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The Trade-Off between Optimizing Flight Patterns and Human Health: A Case Study of Aircraft Noise in Queens, NY, USA.

ABSTRACT: Objectives: Airports in the U.S. have gradually been transitioning to automated flight systems. These systems generate new flight paths over populated areas. While they can improve flight efficiency, the increased noise associated with these novel flight patterns potentially pose serious health threats to the overflown communities. In this case study, we estimated the monetary benefits relative to health losses associated with one significant change in flight patterns at LaGuardia Airport, year-round use of "TNNIS Climb", which happened in 2012 as a result of flight automation in New York City. Prior to that, the use of the TNNIS Climb was limited to the U.S. Open tennis matches. Methods: We developed a decision-analytic model using Markov health states to compare the costs and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) gained associated with the limited use of TNNIS (old status quo) and the year-round use of TNNIS (current status quo). The TNNIS Climb increases airplane noise to above 60 decibels (dB) over some of the most densely populated areas of the city. We used this increased exposure to noise as the basis for estimating ground-level health using data from sound monitors. The total costs (including both direct and indirect costs), QALYs, and the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) were estimated for the limited versus the year-round use of the TNNIS Climb. Results: The incremental lifetime costs and QALYs per person exposed to noise associated with the limited versus the year-round use of TNNIS was $11,288, and 1.13, respectively. Therefore, the limited use of TNNIS had an ICER of $10,006/QALY gained relative to the year-round of TNNIS. Our analyses were robust to changes in assumptions and data inputs. Conclusions: Despite increases in efficiency, flight automation systems without a careful assessment of noise might generate flight paths over densely populated areas and cause serious health conditions for the overflown communities.

SUBMITTER: Zafari Z

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6121545 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The Trade-Off between Optimizing Flight Patterns and Human Health: A Case Study of Aircraft Noise in Queens, NY, USA.

Zafari Zafar Z Jiao Boshen B Will Brian B Li Shukai S Muennig Peter Alexander PA

International journal of environmental research and public health 20180815 8

<i>Objectives:</i> Airports in the U.S. have gradually been transitioning to automated flight systems. These systems generate new flight paths over populated areas. While they can improve flight efficiency, the increased noise associated with these novel flight patterns potentially pose serious health threats to the overflown communities. In this case study, we estimated the monetary benefits relative to health losses associated with one significant change in flight patterns at LaGuardia Airport ...[more]

PMID: 30111739

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Project description:IntroductionAircraft noise is one of the most significant sources of environmental pollution in large cities. During the COVID-19 pandemic, strict lockdown in community might increase residents' discomfort with the noise, which could disrupt public activities and reduce subjective well-being. Most of the existing studies considered aircraft noise as a single sound source, which have ignored the influence of other sounds in the community. This paper applied field survey to identify the soundscape and non-acoustic factors related to aircraft noise evaluation.MethodsPaper questionnaires were delivered to select residents of three sample residential areas near Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport to investigate residents' general health, evaluation of aircraft noise, community activities, and attitudinal factors. The relationship between respondent's noise evaluations and subjective factors were investigated through statistical analyses controlling for measured aircraft noise levels and the existence of soundscape facilities.ResultsThe results indicated that the negative effects of aircraft noise were enhanced during the lock down, especially for frequent space users and those residents in poor health status. Under conditions of similar levels of aircraft noise exposure, communities with more birdsong and fountain sounds had lower proportion of highly annoyed respondents and higher level of soundscape ratings. This paper further indicated that personal factors including fear of air travel, noise sensitivity, and the frequency of outdoor activity had increased the level of annoyance to aircraft noise, while higher degree of annoyance to aircraft noise was associated with poor health status.DiscussionThe findings implied the moderating effects of subjective factors and the restorative effects of natural sounds, which could inform aircraft noise control and community consultation strategies by protecting vulnerable populations and creating community soundscape facilities. Future research might conduct a pre- and post-experiment to estimate the potential causal impact of the soundscape intervention.

Project description:BackgroundCommunities with lower socioeconomic status and higher prevalence of racial/ethnic minority populations are often more exposed to environmental pollutants. Although studies have shown associations between aircraft noise and property values and various health outcomes, little is known about how aircraft noise exposures are sociodemographically patterned.ObjectiveOur aim was to describe characteristics of populations exposed to aviation noise by race/ethnicity, education, and income in the United States.MethodsAircraft noise contours characterized as day-night average sound level (DNL) were developed for 90 U.S. airports in 2010 for DNL ≥45 dB(A) in 1-dB(A) increments. We compared characteristics of exposed U.S. Census block groups at three thresholds (≥45, ≥55, and ≥65 dB(A)), assigned on the basis of the block group land area being ≥50% within the threshold, vs. unexposed block groups near study airports. Comparisons were made across block group race/ethnicity, education, and income categories within the study areas (n=4,031-74,253). We performed both multinomial and other various multivariable regression approaches, including models controlling for airport and models with random intercepts specifying within-airport effects and adjusting for airport-level means.ResultsAggregated across multiple airports, block groups with a higher Hispanic population had higher odds of being exposed to aircraft noise. For example, the multinomial analysis showed that a 10-percentage point increase in a block group's Hispanic population was associated with an increased odds ratio of 39% (95% CI: 25%, 54%) of being exposed to ≥65 dB(A) compared with block groups exposed to <45 dB(A). Block groups with higher proportions of residents with only a high school education had higher odds of being exposed to aircraft noise. Results were robust across multiple regression approaches; however, there was substantial heterogeneity across airports.DiscussionThese results suggest that across U.S. airports, there is indication of sociodemographic disparities in noise exposures. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP9307.

