Research shows that chronic noise can lead to heightened stress levels and inflammation of the arteries, which in turn triggers cardiovascular problems.Īccording to the EEA, noise is a factor in an estimated 48,000 new cases of ischemic heart disease each year annually some 12,000 premature deaths across Europe are attributed to consistent exposure to sound pollution.īut despite the obvious threat, the EU is way behind on efforts to turn down the volume.Īs part of the European Green Deal, the European Commission has issued a Zero Pollution Action Plan that set the goal of reducing the share of people “chronically disturbed by transport noise” by 30 percent compared to 2017 levels by the end of the decade.īut draft estimates by the agency indicate the number of people chronically affected by traffic noise might actually increase by 2030. “Those serious effects include ischemic heart disease, high blood pressure, obesity and diabetes.”

“People do not realize that long-term exposure to noise from the road traffic in our neighborhoods and cities every day can cause other effects that go beyond hearing damage,” Peris said. That has serious health impacts that go far beyond the obvious, said Eulalia Peris, an expert on environmental noise at the European Environment Agency (EEA). In many urban centers more than half the population is exposed to levels above those recommended by the EU - mainly because they live and work near busy roads. One in five Europeans are exposed to harmful noise levels daily. Noise pollution isn’t just annoying: It’s a scourge that kills thousands of Europeans a year.

“The sound radar - which we call the Hydra - has four microphones and cameras that point in each direction, so that it can not only detect noise, but also the vehicle generating it,” explained Fanny Mietlicki, director of Bruitparif, a non-profit environmental organization tasked with monitoring environmental noise in Greater Paris.

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