LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – A study by Eurostat has shown that at least a third of Maltese people have at some point reported their neighbours to the authorities for being excessively noisy. The survey found that 34.7% of Maltese have reported their neighbours about excessive noise, topping the list of persons who have submitted such reports. The Maltese were followed by the Dutch, 32.3%, and the Portuguese, 27.2%. Albania is classified at the bottom of the list, with only 3.1% of Albanians making such reports. Meanwhile, one in every five Maltese has been exposed to excessive noise caused by the traffic on the Maltese roads. The study carried out by the European Environmental Agency found that in 2017, 22.4% of Maltese were exposed to more than 55dB of noise because of traffic. 1.9% were exposed to the same levels of noise because of airplanes. Meanwhile, only 3.7% of Maltese living in rural zones were exposed to excessive noise caused by traffic. The study also found that noise caused by cars negatively affected around 113 million persons in the European Union. As a result, there were 48,000 new cases of cardiac health issues and 12,000 premature deaths in the year of the study. It was also calculated that around 6.5 million persons were unable to sleep due to noise and that approximately 12,500 students possibly did worse in their studies due to noise generated by airplanes. While noise levels have remained the same, the study laments the fact that the EU’s goal of reducing noise pollution by 2020 was not reached.
(ITALPRESS).
Foto: Agenzia Fotogramma
