Britain is becoming an increasingly noisy country to live in. Road traffic, airport activity and advances in technology along with a growing demand for new housing and the development of infrastructure are all contributing to a constant hum which has simply become part and parcel of daily life. Most of us accept this as a necessary consequence of an ever-evolving world. But the trouble is that we drastically underestimate the threat it poses to our well-being.
According to recently published statistics, we are in the grip of an epidemic of devastating health problems caused by noise pollution. Let’s start with noise induced hearing loss, a term used to describe any partial or permanent loss of hearing that has been caused by exposure to excessive levels of noise. Incredibly, there are more than 10 million people in the UK with some form of hearing loss - one in six of the population. Whilst exposure to noise at work has been acknowledged as a serious health risk for a very long time, hearing loss is not the only medical problem which can arise as a result of noise. A study, carried out earlier this month linked noise to increased risk of stress-related illness, sleep disturbance and reduced quality of life. But, more worryingly, the research, carried out by The British Medical Journal, also found that exposure to loud sounds dramatically increased the risk of a person suffering life-threatening conditions such as coronary and cardiovascular disease or stroke. So what exactly can be done to protect people who live in the vicinity of noisy operations?
At Echo Barrier we know how vital it is to consider all the options that can be used to minimise the areas badly affected by noise. Amongst the most practical and convenient noise control techniques are those that involve the use of acoustic barriers that not only interfere with the spread of noise, but which also act as a ‘noise sponge’, preventing the reflections that make the problem worse. These absorptive barriers should be used in cases such as building sites, music events, road works and other temporary works to infrastructure. Not only do they drastically reduce the noise levels experienced by people in the vicinity of the site, they have also been shown to reduce the number of noise complaints made by people who live and work close by and, as most contractors will testify, complaints have a huge impact on the timing and budget of a works project.
Noise pollution is something we all need to take seriously. The most productive work sites are the ones who are demonstrating a duty of care to the community as a whole while also ensuring their projects run as smoothly as possible. For more information on Echo Barrier products visit www.echobarrier.co.uk