Aircraft Noise and Public Health: A Research Design for Innovative Airport Environmental Management

Airport environmental management strategies at Australian privatized airports, including noise mitigation, are reviewed in this paper and suggestions are made on innovative practice that apply a trans-disciplinary framework, reorganizing institutional arrangements to include an “Impact Management” Division, which address the health impacts of airport operations. A survey of aircraft noise and its impact on self-assessed quality of life was conducted in Sydney. Subjects (aged 15 – 87) chronically exposed to aircraft noise have odds of 2.61 61 (95% CI 1.42 - 4 .80) of having stress, and those chronic noise stress individuals have odds of 2.74 (95% CI 1.55 - 4.84) of having hypertension compared with those without chronic noise stress. New research design - a novel intervention based on meditation – is outlined for application by environmental managers wishing to be more pro-active in embracing health impacts of airport operations.