Annoyance and perception of noise in rural and urban French areas (20m Lecture)

Traffic, urban, and occupational noises are now described as major environmental problems, which can greatly interfere with health. The degree of affect - especially noise perception and annoyance - can vary between subjects, according to their occupational status, their place of life and their pre-existing diseases. These points have been investigated by a cross-sectional study performed in an urban area (UA) and in a rural area (RA) of Auvergne (France). The aim of this study was to identify the main factors affecting noise perception and annoyance.

Data have been collected with a standardized questionnaire, applied to 484 subjects (242 living in UA and 242 in RA). Subjects were asked about their socio-demographic characteristics, exposures to occupational noise and to domestic noise, present diseases and feeling of health status. Statistical analysis were performed with Fischer test, Chi2 test or Fisher's Exact Test. Logistic regression models and multiple linear regression were used to identify factors of noise annoyance (with Stata v12).  484 subjects (308 women and 176 men) were included. Comparable mean ages are observed in both population (46.2 +/- 18.9 yrs in UA - 47.7 +/- 17.4 yrs in RA), with a significant female predominance noted in UA (67%) comparatively to RA (58%). Both populations recognized noise pollution as a major environmental problem. A majority of subjects has been occupationally exposed (66% in UA - 61% in RA), but few of them have used regularly individual hearing protection (14% in UA - 23% in RA). Most people live with their family (82% in RA - 70% in UA), mainly in house in RA (76%) or in apartment in UA (74%). In the vicinity of home, noise annoyance is mentioned and it is especially associated with road traffic, building tools, airports, neighbours, restaurants/pubs, rail traffic and industrial activities. In this study, the perception and the noise annoyance is specially explained by gender (females are more annoyed by noise than males) and age (the level of noise annoyance is inversely linked to the age); place of life (UA or RA) and pre-existing diseases were less contributive.

Developing policy to address near roadway pollution health hazards (50m Lecture)

Particulate air pollution is estimated to cause about 3.2 million deaths annually worldwide. Field research has shown that pollutants are elevated next to major traffic sources, including ultrafine particles (UFP), black carbon, oxides of nitrogen, carbon monoxide, and others. Studies also show that proximity to major roadways and highways is associated with risk of cardiovascular, pulmonary and other health outcomes. However, noise, SES and other possible risk factors have not been entirely ruled out yet. While federal regulations exist for fine particulate matter, near roadway exposures are largely unregulated. California has limited siting of new schools next to freeways and San Francisco requires enhanced ventilation in buildings near local pollution sources in some circumstances. But there are currently no well-established approaches to regulating near roadway pollution. Beyond regulation, it might be possible to design urban sites and buildings in ways that would be protective. However, LEED certification provides little incentive to include high end filtration in the ventilation systems of housing located near heavy traffic. Nor do building codes

or zoning requirements to our knowledge, although these vary considerably from place to place. While health impact assessments and environmental impact reviews have the potential to introduce protective measures, they rarely do so with regard to local traffic pollution. One problem is the use of fine PM as a metric for near roadway exposures when this marker is elevated only slightly next to roads. In this session I will review the evidence for a need to address “hot spots” of traffic pollution and the challenges for regulating and responding to it. I will report on the ideas emerging from a project that I direct (funded by the Kresge Foundation) that seeks to influence policy and practice in the Boston area. In the City of Somerville, just north of Boston, we are developing municipal policies that are protective of pollution from the highway running through the city. In Boston Chinatown we are seeking to influence the design and construction of near highway housing to insure that it is protective.

How Do I Know If a Health Impact Assessment Is Needed? (50m Lecture)

Health impact assessment (HIA) is an analytical tool that can be incorporated into policy or project decision-making processes prior to implementation. It has been developing internationally for over 20 years and is burgeoning in usage in the United States: in 2007, there were 27 completed HIAs in the United States; in 2013 over 225 HIAs had been completed or were in progress.

This lecture will briefly review the key components of an HIA but will focus on the first phase: screening. This phase considers if there could be significant health effects if a proposed project or policy were implemented and whether an HIA is feasible given the context and resources available. Assuming sufficient information is available to complete the screening, the end result would be a recommendation to either move forward with an HIA (rapid or full) or to not perform an HIA.

Participants will be shown how to perform the screening phase, provided helpful tools, and instructed on interpretation of the findings. Not only is this process a critical first step in performing an HIA, but it is a cost-effective, relatively rapid approach to decide whether to complete an HIA. Even if an HIA is not conducted, the screening may highlight environmental and other potential health impacts that had not previously been associated with the project or policy to stimulate broader dialogue and more informed decision-making.

Protecting and improving environmental health by influencing policy: advocacy techniques & approaches (1h 50m Learning Lab Tabletop/Group Exercise)

Advocacy for health protection and improvement is recognised as a key aspect of public health practice. Yet many environmental health practitioners might think of policy-making as something which is ‘done to them’ rather than a process to be actively influenced. This Learning Lab will introduce delegates to skills and techniques for analysing the key policy drivers and actors in the policy-making process and develop interventions to effectively influence the policy agenda.

 

Delegates will work in groups utilising a case study format to establish the chief drivers for policy action, analyse the roles and viewpoints of key actors in the process and identify points at which influence can most effectively be achieved. This activity will be supported by use of a range of policy analysis tools from international organizations such as the United Nations Environment Programme and the World Health Organization.

This analysis will then be applied to develop advocacy interventions to effectively influence the development of policies for the protection and improvement of environmental health.        

The Effects of Organic Pollutants in Soil on Human Health (Poster)

The soil has always been depository of the organic chemicals produced naturally or anthropogenically. Soil contamination is a serious human and environmental problem. Evidence has shown the risks of adverse health effects with contaminated soil due to the large quantities of organic chemicals used in agriculture and urban areas that have a legacy of environmental pollution linked to industrial activities, coal burning, motor vehicle

Image: en.wikipedia.org

emissions, waste incineration and waste dumping. In agricultural areas, the increasing use of organic chemicals, and the resulting pollution has enormous potential for environmental damage.  The organic pollutants commonly found in soils are polychlorinated biphenyls, polybrominated biphenyls, polychlorinated dibenzofurans, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, organophosphorus and carbamate insecticides, herbicides, gasoline and diesel. Other sources are the complex mixture of organic chemicals, metals and microorganisms in the effluent from septic systems, animal wastes and biowaste.Human exposure to organic pollutants in the soil is an area of toxicology that is very difficult to study due to the low concentration of the pollutants. The studies of single organic pollutants found in soils are limited and research on the metabolites and chemical mixtures are very limited. The majority of studies are at high doses and short periods of exposure, making the application of this data very difficult. Toxicologists needs to include persistent organics and bioaccumulating pollutants in more studies. We do not know if the addition of organics chemicals to the soil is creating very toxic xenobiotics, at very low concentrations, but with important health effects to humans.