The Military Aviation Noise Study
The Military Aviation Noise Study -- "Evaluating the impacts of military aircraft noise pollution on human health and well-being: a community-based inquiry" -- is an ongoing research study funded by the University of Washington’s Population Health Initiative, which aims to:
- Leverage long-term noise complaint data to characterize reported noise and health impacts by communities
- Use systematic community surveys to assess health and quality of life outcomes in communities
- Create a framework for noise assessment that can be shared with other communities around the country
This study is particularly interested in the health impacts of military aviation noise, which is understudied compared to the noise impacts of civil aviation.
Previous Tier 2 Study
This Tier 3 Population Health Initiative Study builds off of a previous Tier 2 study, which analyzed large volumes of noise measurements collected by the US Navy, Washington’s Bureau of Land Management, the US National Park Service, as well as by community organizations, such as Citizens of Ebey's Reserve and the Sound Defense Alliance. The previous Tier 2 study compiled these data to create maps of noise exposures across Whidbey Island and surrounding areas, including parts of the San Juan Islands and the Olympic Peninsula that are impacted by flight activities of the Naval Air Station Whidbey Island (NASWI). The previous study also utilized existing Exposure Response Functions (ERFs) to estimate the impacts of noise exposures on a variety of population health outcomes, including annoyance, sleep disruption, and children's learning.
The New Tier 3 Study
You may receive a postcard in the mail inviting you to take part in a survey
For the new Tier 3 study, the research team will be conducting a survey of the population living in the areas surrounding NASWI during the Spring-Autumn of 2024. A population-representative sample of individuals will receive a postcard in the mail from the UW researchers, inviting them to complete a questionnaire related to their noise exposures generally, exposures to military aviation noise, and various potential noise-related health impacts. Results from this survey will address current gaps in scientific knowledge relating military-specific aviation noise and health.
Analyzing Noise Complaint Data
The Tier 3 study will also analyze thousands of noise complaints collected over several years using natural language processing methods to identify patterns and themes that relate to specific population health impacts.
Together, the mapped noise exposure data from Tier 2 and the population survey and noise complaint analyses from Tier 3 will inform a broader framework for collecting data that documents and improves understanding of military aviation noise impacts.
Research Team
The study involves researchers from the University of Washington, Dr. Edmund Seto, an environmental health scientist in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, and Dr. Julian Olden, an ecologist in the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, as well as collaborators from Omfishient Consulting, COER, SDA, and Quiet Skies over San Juan County, as well as other interested groups.
The research team has convened community webinars over the course of the Tier 2 study as the project has progressed and interim findings have emerged. Tier 3 findings will be presented similarly in community webinars.
Image from zapper - stock.adobe.com.