The document outlines a student's research on noise pollution, including its causes, health effects such as increased blood pressure and cardiovascular risks, and the importance of creating a quieter environment. The assessment highlights the student's reflections on personal contributions to noise pollution and the need for awareness and solutions such as elastic road surfaces to reduce noise. The research involved reading articles, interviewing residents, and resulted in improved writing and comprehension skills while spreading awareness about the negative impacts of noise pollution.

1. NOISE POLLUTION
English SBA
CSEC EXAMINATIONS
4 SCIENCE
Independence High School

2. PLAN OF INVESTIGATION
The subtopic of noise pollution is an issue that not everyone knows of which is why I
have chosen this topic to research on. Many people just play loud music when they feel like not
knowing that they are contributing to noise pollution. Then we have the construction workers
who make loud noise with their machines, and other large equipment. So noise pollution is a part
of our everyday life.
As a student of English, I expect to improve in my writing and reading comprehension
skills by researching and arranging this School Based Assessment. The way I intend to collect
the information for this SBA is by reading through some recent articles online and on local
newspapers alongside with interviewing some residence that could reside in areas with a high
percentage of noise pollution. I will use the information to write my reflections and written
report.

3. How Does Noise Pollution Harm Your Heart?
June 20, 2015
According to research published in Environmental Health Perspectives,
long-term exposure to traffic noise may account for approximately 3
percent of coronary heart disease deaths (or about 210,000 deaths) in
Europe each year.6 But, how, exactly, does noise harm your heart? One
of the key ways is by elevating stress hormones such as cortisol,
adrenaline, and noradrenaline, which, over time, can lead to high blood
pressure, stroke and heart failure. One review of research showed that
“arousal associated with nighttime noise exposure increased blood and
saliva concentrations of these hormones even during sleep.”7 Deepak
Prasher, a professor of audiology at University College in London and a
member of the WHO Noise Environmental Burden on Disease working
group, states:8 “Many people become habituated to noise over time…
The biological effects are imperceptible, so that even as you become
accustomed to the noise, adverse physiological changes are nevertheless
taking place, with potentially serious consequences to human health.
…Taken together, recent epidemiologic data show us that noise is a
major stressor that can influence health through the endocrine, immune,
and cardiovascular systems.” The impact can be significant. Among
women who judge themselves to be sensitive to noise, chronic noise
exposure increased the risk of cardiovascular mortality by 80 percent!9
Chronic noise exposure also leads to health risks beyond your heart,
such as hearing loss, diminished productivity, sleep disruption, impaired
learning, and more.
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2015/06/20/noise-pollution.aspx

4. Elastic Road Surface Reduces Motorway Noise Pollution
http://www.euronews.com/2015/02/23/elastic-road-surface-reduces-motorway-noise-pollution

5. High Blood Pressure Affected By Air, Noise Pollution
Study Finds By , Oct 25, 2016 05:52 PM EDT
Anyone whose blood pressure is 140/90mmhg or more for a sustained period is said to have high
blood pressure or hypertension. A study shows that long-term exposure to both air and noise
pollution can make the hypertension of a person high.
According to Science Daily, the largest study investigates the effects of both air pollution and
traffic noise by following over 41,000 people in five different countries for five to nine years The
result is if a person has a longterm exposure to air and traffic noise pollution, that person linked
to a greater incidence of high blood pressure.
A study published on October 25 in the European Heart Journal said that among adults, up to one
extra person per 100 people of the same age group living in an area with air and traffic noise
pollution would develop high blood pressure compared to those living in the less polluted areas.
The tendency is similar to the effect of being overweight with body mass index (BMI) between
25-30 compared to people with normal BMI.
This published study is the first to investigate regarding the health matter and it found out that
traffic noise is associated with an increase in cases of high blood pressure as well. The study was
conducted separately to know the individual linked to air pollution and noise pollution to high
hypertension. The finding shows that the association of air pollution with hypertension remained
even when exposure to traffic noise was considered in the analysis.
"Chronic exposure to particles contributes to the risk of developing cardiovascular and
respiratory diseases, as well as of lung cancer," the World Health Organization says. "There is a
close, quantitative relationship between exposure to high concentrations of small particulates ...
and increased mortality or morbidity, both daily and over time."
According to the report of The National, the researchers found that for every five micrograms per
cubic meter (5 µg/m3) of PM2.5, the risk of high blood pressure increased by a fifth (22 percent)
in people living in the most polluted areas compared to those in the least polluted areas. Higher
soot concentrations also increased the risk.
For exposure to chronic traffic noise, the researchers found that people living in noisy streets,
where there were average night time noise levels of 50 decibels, had a six per cent increased the
risk of developing high blood pressure compared to those living on quieter streets where average
noise levels were 40 decibels during the night.
http://www.itechpost.com/articles/46381/20161025/high-blood-pressure-affected-air-noise-
pollution-study-finds.htm

