Exposure-effect relationships between road traffic and aircraft noise exposure and reading comprehension: The RANCH Project. C Clark, R Martin, E van Kempen, H Davies, M M Haines, J Head, I Lopez-Barrio, M Matheson, S Stansfeld. Queen Mary, University of London, UK University of Stockholm, Sweden CSIC Madrid, Spain RIVM, Bilthoven Netherlands Göteborg University, Sweden

–Los Angeles Airport Study (Cohen et al., 1980, 1981) –New York Airport City (Evans & Maxwell, 1997) –Munich airport study (Evans et al., 1995; 1998) –Heathrow studies (Haines et al., 2001 a,b,c; 2002) Aircraft, road traffic & rail noise - the international studies Over twenty studies have reported that noise adversely affects children’s academic performance

Effects demonstrated for aircraft and road traffic noise Effects not always demonstrated after adjustment for socioeconomic status Effects may be reversible - Munich Study Mechanisms: –Restrict attention to central cues –Reduce learning motivation Noise Exposure & Reading Comprehension - the international studies

Gaps at the start of RANCH No exposure-effect relationships for noise and children’s health and cognition Fewer studies of the effects of road traffic noise No knowledge about the effect of combined noise exposure No comparison of effect size across countries Noise guideline values based on health effects for adults were proposed for children. A child evidence base was required

Objectives of the RANCH project To provide knowledge on exposure-effect relationships between chronic exposure to noise at school and children’s cognition and health - for aircraft noise - for road traffic noise - for combinations of aircraft and road traffic noise To provide knowledge on –the total impact of the sound environment –the relationship between road traffic noise and children’s sleep To provide guidelines for a pan-European policy taking advantage of the cross-border environmental diversity of four European countries

Heathrow airport, London, United Kingdom Schiphol airport, Amsterdam, the Netherlands Barajas airport, Madrid, Spain Common methodology between countries Examine exposure-effect relationships in 9-10 year old children between chronic exposure to noise at school and cognitive function health noise annoyance Airport Field Studies

School Selection Protocol Selection of study area, identification of primary schools Exclusion of non-state schools Schools matched within countries for socioeconomic status and main language spoken

School Noise Prediction Aircraft Noise Based on 16 hour outdoor L Aeq contours Road Traffic Noise In the NL, provided by modelled data using the EMPARA model In the UK & Spain, based on proximity to roads and traffic flow - data confirmed by on-site noise measurements Noise surveys at 4m distance from facade of main school entrance (exclusion of schools with insulation or other dominant noise source)

Noise Exposure Bandings Road Aircraft R4 R3 R2 R1 A4A3A2A1 71dB 32 dB 30 dB77dB 2 schools selected per cell based on SES matching and noise prediction

Reading Comprehension - Assessed using nationally standardised tests in each country. UK - Suffolk Reading Scale (Hagley, 2002) Spain - ECL-2 (de la Cruz, 1999) NL - CITO Readability Index (Staphorsius, 1994) Socioeconomic Variables -Assessed in questionnaires completed by the child and parent. Measures

Procedure Children aged 9-10 years No children excluded from selected classes Written consent from parents and children Classroom based testing with careful monitoring Standardised test procedures and instructions Acute noise measurement during testing

Sociodemographic Outcomes age gender employment status crowding home ownership mother’s educational attainment long standing illness main language classroom glazing parental support for school work Same measures achieved across all three countries

Participation rates 63%90%27920Spain 86%89%33730Netherlands 78%89%291182UK Parent Response Rate Child Response Rate No of schools No of children Data pooled and analysed using multilevel modelling

Relationship between aircraft noise exposure and reading comprehension B = change in outcome score associated with 1db change in noise NB: Multi-level Models adjusted for centre, age, gender, employment status, crowding, home ownership, mother’s education, long standing illness, main language and parental support.

Exposure-Effect relationship for Aircraft Noise Exposure and Reading Comprehension Reading age was delayed by up to 2 months in the UK and 1 month in the NL for a 5dB change in noise exposure Adjusted for age, gender and country

Relationship between road traffic noise exposure and reading comprehension B = change in outcome score associated with 1db change in noise NB: Multi-level Models adjusted for centre, age, gender, employment status, crowding, home ownership, mother’s education, long standing illness, main language and parental support.

Exposure-Effect relationship for Road Traffic Noise Exposure and Reading Comprehension Adjusted for age, gender and country

Discussion Inverse, linear relationship between aircraft noise exposure and reading comprehension in all three countries This relationship could not be accounted for by socioeconomic variables nor acute noise. Confirms the influence of chronic aircraft noise exposure on reading comprehension.

Why an effect for aircraft noise and not road traffic noise? No relationship between road traffic noise and reading comprehension in all three countries However, we cannot rule out an effect of road traffic noise at higher levels - > 71dB Aircraft noise = greater intensity - high short term levels Road traffic noise = more constant

Conclusions Similar effects of noise on reading performance across Spain, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom Action is recommended at a European level to provide healthy educational environments for children attending high noise exposed schools Noise exposure should be considered with other environmental aspects in the school planning process

Some remaining questions Long-term exposure Do impairments diminish if children are removed from noisy environments or increase if children remain in noisy environments? Intervention Does sound insulation have ameliorative effect on impairments in cognitive performance? Mechanisms What role do classroom acoustics and noise interference in teacher communication play in the causation of noise effects?