[Report 1963] / Medical Officer of Health, Windsor R.D.C.

  • Windsor (Berkshire, England). Rural District Council.
Date:
1963
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1963] / Medical Officer of Health, Windsor R.D.C. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    NOISE Man’s evolution over thousands of years has given him time to adapt himself to changing environment and although there may have been some speeding up of man’s evolution over the past 10,000 years, it has not matched the evolution of man-made environment, Man's ingenuity appears to be developing a state of environment in which some aspects are unwelcome and even deleterious to health, and noise in particular is one such man-made by-product. Let us, however, keep matters in proportion. When man ceased to be-a food gatherer and became a food grower a less nomadic way of life evolved and eventually close knit urban communities developed leading to encouragement of infection and epidemic disease which is worth remembering has, on a number of occasions, changed the then apparent course of history. Over a million or so years man’s structure has altered but it seems too much to hope that the body in itself can suitably be adapted to keep pace with environmental change and man must, in this day and age, have some regard to possible side effects of that which he produces. The natural urge to advance, be it in engineering, science or exploration, cannot bemstsn.ined but more and-more consideration must be given to the side effects of such advance. Perhaps the side effect of the H bomb is greater than the bomb itself if the deterrent results in greater 'tolerance between nations. All that has been said is in an attempt to place the problem in perspective and yet it is not to decry the efforts of the ”Something must be done” brigade. Without the vociferous minority, troublesome as they can be to officialdom, public support would not be gained for a just cause. The prevention of noise is a just cause and one which can only receive support even from those whose lives are less affected by it. While one may not cease using noisy instruments the users themselves would welcome less noise therefrom. Aircraft noise has figured greatly in public discussion for many years and is now a problem to be considered at national level with the whole community of individuals pressing government, industry and research for some amelioration. Other forms of transport, though a less acute source of trouble, are approaching the same category but in certain cases local action can be taken if excessive noise is due to neglect or is deliberate.