Pollution: harmful noise affects European children: reading difficulties for 550,000 and behavioral difficulties for 60,000

Brussels – In Europe, more than half a million children suffer from impaired reading skills, and nearly 60,000 have behavioral difficulties. The reason? Noise pollution. That’s the snapshot taken by the European Environment Agency (EEA) in a report showing that over one in five Europeans is exposed to long-term harmful noise from road, rail, and air transport.

“Environmental noise from transport sources such as vehicles, trains, and aircraft is among the most damaging environmental factors to health in Europe after air pollution. Living in an area affected by transport noise is associated with an increased risk of developing a wide range of health issues, including cardiovascular, metabolic, and mental health diseases,” the agency writes. “Chronic exposure to transport noise can also negatively affect children, especially because they are in an important learning and developmental phase. Growing evidence suggests that children exposed to transport noise at school or at home are more likely to suffer certain types of cognitive, learning, behavioral problems, and obesity,” the EEA said. “In addition, recent work on cognitive development in adolescents found that traffic noise was associated with anxiety and that early life exposure to transport noise could also lead to mental health issues in adulthood,” he pointed out.

The report — entitled ‘The Effect of Environmental Noise on Children’s Reading Ability and Behavior in Europe — shows that over 20 percent of the EU population, including children, live in areas where traffic noise levels are detrimental to their health and, in many urban areas, this proportion is as high as 50 percent. About 14 million children aged 6 to 17 years in Europe (including Iceland, Norway, and Switzerland) are exposed to average transport noise levels of 55 dB or higher. However, recent evidence indicates that the risk of cognitive and behavioral problems in children begins to increase in schools where the outdoor levels are below this threshold, while other studies note adverse effects associated with children’s exposure to traffic noise at home.

An estimated approximately 550 thousand cases of reading impairment per year are due to transportation noise in Europe – 84 percent of cases are due to road traffic noise, 15 percent to rail noise, and 1 percent to air noise – and about 60 thousand cases of behavioral difficulties annually are due to environmental transport noise in Europe, with the majority (about 86 percent) due to road traffic. The reality may be even worse because the agency points out that the results should be considered an underestimate since the data “do not comprehensively cover all roads, rail networks, airports and agglomerations,” but “only roads transited by more than three million vehicles per year, railways with more than 30 thousand trains per year, airports with more than 50 thousand movements per year, and agglomerations with more than 100 thousand inhabitants.” In addition, “not all cities map road and rail noise across all, or even most, streets. Some cities map the majority of their streets while others map only the busiest streets. As a result, there is not only an underestimation of impacts,” the report points out.

Regarding mitigation measures, the agency explained that, “Currently, there is a limited number of policy measures that limit children’s exposure to noise from transport” and that the World Health Organization has made the “most relevant” recommendations that call for noise levels in schoolyards not to exceed 55 dB and noise levels in indoor classrooms not to exceed 35 dB. In this context, “reducing children’s exposure to environmental noise from road, railway and air transport at home and at school can help decrease cases of reading impairment and behavioral problems,” according to the report. Studies have found that reduced levels of transportation noise can help mitigate negative effects on children, which include deficits in cognitive function, elevated stress biomarkers and lower perceived quality of life, highlighting the potential benefits of noise abatement strategies. “Importantly, some research also shows that cognitive deficits may diminish over time once the source of noise is eliminated. This emphasizes the necessity for timely actions and long-term planning in areas where children can be exposed to transportation noise. Additionally, studies evaluating interventions such as building modifications in schools have demonstrated improvements in terms of enhanced student concentration and decreased aggression,” the agency notes.

The proposals of the EU Environment Agency

Therefore, the Agency proposes intervention actions that are part of a comprehensive approach combining source-based measures, enhanced urban and transportation planning, and substantial reductions in road traffic in urban areas. “Localized interventions such as constructing noise barriers benefit those in a specific area,” leaving the broader context unaffected.

Among the measures the agency proposes are the design of school buildings to minimize exposure to outdoor noise and policies to reduce road, rail, and air noise emissions in residential areas with lower speed limits, traffic calming measures, and operating restrictions at airports and railways. It also recommends planting trees, shrubs, or installing earth berms around school buildings as a natural noise barrier; using noise reduction technologies in transportation infrastructure such as low-noise pavements, quiet tires, and low-noise aircraft; and creating designated quiet zones around schools and residential areas as buffer areas. Other measures include making soundproof windows, noise barriers, insulated doors, and panels; placing schools and bedrooms away from areas affected by transportation noise wherever possible; and implementing noise awareness programs for students and staff.

 Finally, the EEA recalls that the EU’s zero pollution action plan aims to reduce the number of people chronically disturbed by noise from transport by 30% by 2030 (compared with 2017). “However, based on current assessments, it is considered that this target will not be achieved.”