Mit der Veroeffentlichung im Amtsblatt der Europaeischen Gemeinschaften ist die "Richtlinie des Europaeischen Parlaments und des Rates ueber die Bewertung und die Bekaempfung von Umgebungslaerm" in Kraft getreten. Die Europaeische Gemeinschaft hat damit erstmalig eine rechtliche Regelung hinsichtlich der Geraeuschimmissionen in der Umwelt erlassen. Die Richtlinie soll ein gemeinsames Konzept festlegen, um schaedliche Auswirkungen, einschliesslich Belaestigung, durch Umgebungslaerm zu verhindern, ihnen vorzubeugen oder sie zu mindern. Sie soll weiterhin eine Grundlage fuer die Einfuehrung von Gemeinschaftsmassnahmen zur Laermminderung bei den wichtigsten Laermquellen darstellen. Die Anforderungen der Richtlinie werden vorgestellt und erklaert, und es werden erste Ansaetze fuer ein Umsetzungskonzept dargestellt. (A) ABSTRACT IN ENGLISH: The "Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council relating to the assessment and management of environmental noise" has been published in the Official Journal of the European Communities and thus entered into force. The aim of this Directive shall be to define a common approach intended to avoid, prevent or reduce the harmful effects, including annoyance, due to exposure to environmental noise. It shall also aim at providing a basis for developing Community measures to reduce noise emitted by the major sources. The requirements of the Directive are presented and discussed and first ideas concerning the transposition in national legislation are given. (A)

Die EG-Richtlinie zur Bewertung und Bekaempfung von Umgebungslaerm / The European Directive relating to the assessment and management of environmental noise

Previous research shows poorer birth outcomes for racial and ethnic minorities and for persons with low socioeconomic status (SES). We evaluated whether mothers in groups at higher risk for poor birth outcomes live in areas of higher air pollution and whether higher exposure to air pollution contributes to poor birth outcomes. An index representing long-term exposure to criteria air pollutants was matched with birth certificate data at the county level for the United States in 1998-1999. We used linear regression to estimate associations between the air pollution index and maternal race and educational attainment, a marker for SES of the mother, controlling for age, parity, marital status, and region of the country. Then we used logistic regression models both to estimate likelihood of living in counties with the highest levels of air pollution for different racial groups and by educational attainment, adjusting for other maternal risk factors, and to estimate the effect of living in counties with higher levels of air pollution on preterm delivery and births small for gestational age (SGA). Hispanic, African-American, and Asian/Pacific Islander mothers experienced higher mean levels of air pollution and were more than twice as likely to live in the most polluted counties compared with white mothers after controlling for maternal risk factors, region, and educational status [Hispanic mothers: adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 4.66; 95% confidence interval (95% CI), 1.92-11.32; African-American mothers: AOR = 2.58; 95% CI, 1.00-6.62; Asian/Pacific Islander mothers: AOR = 2.82; 95% CI, 1.07-7.39]. Educational attainment was not associated with living in counties with highest levels of the air pollution index (AOR = 0.95; 95% CI, 0.40-2.26) after adjusting for maternal risk factors, region of the country, and race/ethnicity. There was a small increase in the odds of preterm delivery (AOR = 1.05; 95% CI, 0.99-1.12) but not SGA (AOR = 0.96; 95% CI, 0.86-1.07) in a county with high air pollution. Additional risk of residing in areas with poor air quality may exacerbate health problems of infants and children already at increased risk for poor health.

Disparities in exposure to air pollution during pregnancy

Long term effects of traffic noise on mortality in the city of Barcelona, 2004-2007.

The aim of this study was to determine the elements of fatigue in occupations which constitute possible risk factors for the course of a pregnancy, and, in particular, that could cause premature birth. In 1977-1978, a total of 3437 women in France were surveyed after giving birth in two maternity hospitals. One hospital was located in Lyon (a large city) and the other in Haguenau (a small town). Among 1928 working women, it was found that certain occupational categories are more prone to risk of prematurity than others. The authors carried out an analytical breakdown of the job into its diverse components which led them to define five sources of fatigue and to construct an index capable of detecting the strenuous working conditions. There is a significant relationship between the prematurity rate and the number of high fatigue scores observed in the job. When the number of scores varies from 0 to 5 the rate of premature births increases from 2.3% to 11.1%. This relationship remains significant after controlling for confounding factors.

Prematurity and Occupational Activity during Pregnancy

Acute exposure to fine and coarse particulate matter and infant mortality in Tokyo, Japan (2002-2013).

Few studies have explored how noise might contribute to social health inequalities, and even fewer have considered infant mortality or its risk factors as the health event of interest. In this paper, we investigate the impact of neighbourhood characteristics - both socio-economic status and ambient noise levels - on the spatial distribution of infant mortality in the Lyon metropolitan area, in France. All infant deaths (n = 715) occurring between 2000 and 2009 were geocoded at census block level. Each census block was assigned multi-component socio-economic characteristics and Lden levels, which measure exposure to noise. Using a spatial–scan statistic, we examined whether there were significant clusters of high risk of infant mortality according to neighbourhood characteristics. Our results highlight the fact that infant mortality is non-randomly distributed spatially, with clusters of high risk in the south-east of the Lyon metropolitan area (RR = 1.44; p = 0.09). After adjustments for socio-economic characteristics and noise levels, this cluster disappears or shifts according to in line with different scenarios, suggesting that noise and socio-economic characteristics can partially explain the spatial distribution of infant mortality. Our findings show that noise does have an impact on the spatial distribution of mortality after adjustments for socio-economic characteristics. A link between noise and infant mortality seems plausible in view of the three hypothetical, non-exclusive, pathways we propose in our conceptual framework: (i) a psychological pathway, (ii) a physiological disruption process and (iii) an unhealthy behaviours pathway. The lack of studies makes it is difficult to compare our findings with others. They require further research for confirmation and interpretation.

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Jérôme Defrance

Papers

An exploratory spatial analysis to assess the relationship between deprivation, noise and infant mortality: an ecological study.