Aircraft noise and public health : acoustical measurement and social survey around Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport

The development of major commercial airports promotes the air transport industry and generates positive economic benefits to the airport and to its host economy. However, external costs are associated with these benefits. Any increase in aircraft movement causes negative environmental impacts, especially noise pollution. Governments have reduced aircraft noise levels at their sources, or introduced aircraft noise management strategies (ANMS); however the problems have never been satisfactorily resolved. This research aims at developing a better understanding of the impacts of aircraft noise on community health and well-being by exploring two core research questions: (1) Is health related quality of life worse in communities chronically exposed to aircraft noise than in communities not exposed?; and (2) Does long-term aircraft noise exposure associate with adult high blood pressure level via noise stress as a mediating factor?.The Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport has been selected as a case study. The health survey instruments have been developed and piloted, and then translated from English into Greek and Arabic. A postal self-administrative health survey (with follow-up letters) has been implemented in the areas surrounding Sydney Airport (called aircraft noise exposure group) and in the matched control group. The total sample size was 1,500 with 47% response rate. This thesis has developed a new noise index (named Noise Gap Index, NGI) to describe and assess aircraft noise in such a way that is easily understood by the layperson.Factorial analysis of covariance revealed that Health related quality of life, in term of physical functioning, general health, vitality, and mental health, of community chronically exposed to high aircraft noise level were worse than the matched control area. Binary logistic regression analysis found that Subjects (aged 15 87) who have been chronically exposed to high aircraft noise level have the odds of 2.61 of having chronic noise stress. In addition person who have chronic noise stress have the odds of 2.74 of having hypertension compared with those without chronic noise stress. Finally, the robust hypotheses of effects of aircraft noise on community health and well-being for future experimental study were proposed