Background

Aircraft noise is a key concern for communities surrounding airports, with increasing evidence for health effects and inequitable distributions of exposure. However, there have been limited national-scale assessments of aircraft noise exposure over time and across noise metrics, limiting evaluation of population exposure patterns.

Objective

We evaluated national-scale temporal trends in aviation noise exposure by airport characteristics and across racial/ethnic populations in the U.S.

Methods

Noise contours were modeled for 90 U.S. airports in 5-year intervals between 1995 and 2015 using the Federal Aviation Administration’s Aviation Environmental Design Tool. We utilized linear fixed effects models to estimate changes in noise exposure areas for day-night average sound levels (DNL) of 45, 65, and a nighttime equivalent sound level (L_night) of 45 A-weighted decibels (dB[A]). We used group-based trajectory modeling to identify distinct groups of airports sharing underlying characteristics. We overlaid noise contours and Census tract data from the U.S. Census Bureau and American Community Surveys for 2000 to 2015 to estimate exposure changes overall and by race/ethnicity.

Results

National-scale analyses showed non-monotonic trends in mean exposed areas that peaked in 2000, followed by a 37% decrease from 2005 to 2010 and a subsequent increase in 2015. We identified four distinct trajectory groups of airports sharing latent characteristics related to size and activity patterns. Those populations identifying as minority (e.g., Hispanic/Latino, Black/African American, Asian) experienced higher proportions of exposure relative to their subgroup populations compared to non-Hispanic or White populations across all years, indicating ethnic and racial disparities in airport noise exposure that persist over time.

Significance

Overall, these data identified differential exposure trends across airports and subpopulations, helping to identify vulnerable communities for aviation noise in the U.S.

Impact statement

We conducted a descriptive analysis of temporal trends in aviation noise exposure in the U.S. at a national level. Using data from 90 U.S. airports over a span of two decades, we characterized the noise exposure trends overall and by airport characteristics, while estimating the numbers of exposed by population demographics to help identify the impact on vulnerable communities who may bear the burden of aircraft noise exposure.

中文翻译：

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描述美国机场周围暴露于飞机噪音的人群的时间趋势：1995-2015

背景

飞机噪音是机场周边社区的一个主要问题，越来越多的证据表明飞机噪音对健康的影响和暴露分布的不公平。然而，对飞机噪声暴露随时间和噪声指标的全国范围评估有限，限制了对人口暴露模式的评估。

客观的

我们根据机场特征和美国不同种族/民族人口评估了全国范围内航空噪声暴露的时间趋势

方法

使用联邦航空管理局的航空环境设计工具，在 1995 年至 2015 年间，每隔 5 年对 90 个美国机场的噪声等值线进行了建模。我们利用线性固定效应模型来估计昼夜平均声级 (DNL) 为 45、65 以及夜间等效声级 (L night ) 为 45 A 加权分贝 ( _dB [A]) 时噪声暴露区域的变化。我们使用基于组的轨迹建模来识别具有共同基本特征的不同机场组。我们叠加了 2000 年至 2015 年美国人口普查局和美国社区调查的噪声等值线和人口普查区数据，以估计整体和按种族/民族的暴露变化。

结果

全国范围的分析显示，平均暴露面积的非单调趋势在 2000 年达到顶峰，随后从 2005 年到 2010 年下降了 37%，随后在 2015 年有所增加。我们确定了四个不同的机场轨迹组，它们具有与规模和相关的潜在特征。活动模式。多年来，与非西班牙裔或白人人口相比，少数族裔（例如西班牙裔/拉丁裔、黑人/非裔美国人、亚洲人）相对于其亚群体人口的暴露比例较高，这表明机场噪声暴露存在种族和种族差异随着时间的推移持续存在。

意义

总体而言，这些数据确定了机场和亚人群的差异暴露趋势，有助于确定美国航空噪音的脆弱社区

影响报告

我们对美国国家层面航空噪声暴露的时间趋势进行了描述性分析。我们利用二十年来 90 个美国机场的数据，描述了总体噪声暴露趋势和机场特征，同时根据人口统计数据估计了噪声暴露数量，以帮助确定可能承受飞机噪声负担的脆弱社区的影响接触。