Noise from roads, airports and equipment like leaf blowers has been linked with serious health impacts. Decades ago, the U.S. government passed a law limiting it, but it has no teeth.
to limit the loud sounds people are exposed to in everyday life. The group is now waiting to hear if it will be able to argue its case in front of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
Today, if you live within earshot of an interstate highway, if your child’s school sits next to train tracks, or if your neighbor is out there wielding a gas-powered leaf blower — you’re mostly out of luck. The Ronald Reagan administration began the process of defunding Elkins’ office in 1981, saying local communities rather than the federal government could regulate environmental noise. The office remains defunded to this day.
The increases are small — for example, though the exact number varies among studies, road traffic noise increases the risk of death from coronary artery disease by about 5% for every 10 A-weighted decibel, or dBA, increases in traffic noise exposure. For scale, 20 dBA is a whisper in a quiet room, 85 dBA is louder than a typical alarm clock and softer than a typical lawnmower, and 110 dBA is the sound of a rock concert or jackhammer. The last time the EPA suggested any noise limits was in 1974, before the health effects were well known. Those limits were an average of 70 dB over 24 hours to prevent hearing damage, and 55 dB outdoors/45 dB indoors over 24 hours for general comfort.
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