Changes in heart rate and sleep patterns. These two main emotions are discovered among the inhabitants of the different neighborhoods of Tarracon who participate in the state civil science by researchers increased by the researchers of the Department of Computer Engineering and Mathematics URV.
The objective of the study is to analyze the effects of noise pollution on health of people from systems that associate decibel and health variables with noise.
the first event as shown in the three regions studied –Serrallo, Tarraconensis 2 and Francolí.– which far exceeds, and in some cases doubles, the level allowed by the World Health Organization (WHO), which set in 2019 at 45 decibels. The objective is to continue the study, increase the number of participants and extend it to other states.
the first event drawn from the results of 35 inhabitants of different neighborhoods of Tarracon He studied, from which there were previous indications, that the problems could arise from excessive noise.
To carry out the study, the CloudLab research group, from the Department of Computer Engineering and Mathematics URV, developed the app Soundless, which the participants gave from their mobile phones to measure the sound. Smart bracelets were also distributed that detect different health metrics including heart rate and sleep disturbances.
Last fall there was an informational session with volunteers. Volunteers were asked to wear the bracelet during the night and to always keep their mobile phone nearby. This relationship allowed the generation between noise and possible health effects – heart rate and sleep status-.
Through the data downloaded to the mobile phone with the app, it was possible to find the approximate location by neighborhood, which helped to detect if there were several neighbors, groups or communities affected by noise pollution at similar times or situations. “The architecture of the app is designed so that the data that is sent to the cloud always maintains the privacy of the people who participate. “We know their nearest location in the neighborhood, but we have no way of knowing where they live, who they are, or how the maps were made,” explains researcher Daniel Coll.
Twice is the maximum allowed by anyone
The study was carried out during the months of November and December and the results indicate that during all the recorded nights an excess of noise was generated in the three neighborhoods investigated, where the limit of 45 decibels was exceeded by WHO.
The most disturbing number of noise pollution and alteration of health parameters was recorded in the neighborhood of Serrallo, which is attributed to the passage of different trains that enter and exit through the port of Tarracon and the Mediterranean corridor. “The county has come to generate peaks of 90 decibels during the day and at night, and has made changes in the heart and sleep status of the population of the region,” he says. Pedro García, the principal investigator of the case. “The most serious thing is that the noise is due to the advanced age and poor maintenance of the machine, which should not surround the neighboring houses,” he warns.
The most worrying number of noise pollution and alteration of health parameters in the Serrallo neighborhood
in the neighborhoods of Tarracone 2 and Francolí It has been discovered that excessive noise – even always above the permitted limits – is produced by the vehicles that work every day on the Autovia del Mediterráneo. “The fact that it does not have porustic barriers makes it a difficult problem to solve,” the researcher adds.
The objective of the research theater is to continue with the second phase of this research in the summer months, with the incorporation of more participants and more evaluated data for a broader and more accurate vision of the problems derived from noise. He also wants to extend it to other states in the future.
The study received funding from the Provincial Council of Tarracon and was carried out with the cooperation of the Federation of Neighborhood Associations of Tarracon (FAVT), the Francolí Neighborhood Association and the Tarracon II Association, together with the neighborhood community. Seraglio
