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More than half of German people suffer noise exposure
The Federal Environment Agency (UBA) is making an urgent plea for more commitment in the area of noise protection. "Noise is a source of stress which may only be felt locally, but noise occurs practically everywhere in Germany. Every second person in Germany feels disturbed or annoyed by noise, and noise can also make you ill", said the Agency's President, Jochen Flasbarth, upon publication of UBA's Schwerpunkte 2013 in Berlin. He pointed to studies done by the Agency which prove that even low, continuous night-time noise levels of 40 dB(A) significantly increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases and psychological disorders. The main source of noise has long been road traffic: according to a representative UBA survey, about 54 per cent of German people report feeling disturbed or annoyed by cars and lorries in their residential surroundings. The World Health Organization (WHO) says that 61,000 "healthy" years of life are lost in western Europe every year owing to traffic-induced cardiovascular diseases. read more
