Tuesday, April 25, 2000

Urban noise a growing problem, new report claims
Detrimental effects: In advance of police 'copter trials, health officials worry about sound's impact

Robert Benzie
National Post

As Toronto police prepare for the potentially noisy launch of a helicopter pilot project this summer, the city's public health department is trying to raise awareness about the growing problem of urban noise.

In a report to be tabled at the Board of Health meeting on Monday, Dr. Sheela Basrur, Toronto's medical officer of health, urges the city's various branches of government to work together to address the issue.

"It is recommended that the medical officer of health, the commissioner of urban development services and the commissioner of works and emergency services collaborate on their respective public outreach activities regarding the health effects of noise and measures to prevent or minimize noise in the community," writes Dr. Basrur.

Noting that the population of the Greater Toronto Area is expected to increase by 40% over the next 20 years and that the expansion of Pearson Airport will see a rise of air traffic from 27-million passengers annually to 50-million by 2010, she said indications are that the city is getting noisier.

"[Downtown Toronto] is becoming known as a centre for music festivals on city streets, parks and public areas. This increase in public leisure activities will likely add to the noise levels in the city."

While the report does not specifically refer to helicopters, it points out that a cause for concern is "low frequency noise from ... vehicles, aircraft, industrial machinery and air movement machinery, including wind turbines, compressors, indoor ventilation and air conditioning units."

Prolonged exposure to these types of sounds can have detrimental effects on health. According to Dr. Basrur, "excessive noise can also induce or aggravate stress-related health outcomes, including those on the cardiovascular system, immune system, sleep, task performance, behaviour and mental health."

Her study will be presented exactly two months before a patrol chopper gets airborne on July 1.

As disclosed by the National Post last month, Needless Noise, a 68-page report by the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC), a U.S. think-tank, concludes that helicopters hovering over residential areas pose a health hazard.

"Aircraft noise has been found to produce a number of adverse health effects, ranging from headaches, sleep disruption and hypertension to compromised cardiovascular and gastrointestinal functions," says the American study, completed last December.

"Limited but growing research and the experience of populations in heavily helicopter-impacted localities strongly indicate that helicopter noise ... can affect human health, well-being and learning ability," it said.

With a sound level measured at around 96 decibels, according to the NRDC, choppers are louder than many other urban annoyances, such as traffic (80 decibels), the subway (90 decibels), lawnmowers (85 to 90 decibels) and diesel trucks (84 decibels).

However, they are not as noisy as jackhammers (110 decibels), shotgun blasts (130 decibels), jet flyovers (103 decibels) or discotheques (120 decibels).

Tom Jakobek, the city's budget chief and the most prominent civic official to voice concern about patrol helicopters buzzing above Toronto for 18 hours a day, said noise pollution generated by the contraptions must not be ignored.

"Noise is a big deal. You can't get around noise as an issue with these things [helicopters]," said Mr. Jakobek, who approved the six-month pilot project for the police only after imposing seven stringent conditions on the experiment.

Among these was that $905,000 test -- which is being funded by private donations, although a larger, permanent air squadron would be paid for by the city at a cost in excess of $5-million a year -- include a "noise complaint and management strategy."

Should strict monitoring of aircraft noise levels not be done to the public's satisfaction, Mr. Jakobek warned that Toronto police could be grounded once the pilot project concludes on Dec. 31.

"I still don't believe that helicopters are needed in this city. But the best way to deal with something like this is to let them go and have their six months and then prove it," he said, adding that City Hall, not the police, will do the final audit on the test.

"With this report, the Board of Health is, as usual, doing its own thing and the police are doing their own thing, but at the end of the day, they're going to have to get it together -- or it's going to cost taxpayers a lot of money."

That's because if it is felt that, for noise reasons, the best option is a fleet of expensive "whisper helicopters," the city's costs would skyrocket.