This document discusses the impacts of increased Navy jet operations on Whidbey Island and surrounding areas in Washington State. It summarizes research finding serious health effects from aircraft noise, including sleep disturbance, hearing loss, stress, and cardiac issues. Specific concerns raised include noise levels from Growler jets exceeding safety standards, a lack of environmental review, and the Navy's expansion of operations and training activities and ranges. The document advocates for residents to get involved through commenting and contacting elected officials to address the health and environmental impacts.

1. Whidbey Island
Puget Sound
WELCOME

2. COER’S MISSION
• Close Outlying Field (OLF), Coupeville
• Remove Growlers from Whidbey Island
End FCLP’s over people, businesses & homes
Stop Growler Overflights until EIS is completed
• OLF Built in 1943 & have a waiver for use
• Located 3 miles from:
Coupeville, Hospital, Re-cycling
Center, Transit Center,
800 children in 3 schools,
400 homes in Admirals Cove …

3. Ebey’s Landing National Historical Reserve
A 24,000 acre National Park of environmental and historical
significance. An important wildlife and migratory bird habitat
The reserve sits next to a World War II era outlying field (OLF) runway used by
the U.S. Navy for 6 to 7,000 “touch-and–go” aircraft operations. Hazardous
noise from the Navy’s operations at the OLF has increased 300% over the last
three years, impacting the reserve and impacting thousands of people.

4. Deception Pass State Park
A Most Cherished and Visited State Park – For
How Long?
WARNING TO VISITOR’S Washington State Parks
“U.S. Navy jets from nearby Naval Air Station
Whidbey Island may fly over the campground at
any time for several hours. … “
“State Parks cannot be responsible for this
significant intrusion into your camping
experience.”
“http://www.parks.wa.gov/parks

5. Who is Encroaching Upon Whom?
The Center for Public Environmental
Oversight evaluated public stakeholders’
views on encroachment. Concerned
residents appear most upset when the
military expands its operations into new
areas—that is, where the armed forces are
encroaching on civilian activity:
http://www.cpeo.org/pubs/2-WayStreet.pdf

6. Holy Heart Failure Batman!
Navy Growlers Buzz Bainbridge
New Jet Noise
New Over-flights
More Growlers
Navy said the jets were operating at legal
altitude and speed. But because of their
lack of muffling system and infamous
noise levels, which can reach literally
deafening 150 decibels, it is no surprise
locals were alarmed.

7. NAVY’S NORTHWEST TRAINING RANGE
COMPLEX (NWTRC)
The Navy is already conducting exercises -- but is
seeking permits for increased intensity & tempo of training.
• Anti-‐submarine warfare exercises-‐ tracking aircraft and sonar
• Surface to air gunnery and missile exercises
• Air-‐to-‐surface bombing exercises
• Extensive testing for several new weapons
NWTRC stretches from Puget Sound, west to the outer coast of WA, and
south to Northern CA. Encompassing more than 126,000 square nautical
miles of ocean & 34,000 square miles of airspace. Home to abundant &
threatened species of marine life, including 6 endangered species of whales,
threatened Steller sea lions, salmon and steelhead, and endangered
leatherback turtles.

8. NAVY’S NORTHWEST TRAINING RANGE:
• Air-‐to-‐surface bombing exercises
• Extensive testing for several New
weapons & Sonar
This will take
Orcas (70 in
5 yrs) other
mammals, fish in
Puget Sound

9. New Weapons Testing….Navy plans to
post electromagnetic radiation trucks for
Northwest Training Center war games …
so Growlers can find targets.
The proposed testing is an $11.5 million project.
The Navy spends about $5 million a year to do such training
exercises at Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho, some 400
miles away. “It’s a considerable cost in jet fuel and squadron
relocation,” says Mosher.
The Navy wants
training closer to
Whidbey Island &
Growlers at NASWI
-Washington State.

10. The locations —
12 in Olympic National Forest
and three on state Department
of Natural Resources land.
3 of the mobile emitter sites are
about 10 miles northeast of
Forks in Clallam County.
6 are in Jefferson County within
10 miles of the Quinault
Reservation, while another is in
Jefferson County 15 miles
southeast of Forks.
4 are in Grays Harbor County.

