C Clark, R Martin, E van Kempen, H Davies, M M Haines, J Head,

1. RANCH Exposure-effect relationships between road traffic and aircraft noise exposure and reading comprehension: The RANCH Project.www.ranchproject.org C Clark, R Martin, E van Kempen, H Davies, M M Haines, J Head, I Lopez-Barrio, M Matheson, S Stansfeld. Queen Mary, University of London, UK University of Stockholm, Sweden CSIC Madrid, Spain RIVM, Bilthoven Netherlands Göteborg University, Sweden

2. Aircraft, road traffic & rail noise - the international studies • Los Angeles Airport Study (Cohen et al., 1980, 1981) • New York Airport City (Evans & Maxwell, 1997) • Munich airport study (Evans et al., 1995; 1998) • Heathrow studies (Haines et al., 2001 a,b,c; 2002) Over twenty studies have reported that noise adversely affects children’s academic performance

3. Noise Exposure & Reading Comprehension - the international studies • Effects demonstrated for aircraft and road traffic noise • Effects not always demonstrated after adjustment for socioeconomic status • Effects may be reversible - Munich Study • Mechanisms: • Restrict attention to central cues • Reduce learning motivation

4. No exposure-effect relationships for noise and children’s health and cognition • Fewer studies of the effects of road traffic noise • No knowledge about the effect of combined noise exposure • No comparison of effect size across countries • Noise guideline values based on health effects for adults were proposed for children. A child evidence base was required Gaps at the start of RANCH

5. To provide knowledge on exposure-effect relationships between chronic exposure to noise at school and children’s cognition and health - for aircraft noise - for road traffic noise - for combinations of aircraft and road traffic noise Objectives of the RANCH project • To provide knowledge on • the total impact of the sound environment • the relationship between road traffic noise and children’s sleep • To provide guidelines for a pan-European policy taking advantage of the cross-border environmental diversity of four European countries

6. Airport Field Studies • Heathrow airport, London, United Kingdom • Schiphol airport, Amsterdam, the Netherlands • Barajas airport, Madrid, Spain • Common methodology between countries • Examine exposure-effect relationships in 9-10 year old children between chronic exposure to noise at school and • cognitive function • health • noise annoyance

7. School Selection Protocol • Selection of study area, identification of primary schools • Exclusion of non-state schools • Schools matched within countries for socioeconomic status and main language spoken

8. School Noise Prediction Aircraft Noise • Based on 16 hour outdoor LAeq contours Road Traffic Noise • In the NL, provided by modelled data using the EMPARA model • In the UK & Spain, based on proximity to roads and traffic flow - data confirmed by on-site noise measurements • Noise surveys at 4m distance from facade of main school entrance (exclusion of schools with insulation or other dominant noise source)

9. Noise Exposure Bandings 71dB R4 R3 R2 32 dB R1 Road A1 A2 A3 A4 Aircraft 30 dB 77dB 2 schools selected per cell based on SES matching and noise prediction

10. Measures • Reading Comprehension • - Assessed using nationally standardised tests in each country. • UK - Suffolk Reading Scale (Hagley, 2002) • Spain - ECL-2 (de la Cruz, 1999) • NL - CITO Readability Index (Staphorsius, 1994) • Socioeconomic Variables • -Assessed in questionnaires completed by the child and parent.

11. Procedure • Children aged 9-10 years • No children excluded from selected classes • Written consent from parents and children • Classroom based testing with careful monitoring • Standardised test procedures and instructions • Acute noise measurement during testing

12. Sociodemographic Outcomes • age • gender • employment status • crowding • home ownership • mother’s educational attainment • long standing illness • main language • classroom glazing • parental support for school work Same measures achieved across all three countries

13. No of children No of schools Child Response Rate Parent Response Rate UK 1182 29 89% 78% Netherlands 730 33 89% 86% Spain 920 27 90% 63% RANCH Participation rates Data pooled and analysed using multilevel modelling

14. Relationship between aircraft noise exposure and reading comprehension B = change in outcome score associated with 1db change in noise NB: Multi-level Models adjusted for centre, age, gender, employment status, crowding, home ownership, mother’s education, long standing illness, main language and parental support.

15. Exposure-Effect relationship for Aircraft Noise Exposure and Reading Comprehension Adjusted for age, gender and country Reading age was delayed by up to 2 months in the UK and 1 month in the NL for a 5dB change in noise exposure

16. Relationship between road traffic noise exposure and reading comprehension B = change in outcome score associated with 1db change in noise NB: Multi-level Models adjusted for centre, age, gender, employment status, crowding, home ownership, mother’s education, long standing illness, main language and parental support.

17. Exposure-Effect relationship for Road Traffic Noise Exposure and Reading Comprehension Adjusted for age, gender and country

18. Discussion • Inverse, linear relationship between aircraft noise exposure and reading comprehension in all three countries • This relationship could not be accounted for by socioeconomic variables nor acute noise. • Confirms the influence of chronic aircraft noise exposure on reading comprehension.

19. Why an effect for aircraft noise and not road traffic noise? • No relationship between road traffic noise and reading comprehension in all three countries • However, we cannot rule out an effect of road traffic noise at higher levels - > 71dB • Aircraft noise = greater intensity - high short term levels • Road traffic noise = more constant

20. Conclusions • Similar effects of noise on reading performance across Spain, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom • Action is recommended at a European level to provide healthy educational environments for children attending high noise exposed schools • Noise exposure should be considered with other environmental aspects in the school planning process

21. Some remaining questions Long-term exposure Do impairments diminish if children are removed from noisy environments or increase if children remain in noisy environments? Intervention Does sound insulation have ameliorative effect on impairments in cognitive performance? Mechanisms What role do classroom acoustics and noise interference in teacher communication play in the causation of noise effects?