The assessment of the health benefits of a night curfew on truck traffic in an alpine valley: effects on sleep and annoyance

摘要

Background: The WHO-JCR has provided a general methodology to assess the health impact of environmental noise at larger scale. Switzerland used this methodology in a recent assessment. Other countries use their own assessment strategies. At smaller scales (regional, community) the application of this methodology is limited due to the use of standard exposure effect curves. In order to ensure to meet local needs (alpine valley) we adapted the methodology. Methods: We used actual GIS noise map information and merged it with GIS population information to get the number of noise exposed (30 to 70 dBA, L_(day), L_(evening) and L_(night)). On the effect side we used annoyance, sleep disturbance, hypertension and myocardial infarction. A mix of standard and regional exposure response information was applied. An upper and lower 95% confidence interval was derived for the prevalence estimates. With cost calculations we relied on the experience of the HEIMTSA-project. Results: The status quo yields high annoyance (3000-5000 persons) and high sleep disturbance (3000-4000 persons) as most important contributors. However, sleep disturbance shows the highest gain through a night curfew in truck traffic in health terms (number of affected, DALYs) and even more in health cost.