Train whistle noise - Effects on health, some ideas, solutions

Vinod Seth wrote on August 27, 2006 6:40 PM:"As a doctor I look for what is the major cause of an ailment and what if fixed would be of the most benefit to the patient. Careful thought is given to the final decision.

In the case of noise around Bismarck-Mandan, N Dakota I think train whistles by far and away fit those criteria best--because of both severity (loudness, 85dB) & frequency (>1000x/day.) Interstate highway noise would be a close second.

Both are fixable if we the people push for it - your city government controls train speeds through town and could hold that as leverage on BNSF or whatever railroad goes thru your towns. The city could require the railroad to give us safe, whistle free European type crossings to continue to go at 35 mph thru town, or cut speed to 15 mph 10pm to 7 am. It was probably 12 years ago that the our city Bismarck increased the speed of the trains from 30 to 35mph. That means we can cut it down too.

For highway I 94 speed its the state N Dakota DOT- we can cut speed thru town on the interstate to 40 mph from 10pm to 7 am and noise would be much more bearable. It was not too long ago that we raised it from 55 to 60mph. That may be a hard sell in the big cities considering how busy those highways are now. But the cities similar to Bismarck, metro population under 100,000 could still do that.

Bismarck Mandan and all of N Dakota, as well as the smaller cities have a precious resource - their quiet. Growth from those who choose to move here or return here from the noisy sprawling big metro areas of a million plus will depend on how well we preserve that resource.
Or we can be sure our cities will sprawl further out as people move out further and further from the city centers to escape noise (without even knowing that that is their motivation)

How do we convince our city, county and state leaders.

How do we compel them to think of our health and that of all the children.

Now, not 10 years from now."


HEALTH EFFECTS OF NOISE

Vinod Seth wrote on August 24, 2006 12:53 PM:" Health effects of noise- a study from Austria- where they studied children exposed to different levels of much less noise 50 db vs 60 dB. I quote "Children in the noisier areas had elevated resting systolic blood pressure and 8-h, overnight urinary cortisol. The children from noisier neighborhoods also evidenced elevated heart rate reactivity to a discrete stressor (reading test) in the laboratory and rated themselves higher in perceived stress symptoms on a standardized index." Cortisol levels in the urine are a marker of stress - the well known fight or flight response which is what saved us through our evolutionary development from sudden dangers. It is subconscious. Find the original article at - The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America -- March 2001 -- Volume 109, Issue 3, pp. 1023-1027.

Also please read - The influence of subjective reactions to noise on health effects of the noise.Environment International, Volume 22, Number 1, 1996, pp. 93-104(12) - concerns in this article were for those exposed to high levels of night noise and included high blood pressure, immune dysfunction. Other researchers have noted anxiety and psychiatric disorders as well as overeating (is obesity connected? I will leave that to somebody else to comment.) .

Yes it is expensive to redo the railroad crossings so that they are safer and noise free but the health of the people, of our children is not for sale. There is no overarching right to profit and specially not at the cost of our health."