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Noise Pollution Drives Urban Sprawl

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By KAREN ORR

The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 25, 2008

Noise is one of the most frequently heard reasons for fleeing from the dense development of the city to the suburbs or

countryside.

Those seeking relief from intrusive noise pollution are often disappointed when their new suburban house is more miserably noisy than the city apartment they left behind.

Powerful amplification equipment (stereos, televisions, radios, etc.) in the hands of abusive or thoughtless people is often blasted at volumes so loud that the noise travels for great distances, intruding upon the lives of others day and night.

A new horror of suburban life is the "outdoor entertainment" equipment pushed by the home electronics industry in the form of outdoor loudspeakers, tiki bars wired for sound, loudspeakers imbedded in hot tubs, televisions for the porch and patio. It makes us wonder, what next? Mega bass boom systems for the riding lawnmower?

The damaging effects of noise exposure are an increasingly important public health problem.

Noise poses a serious threat to children's hearing, health, learning and behavior. It negatively impacts their cognitive development, blood pressure, sleep, digestion and stress-related disorders. Dr. Luther Terry, a former U.S. Surgeon General, says that excessive noise exposure during pregnancy can influence embryonic development.
Stress hormones released during prolonged noise exposure can impair the immune system.

Prolonged or excessive exposure to noise can cause permanent medical conditions, such as hypertension, heart disease and deafness. Noise can lead to headaches, tinnitus, impaired concentration, memory loss, poor job performance and lower test scores. Problems related to noise include stress, high blood pressure, lost productivity, and a general reduction in the quality of life.

The proliferation of noise pollution can be stopped by:

• Raising awareness about noise pollution.

• Strengthening laws and governmental efforts to control noise pollution.

• Enforcing noise ordinances.

• Restoring the EPA's Office of Noise Abatement and Control.

• Establishing networks among environmental, professional, medical, governmental, and activist groups working on noise pollution issues.

• Creating more civil cities and more natural rural and wilderness areas by reducing noise pollution at the source.

And always remember: "Good Neighbors Keep Their Noise to Themselves."

Karen Orr is Safe and Healthy Communities chair for the Florida League of Conservation Voters.

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