Project description:BackgroundFew studies have considered aircraft noise annoyance and noise sensitivity in analyses of the health effects of aircraft noise, especially in relation to medication use. This study aims to investigate the moderating and mediating role of these two factors in the relationship between aircraft noise levels and medication use among 5860 residents of ten European airports included in the HYENA and DEBATS studies.MethodsInformation on aircraft noise annoyance, noise sensitivity, medication use, and demographic, socio-economic and lifestyle factors was collected during a face-to-face interview at home. Medication was coded according to the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) classification. Outdoor aircraft noise exposure was estimated by linking the participant's home address to noise contours using Geographical Information Systems (GIS) methods. Logistic regressions with adjustment for potential confounding factors were used. In addition, Baron and Kenny's recommendations were followed to investigate the moderating and mediating effects of aircraft noise annoyance and noise sensitivity.ResultsA significant association was found between aircraft noise levels at night and antihypertensive medication only in the UK (OR = 1.43, 95%CI 1.19-1.73 for a 10 dB(A)-increase in Lnight). No association was found with other medications. Aircraft noise annoyance was significantly associated with the use of antihypertensive medication (OR = 1.33, 95%CI 1.14-1.56), anxiolytics (OR = 1.48, 95%CI 1.08-2.05), hypnotics and sedatives (OR = 1.60, 95%CI 1.07-2.39), and antasthmatics (OR = 1.44, 95%CI 1.07-1.96), with no difference between countries. Noise sensitivity was significantly associated with almost all medications, with the exception of the use of antasthmatics, showing an increase in ORs with the level of noise sensitivity, with differences in ORs among countries only for the use of antihypertensive medication. The results also suggested a mediating role of aircraft noise annoyance and a modifying role of both aircraft noise annoyance and noise sensitivity in the association between aircraft noise levels and medication use.ConclusionsThe present study is consistent with the results of the small number of studies available to date suggesting that both aircraft noise annoyance and noise sensitivity should be taken into account in analyses of the health effects of exposure to aircraft noise.

Project description:BackgroundPrevious studies reported an association between transportation noise and self-reported health status (SRHS). They also suggested a mediating role of noise annoyance using conventional statistical methods. These methods are subject to bias in longitudinal studies with time-dependent exposure, mediator and confounding factors. This study aims to investigate the mediating role of aircraft noise annoyance in the effect of aircraft noise on SRHS using a causal inference approach to address time-dependent variables issues.MethodsWe used data from 881 participants in all three visits in the DEBATS longitudinal study conducted around three French airports. Participants over 18 years of age reported their self-perceived health status, aircraft noise annoyance, and noise sensitivity by completing a questionnaire at three visits in 2013, 2015 and 2017. Noise maps were used to estimate aircraft noise levels outside their homes. Marginal structural models with inverse probability weighting were used to estimate the total effect of aircraft noise levels on SRHS and its decomposition into direct and indirect effect through aircraft noise annoyance.ResultsThis study showed a deleterious effect of aircraft noise on SRHS. The odds ratio (OR) corresponding to the total effect and comparing the highest aircraft noise category (≥60 dBA) to the reference category (<50 dBA) was significant (ORpoor/fair_SHRS = 1.25 (95%CI: 1.06 to 2.08)). It also showed no direct effect of aircraft noise levels on SRHS, but an indirect effect through annoyance. This indirect effect increased as aircraft noise levels increased, with a statistically significant OR when comparing the highest noise category (≥60 dBA) to the lowest (<50 dBA) (ORpoor/fair_SHRS = 1.16 (95%CI: 1.03 to 1.52)). Nearly 66% of aircraft noise's effect on SRHS was mediated by aircraft noise annoyance.ConclusionThis study supports the deleterious causal effect of aircraft noise on SRHS. The results highlight the important mediating role of aircraft noise annoyance in the causal pathway from exposure to aircraft noise to poor/fair SRHS.

Dataset Information

The Trade-Off between Optimizing Flight Patterns and Human Health: A Case Study of Aircraft Noise in Queens, NY, USA.

Publications

The Trade-Off between Optimizing Flight Patterns and Human Health: A Case Study of Aircraft Noise in Queens, NY, USA.

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