The constant barrage of noise from planes arriving and taking off at BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport could cause more cardiovascular disease, anxiety and low birth weights for its neighbors.
A new study released this month by the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy discovered that the hidden price tag linked to treating those health issues could morph to over $800 million over the next 30 years.
“If you put it at the population level, for those people impacted, it’s going to be a huge medical burden and a huge health burden,” said Dr. Zafar Zafari, the assistant professor who conducted the study with graduate student Jeong-eun Park.
Zafari’s team of researchers decided to tally the hidden costs of aircraft noise on cardiovascular disease, anxiety and mental illness and low birth weight in babies.
Back in 2012, the Federal Aviation Administration adopted an automated flight system at airports nationwide. The new technology routed planes to curb delays. But the number of complaints from airport neighbors spiked.
One of the most striking aspects of the study, Zafari said, is the rising costs to treat the youngest residents: babies born with low birth weights.
“If indeed a baby has a higher chance of low birth weight, the family has to incur the medical costs, delivery costs, particularly in the first five years,” Zafari said. “But also low birth weight, over a lifetime, increases mortality. For these babies, [the cost] is for their entire life.”
The figures are not applicable to every person living near the flight path, Zafari said. Between 60% and 70% of residents won’t be affected by the planes’ path, he said, because they’re generally healthy.
The best use of the study, he added, is to help guide future healthcare policies.
“Prevention is the best treatment,” Zafari said. “Air and noise pollution over a lifetime increases risks of different diseases. Those diseases have costs, and most people think about out-of-pocket costs. But, if you think about the societal impact, then this becomes pretty significant.”