11. FLIGHT PATHS: WHIDBEY NAVAL AIR STATION
NOISE FOOTPRINTS EXTEND BEYOND FLIGHT PATHS

12. EA-18G ‘Growler’ Electric Attack Aircraft
• 47,770 operations a year (April 2014 baseline)*
• 50,577 operations a year (2020 End-State)*
• Currently from news article – 79 at Whidbey now
• NEW EIS – Scoping Comments Oct. 28,29,30
• NEW EIS – 22 more Growlers – All Carrier based (which means
all must have FCLP training) – ONE-SITE POLICY - All Growlers
stationed at NASWI
• $80.5 Million Each Growler
• $13.8 Billion Program Cost

13. .
The P-8 A Poseidon

14. COER GETS THE FACTS:
Community Aircraft Noise:
A Public Health Issue
Karen Bowman, MN, RN, COHN-S
Karen Bowman & Associates, Inc., and UW
Faculty and Researchers

15. What is Noise?
The EPA defines noise as …..
“unwanted or disturbing sound”
www.epa.gov/air/noise.html#what
Sound becomes
UNWANTED when it
interferes with normal
activities … such as
sleeping, conversation,
or disrupts or
diminishes one’s quality
of life.

16. Noise Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL)
Types of Hearing Loss
•Conductive
•Sensorineural
•Combination
• Hearing loss rarely causes pain.
• The severity of hearing loss is determined by the intensity,
duration and frequency of the noise.
• Our hearing is 10x more sensitive than eye sight.

17. CONSIDERATION OF HAZARDOUS NOISE:
NAVY’S FINAL INTERIM AUDIT REPORT
The Navy Auditors found …………………………….
• According to Navy evaluators, the EA-18G will emit, a maximum of 150 dBs,
which is well above the noise level considered hazardous to hearing.
• The normal human pain threshold is around 120dB. According to DOD
Instruction 6055.12, at a noise level of 150 dB, the maximum daily exposure
time with current technology hearing protection worn correctly is only 8.9
seconds before permanent hearing loss occurs!
• The Navy did not mitigate jet noise hazard in the initial design and
development of the Growler.
• These conditions may contribute to a hazardous environment of high noise
exposure associated with jet aircraft that, according to the Naval Safety
Center, increases the likelihood of permanent hearing loss. Mitigation of
these known noise levels was not pursued.

18. Low-level Growler flights Exceed
National & State standards
• Washington State ( Chapter 70.107 RCW NOISE
CONTROL/WAC 173-60)
– Max noise in a residential setting 55dBA
– 10pm-7am Max noise is reduce by 10dBA = 45dBA
• EPA sets community noise standards as:
• 70-dBA 24 hour (Leq)
• US Noise Control Act of 1972
• World Health Organization

19. Aircraft Noise and Adult Health
• Hearing loss
• Stress hormones and
health
• Immune toxicity
• Psychosocial impacts
and cognition
• Cardiac implications,
heart attacks and
death

20. Psychosocial Impacts and Cognition
• Aircraft noise interfere with activities of daily living
[ADL- ADLs such as conversation, watching TV or listening to the radio]
and is dose-response related
– The louder the aircraft noise the less an individual is
able to adapt.
– Stansfeld, S.A., Matheson, M.P. (2003). Noise pollution: non-auditory effects on health. British Medical Bulletin, Vol. 68:243-257
• Memory & memory recall & reduces performance Stansfeld,
S.A., Matheson, M.P. (2003). Noise pollution: non-auditory effects on health. British Medical Bulletin, Vol. 68:243-257.
• Strong association with noise & increased accidents at
home and work
• The impact of hearing loss directly affects how
individuals interact within their family, workplace and
community and can lead to psychosocial impairment.

21. Cardiovascular Disease
• Two potential pathways to cardiovascular disease
– sleep disruption and noise induced stress
• Cardiovascular arousal during “waking and sleep”
creates short term increases blood pressure
• High blood pressure is a well-known risk factor for
cardiovascular disease -myocardial infarction
• Significant findings relate noise to blood pressure
changes and the development of hypertension
Swift, H. (2010) A review of the literature related to potential health effects of
aircraft noise: partner project 19 final report

22. Cardiac Disease, Heart Attacks & Death
1. A Los Angeles Airport Study determined -- chronic exposure to aircraft noise raised blood
pressure.
2. A Munich study linked -- chronic noise exposure to increases in systolic blood pressure when
doing a cognitive task under acute noise.
3. Multi-airport retrospective study in Boston showed -- Residential exposure to aircraft noise
hospital admissions for cardiovascular diseases
4. Swiss National Cohort study (hospitalizations and ICD-9 codes) 65 airports/airfields shows
acute and chronic noise exposure in particular aircraft noise is associated with;
– high BP, heart attacks, ↑cardiovascular medication, cardiovascular morbidity and
mortality.
– risk of death from heart attacks was higher in individuals exposed to aircraft noise of 60
dB(A) or more when exposed to PM10
Stansfeld, S.A., Matheson, M.P. (2003). Noise pollution: non-auditory effects
on health. British Medical Bulletin, Vol.68: 243-257. Huss, A., Spoerri, A.,
Egger, M., Roosli, M. (2010). Aircraft noise, air pollution, and mortality from
myocardial infarction. Epidemiology. Vol 21:no.6. 829-836.

