More than 8 million people exposed to road transport noise in Île-de-France

More than eight and a half million Ile-de-France residents (or 80% of the region's inhabitants) are exposed to noise levels above 53 decibels, the objective recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), due to road traffic. More than a million are beyond the less strict French regulatory limit.

“Even if a slight improvement is noted compared to 2019, particularly linked to the reduction in traffic, the findings remain worrying,” indicates Fanny Mietlicki, director of the noise observatory in Île-de-France, Bruitparif. Unsurprisingly, exposure is highest along major roads: the region has more than a thousand kilometers of expressways and highways. The diagnosis hides territorial disparities, with the Greater Paris metropolis concentrating 80% of the most highly exposed people.

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Bruitparif presented on Friday, as part of UNESCO Sound Week, an update of the maps of noise generated by transport. This diagnosis is carried out every five years in fourteen towns in the region. It is based on modeling taking into account traffic data at different times, speed, road surface and the composition of the vehicle fleet. “We also integrate all the information available regarding the topography: the relief, the buildings, the noise barriers…”, explains Fanny Mietlicki. The map thus constituted is crossed with that of the demography of the Ile-de-France region. Established to guide public authorities in implementing a prevention plan, the maps can be consulted online.

The association also notes a reduction in the number of people exposed to railway noise. The improvement is explained by a change in study methodology, but also by the modernization of the trains and the installation of noise barriers, according to Bruitparif. Trains, RER, aerial metros and trams still affect around a million inhabitants of the dense Ile-de-France area, with the Greater Paris metropolis being particularly affected.

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As for airborne noise pollution, it has worsened due to the densification of certain municipalities overflown by planes and the increase in air traffic. Nearly 500,000 people live in homes subject to values ​​above the 55 dB limit. According to Fanny Mietlicki, “despite the curfew decided at Orly, nighttime noise remains a significant problem.”

Across the region, there are few areas that are completely free from noise caused by transport. The cumulative health impacts they produce are massive: 22% of residents in the dense area of ​​Île-de-France experience “severe discomfort” linked to transport noise, while 7% experience “severe sleep disturbances”. .” Noise is also involved in the occurrence of cardiovascular diseases. This represents, according to Bruitparif, an average of nearly 10 months of healthy life lost per individual.