Defence at RAAF bases Amberley, Darwin and Williamtown have shifted their Workplace Health and Safety priorities from pilots to preschoolers as emerging research suggests children may be more sensitive to aircraft noise than adults.
The research prompted the Australian Defence Force to initiate specialised noise assessments at childcare centres on these bases in order to collect data for audiology experts to make a better assessment of the childcare locations.
Group Captain Richard Lennon said although the ADF continually maintains noise and flight path monitoring programs, assessments were only adjusted for the concerned children just recently.
"We conducted a number of noise assessments at childcare bases where we have fast jets such as Amberley," Group Captain Lennon said.
"The idea is to measure the total noise around the childcare centre, including the children themselves, who are a significant source of noise, in order to be able to minimise the effects of overall noise exposure.
"What we've found so far is that while noise levels are lower than the acceptable national standard, that is only established for adults and it's still unclear what it is for children, as emerging research remains inconclusive."
As defined by the National Occupational Health and Safety Commission, the acceptable limit for ongoing noise exposure is 85 decibels, while the peak noise for an instantaneous event such as a fast jet is 140 decibels.
While long-term exposure to this kind of excessive, instantaneous noise primarily leads to noise-induced hearing loss in adults, there may be other underlying dangers for children.
"Children may not suffer hearing loss at the levels of noise exposure prescribed for adults, but they could have other cognitive difficulties and learning difficulties related to being distracted or disrupted by the noise," Group Captain Lennon said.
According to Group Captain Lennon, all parents of children in the base childcare have been made aware of the noise assessment and have expressed no concerns, either with the assessment, or their child's health and wellbeing.
"We've never received any reports or concerns of children suffering hearing loss or learning or cognitive difficulties," Group Captain Lennon said.
"The advisory we received, which is based on emerging research, says the risk is very small. This is just a precaution to make sure we are doing everything possible to ensure the safety of the children and their learning environment."
Defence already implements a 'Fly Neighbourly' policy to guide air crews to train and operate safely while reducing the impact of noise on the general community, while the childcare centres have already begun countering noise exposure with simple adjustments.
"We're already finding it's simple to schedule the children's outdoor playtime for periods that are relatively quiet during the day," Group Captain Lennon said.
"Childcare staff have also found that if they play background music in the centre, especially during rest time, there's less distraction and a more consistent noise environment for the children to live in."
