Question

In mid-nineteenth-century London, the rapid expansion of industrial machinery and horse-drawn omnibus traffic created unprecedented urban noise, prompting early public health advocates to investigate acoustic disturbance. Contrary to the prevailing view that noise was merely an unavoidable consequence of urbanization, physician Hector Gavin argued in 1848 that persistent acoustic vibrations directly impaired factory workers' auditory nerves and reduced workplace efficiency. To mitigate these effects, Gavin recommended installing thick felt underlays beneath heavy weaving looms and laying gutta-percha tiles across factory floors. While municipal authorities ignored his proposals for public thoroughfares due to high installation costs, several textile mill owners in Manchester voluntarily adopted gutta-percha flooring. Contemporaneous factory logs indicate that this specific modification reduced structural vibration transmitted through timber flooring by nearly forty percent, though it had negligible impact on airborne acoustic echoes.

According to the passage, the installation of gutta-percha flooring in Manchester textile mills resulted in which of the following outcomes?