Airport Expansion Could Impair Reading in Children
June 3, 2005 7:50 PM
A new report published in The Lancet has concluded that exposure to high levels of aircraft noise could impair the development of reading and memory in children. Residents of Greatstone and Littlestone have been fighting expansion plans for Lydd Airport due to the proposed increase in the number of flights and size of aircraft that will approach the airport only a few hundred feet above local houses, and the report adds new concerns.
The researchers found reading age in children exposed to high levels of aircraft noise was delayed by up to 2 months in the UK and by up to 1 month in the Netherlands for a 5 decibel change in noise exposure. Increased exposure to aircraft noise was associated with increased stress and reduced quality of life. The authors conclude that schools exposed to high levels of aircraft noise are not healthy educational environments.
Liberal Democrat Shadow Transport Secretary, Tom Brake MP said:
"We already know aircraft emissions are causing significant climate change damage. We now have evidence the noise they are producing is damaging children's development.
"The Government must not allow unbridled expansion of the aviation industry."
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