In a follow-up letter to the health board November 30, Blomberg identified other inaccuracies in Col. Ahmann's presentation of the Air Force position, in particular the government's false claim that "there is no scientific basis for a claim that potential health effects exist for aircraft time average sound levels below 75 dB [decibels]." Pointing out the intellectual dishonesty of the claim, Blomberg wrote:
"You
should note that the conclusion is based on 20+ year old paper based on
research that was probably more than 25 years old. In the last 25 years, while
the human body's response to noise has not changed, our understanding of it has
changed greatly.
"In the last 10 years, research has shown health effects from noise, including the WHO statement that was on my handout."
In 2011, the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe published a 126-page study titles "Burden of disease from environmental noise," which was certainly as available to the Air Force for its environmental impact statement as research that was decades out of date. The Foreword of the study offers a clear context in which the F-35 should be assessed for its health impact:
"Public
health experts agree that environmental risks constitute 24% of the burden of
disease. Widespread exposure to environmental noise from road, rail, airports and
industrial sites contributes to this burden. One in three individuals is
annoyed during the daytime and one in five has disturbed sleep at night because
of traffic noise.
"Epidemiological
evidence indicates that those chronically exposed to high levels of
environmental noise have an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases such as myocardial
infarction. Thus, noise pollution is considered not only an environmental
nuisance but also a threat to public health."
Most
Ignore Class War Aspect, But It's Real
Blomberg also addressed the class warfare aspect of the Air Force/Pentagon/Congressional push for the Vermont F-35 base, as reported by Kevin Kelley for Seven Days:
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