On the Stalingrad crossroads, on the border between the X and XIXth arrondissements of Paris, the decibel counter application is agitated.
65, 70 dB, then it even displays 80 dB when passing a truck or a motorized two-wheeler.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has set the noise threshold beyond which it is harmful to health at 45 dB during the day.
The threshold for road traffic is set at 53 dB.
Further west, along Rue de Rome in the 17th arrondissement, a few hundred meters from Rue Cardinet where one of the two future anti-noise radars will be located, Laurence mimics the gesture of covering her ears. "Now I do that when it goes screaming!" She despairs. Windows open, at home, I can no longer listen to my classical music ”.
Noise is a health emergency. Nine million French people are confronted with noise which directly endangers their health. “Studies show that a 10 dB increase in road traffic is associated with a 4% increase in the risk of heart attacks,” explains Professor Raphaël Heinzer, Chief Physician at the Center for Investigation and Research on Sleep located in Swiss. The negative effects of noise are also found in children's learning difficulties or even in the development of obesity.
In addition to health, noise also has a very important economic effect.
“Noise represents a bill of around 150 billion euros in France per year,” explains Fanny Mietlickik, director of Bruitparif.
Road noise is primarily responsible for this colossal figure: it alone represents 80 billion euros ”.
Find our video on noise in Paris.
