Noise causes serious health problems and quality of life. Gernika-Lumo, despite its apparent beauty and hospitality, has serious noise problems.

By way of introduction, the above fact will be shown. At the height of the street Iparragirre de Gernika was the company of the die-cutting sector (currently in the polygon of Boroa, Amorebieta-Etxano). The die-cutting work was carried out uninterruptedly from Sunday night to Saturday noon, day and night. Every two seconds, the die-cutting collision was heard. Often two machines worked at the same time. The noise of the txalaparta “nested” inside the ear. You could not rest and, therefore, health was eroded; coexistence, nothing to say. On one occasion, the municipal technician was scared to read inside the house, in the middle of the night, the data of the decibel of the hammers. Asking the neighbors what they were doing in the face of this aggressive noise, the stoppers, anxiolytics or sleeping pills were the means of escape and, frequently, the total loss of health.

Now it is the Gernikarras of Don Tello Street who lose both hours of sleep and health; and patience. Faced with the feeling of being orphaned before the administrations, they have decided to make the problem public and go to court. For years, the construction area of the Basque Railway Network ETS, located next to the train station, is being denounced. To locate the reader, the ETS operations center is located between the housing complex of Don Tello Street and the location of the company Dalia, whose site is the Guggenheim Museum. On the other hand, since the Amorebieta-Bermeo branch is the only railway track, the maintenance work will be carried out at night. So, the noises of heavy machines and the movements of the diesel engine trains, in the middle of asinfonia, come together in the ears of the neighbors at midnight.

The neighbors of the homes of Juan Calzada are also fed up with their helmets, as in other streets. The noisy activity of the day and night of the hospitality does not cease. On the one hand, squares and streets have become terraces to the extreme. Furthermore, measures to prevent the spread of noise in bars and nightclubs are unnecessary. In fact, even though the premises are acoustically isolated or have double doors, they remain open during the early hours. Then, the high music inside the bar joins the careless in the street of the clients. The consequence of this acoustic cocktail is, in the medium term, the lack of rest and the disease of the neighbours.

And as if the above were not few, comes the decibel apocalypse of the days of concert and festival. Unregulated and uncontrolled mass noise. In music sessions for boys, girls and adolescents at Market Square, sound levels are also explosive for eardrums. In the Plaza del Paseo, what generates the sound box effect, the decibels of the concerts and the schedules are the torment sessions of the neighbors. The lack of standards and inappropriate habits are without limits to all citizens. In the festivities of San Roque de Gernika, they force the neighbors of the hull to leave the village. At the annual festivities, the solution lies in exile.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has long warned of the serious consequences of noise. Since then, it was confirmed by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III in Madrid in an in-depth investigation. In other words, noise pollution causes serious health problems, such as anxiety, severe heart problems and even death. The problem of noise is very serious. Administrations and all stakeholders must therefore address this environmental and social issue with urgency and courage.

Xabier Arana Eiguren, Bachelor of Life Sciences