Light Pollution and Noise Pollution Pose ‘Neglected’ Hazards, Health Experts Warn

The Science and Technology Committee of the House of Lords of the UK has published a new report that highlights harmful health impacts from artificial light pollution and noise pollution. It recommends increased research and policies for these “neglected pollutants” that lack regulation and have impacts that are not well understood.

The report, titled “The neglected pollutants: the effects of artificial light and noise on human health,” shows how these pollutants negatively impact human health, which can also lead to poor economic and social outcomes.

“Not only can they cause annoyance, impacting quality of life, but through the disruption of sleep and circadian rhythms, both noise and light pollution can contribute to heart disease and premature death,” Julia King, Baroness Brown of Cambridge and chair of the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee, said in a statement. “Whilst the increased risk to an individual may be low, the exposure of millions of people results in a significant aggregate health burden.”

The World Health Organization has reported that traffic noise impacts about 40% of people in the European Union, and about one in five people in this region are exposed to dangerous levels of noise at night.

Further, the UK Health Security Agency suggests that traffic noise alone led to a loss of about 130,000 healthy life years in the UK. in 2018. Light pollution has been harder to track, but research suggests the rise of LEDs has also led to growing light pollution, according to the report.

In a separate review published in 2021, researchers analyzing studies on noise and light pollution found that these pollutants may have an impact on microbiomes, which could further impact human health. However, many studies on this topic are small or dated, so additional research is needed.

The Science and Technology Committee has come to a similar conclusion, noting that the UK’s 25 Year Environment Plan barely touches on these pollutants and doesn’t set any regulations on reducing noise or light pollution.

The committee advises that the UK should set up a specific advisory group on noise pollution and that the UK Health Security Agency should create a group dedicated to studying light pollution, similar to the established advisory group for air pollution, to assess health impacts. It suggests that the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) do more lab and field studies on the health impacts of these pollutants and create a method of tracking, monitoring and reporting light pollution. The committee also recommends policies that target the pollutants.

“The Government should focus on quantifying the health effects of noise and light pollution, set targets and a framework for regulation to reduce the overall burden of disease,” King said. “It should do this by the time of the next five-year Environmental Improvement Plan cycle. It must also strengthen coordination between departments and between central and local government, to ensure meaningful improvements in public health and quality of life in the UK for the benefit of all.”