Specialists in noise and health have been acting as expert witnesses to give evidence on noise and health to the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee. This is part of the Lords public inquiry on the impacts of noise pollution on human health. Last week Professor Anna Hansell, Professor Charlotte Clarke and Dr Antonio Torija Martinez explained epidemiological and technical evidence on noise and health impacts. This included explaining what environmental noise is – transport noise (road,rail, aircraft), noise from entertainment and leisure and industry. They also highlighted anticipated issues with noise from new technologies, like drones. It was explained that while it is clear that noise affects our health - including our sleep and cardiovascular health - the depth of knowledge and understanding of these impacts is limited by the research currently available. Also is difficult to fund research on noise and health as it is often unclear where responsibililty for noise sits - for example is it an environmental issue or a building issue. Also, when looking at policy on noise, while there is a government Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollution there is no equivalent for noise.
You can watch the full session on Parliament TV - Parliamentlive.tv - Science and Technology Committee (Lords)
