Noise Pollution
Noise pollution not only harms human health, by raising blood pressure for instance, it has also been shown to have harmful effects on ecosystems. Many species will be driven away from the immediate area of the speedway by the excessive noise produced by racing cars and blaring loudspeakers, this is readily apparent. However, less obvious but no less certain, are the harmful effects on ecosystems as a result of the lower levels of noise pollution that will be experienced throughout all of Fort Erie.
All bird and mammal species and many amphibian and insect species rely on producing and detecting sounds for a wide variety of activities on which their survival depends. Parents call for their young to follow. In return, young call for their parents’ attention and for food. Prey species avoid predators by signalling nearby danger. Predator species listen carefully to detect the location of their prey. Social species, when travelling in groups, maintain contact by using call notes. Most species, including many insects, rely on distinctive calls for locating and selecting mates. Perhaps the most interesting ability is that of honey bees to communicate the location of food sources by using a combination of buzzing and dance steps. Even low levels of noise pollution can affect these activities.
What is interesting about noise pollution, is that its effects are greater in areas where the ambient, or background, noise level is low. For instance, if you happened to be sitting silently in a boat on a windless day, several miles off the tip of Point Abino, you would have little difficulty clearly detecting the sound of a race at the proposed speedway location, even though you might be more than 15 miles away. While humans can easily detect noise only 3 decibels above the background sound level, many species have much more sensitive hearing. So intact woodlands and wetlands throughout Fort Erie, presently undisturbed, may now be affected by noise pollution reaching them during racing events.
Here are some links to examples of studies on the ecological effect of noise pollution including the health effect on humans, particularly children.
Noise Pollution Changes Avian Communities and Species Interaction
Health Effects of Noise on Children
Noise Pollution: Non-Auditory Effects on Health
High Levels of Environmental Pollution – Zebra Finches
Noise and Stress
The chart below, extracted from a document located on the following link, you may also find helpful:
| Distance from source | 140 dB (Bandimere nitro dragsters) | 120 dB (Other dragsters) | 113 dB (10 cars at SCCA-type race) | 95 dB Highway |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 mile | 75 dB | 56 dB | 49 dB | 31 dB |
| 2 miles | 70 dB | 50 dB | 45 dB | 25 dB |
| 3 miles | 66 dB | 46 dB | 41 dB | 21 dB |
| 4 miles | 64 dB | 44 dB | 39 dB | 19 dB |
| 5 miles | 62 dB | 42 dB | 37 dB | 17 dB |
| 10 miles | 56 dB | 36 dB | 29 dB | 11 dB |
| 15 miles | 50 dB | 30 dB | 25 dB | 7 dB |