When we talk about the types of pollution affecting the Olympic Games, most of us might think of air and water pollution, and for good reason. After all, pollutants are most commonly transported through air and water mediums, resulting in their impacts being easily observed when contaminated air and water are consumed. Similarly, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA, 2021) seemingly hints toward air and water pollution when defining pollutants as substances that “adversely affect the usefulness of a resource or the health of humans, animals or ecosystems”.
However, such perceptions of pollution are restrictive, and overlook the impact that intangible but pervasive entities — such as light — have on biota. In recent years, light pollution has been increasingly identified as one of the most harmful types of pollution, as it not only worsens sleep patterns, but also disrupts wildlife behaviour (Chepesiuk, 2009). It has also become increasingly common amidst the general rise in affluence levels and construction of brightly-lit cityscapes worldwide (Chepesiuk, 2009).
Light pollution has become increasingly pervasive, amidst the excessive use of artificial lighting to light up urban centres and homes (Coetzee, 2019)
It is thus of little wonder that the Olympic Games — being an internationally-recognised mega-event that seeks to impress through the use of grand infrastructure and spectacular displays — is a major producer of light pollution. From the launching of fireworks to end the Olympic Games on a high, to the liberal use of electric lights to illuminate venues and optimise spectator experience, artificial light is found almost everywhere. This is unfortunately to the point that it overwhelms the visual senses and eventually, the human brain.
A case in point would be the 2012 London Olympic Games, which was hailed as one of the most “thoughtfully planned” but light-intensive Olympic Games in history. As reported by LEDs Magazine (2012), nearly 70000 LED modules were positioned beside spectator seats, 14000 lamps were located within the Olympic Stadium. This was not inclusive of the additional 25000 LED modules used for nighttime lighting at the Olympic Park (LEDs Magazine, 2012). While the use of such light was arguably necessary as it made holding competitions at night possible, their excessive use had brought about sleep disorders amongst the general population. 67% of adults reported disrupted sleep while 31% suffered from insomnia, as their overexposure to artificial light had led to decreasing pineal melatonin production and control over circadian rhythms (Falchi et al., 2011). In other words, the retina was increasingly hit by light photons, causing the mind to be overstimulated (Chepesiuk, 2009).
The massive numbers of LED modules and lamps used at the 2012 London Olympic Games was associated with increasing sleep disorder rates amongst British adults (Peralta, 2012)
Hence, it is clear that light pollution has adverse long-term impacts on human health that — rather interestingly — do not discriminate on the basis of socioeconomic status and race. Rather, light pollution is most commonly experienced in developed countries (Gallaway, Olsen and Mitchell, 2010), where the use of artificial light for urban landscapes is regarded as a hallmark of economic progress. Unfortunately, the same does not apply for wildlife, with both sea and land species being equally vulnerable to light pollution impacts. With that, do look out for my next post on this dark issue!
References
Chepesiuk, R. (2009). Missing the dark: health effects of light pollution. Environmental Health Perspectives, 117(1). https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.117-a20
Coetzee, B. (2019). Light pollution: the dark side of keeping the lights on [Online image]. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/light-pollution-the-dark-side-of-keeping-the-lights-on-113489
Falchi, F., Cinzano, P., Elvidge, C. D., Keith, D. M., & Haim, A. (2011). Limiting the impact of light pollution on human health, environment and stellar visibility. Journal of environmental management, 92(10), 2714-2722. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2011.06.029
Gallaway, T., Olsen, R. N., & Mitchell, D. M. (2010). The economics of global light pollution. Ecological economics, 69(3), 658-665. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2009.10.003
LEDs Magazine. (2012, August). LED lighting plays prominent role in Olympic Games. LEDs Magazine. https://www.ledsmagazine.com/leds-ssl-design/driver-ics/article/16698368/led-lighting-plays-prominent-role-in-olympic-games
Peralta, E. (2012). As It Happened: The London Olympics’ Opening Ceremony [Online image]. NPR. https://www.npr.org/sections/thetorch/2012/07/27/157501561/live-blog-the-opening-ceremony
United States Environmental Protection Agency (2021, July 15). Report on the Environment Glossary. https://www.epa.gov/report-environment/roe-glossary#:~:text=into%20a%20waterway.-,pollutant%3A,substances%20introduced%20by%20human%20activities.
