollution, found that 40% of the UK population
were exposed to harmful transport noise. Seventeen million people endure
particularly high noise pollution -- "long-term, high-annoyance" -- and
almost 5 million suffer "severe" sleep disturbance. Fifteen million children
live in areas of harmful noise. The harm to health from noise is greater than
that from higher-profile risks including secondhand tobacco smoke or lead
exposure, and incurs an economic cost of almost $116bn a year, the analysis
found. The damage to health is likely to be an underestimate, the researchers
said. Using the World Health Organization's stricter threshold for risky
noise pollution gives an estimate of 150 million people across Europe
exposed. The EU's target to cut the number of people chronically disturbed by
transport noise by 30% by 2030 will not be met without further action, the
researchers said.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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