6. Reflection 1
I’ve seen how noise pollution affects humans and the environment. I personally have
sometimes contributed to this problem, and after reading the article by Dr. Mercola, June
20, 2015, I’ve learned that a quiet environment is a better environment. I love listening
to music and that includes listening to every detail. After reading the article, I’ve stopped
playing loud music at home. I now understand that noise pollution has so many effects on
humans and even the environment.
Noise pollution can be everywhere, especially on highways and freeways. This is a very
common problem in Europe and I learned that a new technology is being developed
according to the video at http://www.euronews.com/2015/02/23/elastic-road-surface-reduces-
motorway-noise-pollution, 2015. After watching the video, I have learnt that the noise
pollution comes from the car’s tires rolling over the surface of the highway and elastic
road surfaces can be very costly but will greatly reduce noise pollution.
I read through an article at www.itechpost.com, Oct. 25, 2015, that proves that people
living in an area that has a high rate of noise pollution have a higher blood pressure
than those who live in a quieter area. I have learned that noise pollution not only
causes hearing impairment, but increases blood pressure in humans. This has made me
see how noise pollution greatly affects humans and has made me see that noise pollution
is more dangerous than what we think.

7. Reflection 2
I realize that I am disturbing my neighborhood and that I am contributing to noise
pollution. At first, I thought there was no problem to play loud music at home, and after
reading the article, I felt ashamed because I didn’t know how I irritated my neighbors.
This article reminded me of my neighbor when I lived in Benque Viejo. I always saw
my parents getting mad when the neighbor played loud music. I never knew that there
was something called noise pollution and that it affected us so severely. What helped me
to better understand this topic is that the language that was use was very clear so that I
could have been able to relate to it.
The article has inspired me to someday try to promote elastic road surfaces to be used
here in Belize because there are many communities that are close to the highway and
the people face this problem. The video reminded me of a time that I spent a night at a
family member’s house that was close to the highway. There trucks constantly driving by
and making loud noise causing me to have a sleepless night. So I have developed a better
understanding of noise pollution and even types of noise pollution.
This has inspired me to personally reduce noise pollution in my home and neighborhood
so that nobody will get harmed due to noise pollution. After reading the article, it
shocked me that a pollution that nobody knows about and nobody really pays attention
to can harm the body in such a great way. This reminds me of an aunt that I have in
Belize City. Her blood pressure raised slowly with time. The doctors didn’t know why
her blood pressure was high because she had a good diet.

8. Reflection 3
The language was also formal and it was written that anyone can understand it
and the level it was written. This was very instrumental for me because it helped me to
understand more about noise pollution and help me to even better create a definition and
ways that I can help to prevent noise pollution. I am sure because of the vocabulary was
written in formal English and at my level of understanding I was able to develop a
better understanding of noise pollution.
. The language used in this video was formal English but the vocabulary was a
little higher that my level. To better understand and to develop some clarity I had to use
the dictionary to define some of the terms in the article. I also had to even discuss some
of the terms with my Science teacher. I also I had even research some of the terms to
be better able to understand the concept. In the end I was able to understand the article
and relate to it because it is something that I needed in my country to decrease noise
pollution.
After learning about noise pollution affecting blood pressure, I can presume that
her blood pressure got affected by the noise pollution in her community.

9. Written Report
This SBA started with our teacher explaining to us the different section of the English
SBA. Once we fully understood this we selected our group members and our theme and sub-
topics. Once we had all this in place we had to do individual research to find evidence for out
articles. The research of this project was made with the dedicated use of the internet. The articles
found were very informative and also helped in improving our grammar and vocabulary.
Analyzing of the information was not very difficult; instead it was quite easy to grasp the
concept of the articles by just reading it once. Outcomes of the research were very positive as
grammar; writing and reading and comprehension skills were stressed and improved with the
help of teachers and also classmates. Our knowledge on the topic pollution was also widened
and improved also which has led me to be aware of my environment. We met on a weekly basis
to discuss the information and our objective. Our outcome was to examine the negative impact of
pollution on the environment. Our objective was met and we were able to complete the SBA in
the time that was allotted to us. We selected information based on how recent it is, the
connection to our theme and sub-topic.

10. Overview of the Oral Presentation

11. References
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2015/06/20/noise-pollution.aspx
http://www.euronews.com/2015/02/23/elastic-road-surface-reduces-motorway-noise-pollution
http://www.itechpost.com/articles/46381/20161025/high-blood-pressure-affected-air-noise-
pollution-study-finds.htm