23. The HYENA Study: Night Time Aircraft
Noise as a Risk Factor for Hypertension
a 10-dB increase leads to an
elevated
odds ratio of 1.14
95% CI and 35 dB(A) is assumed
to be the baseline value
Findings confirm a statistical
relationship between aircraft
noise and hypertension
The higher the Lnight dBA the
higher the relationship of
aircraft noise to high blood
pressure
Jarup, L., Babisch, W., Houthuijs, D., Pershagen, G., Katsouyanni, K., Cadum, E., … Vigna-
Taglianti, F. (2008). Hypertension and exposure to noise near airports: the HYENA study.
Environmental Health Perspectives. Volume 116

24. Potential Pathways for the Health Effects
of Noise Through Sleep Disturbance
The Babisch meta-analysis
reports a
strong statistical
relationship
between aircraft
noise and heart
attacks
Swift, H. (2010) A review of the literature related to potential health effects of
aircraft noise: partner project 19 final report

25. …from Babisch …
shows the
multiple
cardiovascular
effects of noise.
Even if you think
noise is not
bothering you…IT IS!
Your body is reacting
whether you know it
or not!

26. COER Health Survey:
YOUR INPUT NEEDED
Many of your fellow citizens have already
completed a health questionnaire and report
loss of hearing, tinnitus, stress and anxiety,
cardiac problems and sleep disorders associated
with exposure to military jet noise. We are all
being impacted.
ASK FOR YOUR QUESTIONAIRE

27. COER GETS THE FACTS:
Professional 3rd Party Noise Study

32. Summary of Research Findings
• Serious health effects of environmental noise exposure in particular
aircraft noise/military aircraft at the community level.
– Sleep disturbance and cognitive impairment to atherosclerosis, cardiac
disease, hypertension, myocardial infarction and even death.
– The continued over activation of stress hormones are key factors in
cardiac disease
– Hearing loss
– Some research shows immunotoxicity but further research is needed.
• Aircraft noise [especially as a night time exposure] exacerbates the release
of the hormones and impairs health.
• Aircraft noise [in particular low-altitude over-flights] is associated with
cardiovascular problems and sleep disturbances even during the “quiet”
nights that follow over-flights

33. Growlers–Part of a REGIONAL ISSUE
• Expansion of program and numbers of Growlers over Island County,
San Juan County, parts of Skagit County, Clallam County, Jefferson
County, and Gray’s Harbor County in Puget Sound.
• Expansion and transition of the P8’s at NASWI.
• Expansion in the Hood Canal - Physicians for Social Responsibility and
Ground Zero have filed suit against the Navy regarding the Trident sub base
and the building of the 3rd dock.
• Expansion of the Northwest Regional Training & Testing Center – Friends of
the Earth, National Resource Defense Council filed a complaint against this
expansion.(126,000sq nautical miles of sea & 37,000sq miles of air space)
• Everett Carrier Base & Electromagnetic Trucks
WA State - 6th largest military personnel, etc in the U.S. today! WA
ranks 9th in land owned b ythe military.
WA STATE & GOVERNOR’S OFFICE SUPPORTS A
GROWING MILITARY BUDGET IN PUGET SOUND

34. COER GETS THE FACTS:
Growlers CAN Be Relocated –
For 11 months they flew Elsewhere
Growler Accidents: Aircraft Accidents/Incidents Study from 1980-Present.
Summary: over the past almost 30+ years, the EA-6B has had 7 primary incidents
and in the past 5 years the EA-18/F-18 has had 39 primary incidents. This
demonstrates the statistical likelihood that a potential primary incident will occur.
Climate Change: Not only does the military consume a lot of oil, they pay
outrageous prices for it. The Pentagon pays an average of $400 to put a gallon of
fuel into a combat vehicle or aircraft in Afghanistan. The fuel consumption rate of
the EA-18G Growler is 1,304 gallons per hour (source: DoD: Selective Acquisition
Report. One hour of a single EA-18G Growler flight is equivalent to driving
12479kg/(0.104kg/km) = 120,000 km. This is equivalent to driving round trip from
Anacortes to New York City 12.7 times in a Toyota Prius. NASWI is one of 13 bases
that will be under water due to climate change. Weather cancelations from fog,
wind & rain.
FCLP’s Elsewhere: There are other military installations and air fields that are
longer, more modern and, have better safety equipment and where airport
encroachment is not a problem.

35. The Navy has NEVER completed an
EIS for ANY jet aircraft at OLF!

36. Actions You Can Take
• Submit comments for the new EIS
• Understand the issues
• Democracy is not a spectator sport
• Write, phone, email the Governor
• Write, phone, email your legislators
• Write or email letters to the Editor
• Make this a topic of conversation with your
friends, neighbors and family
• Become members of COER
This Land is YOUR land, sea and air!

37. This Land Is Your Land
Words and Music by Woody Guthrie

38. Thank You