文章基本信息

标题：Determination of Ambient Noise Levels in the Main Commercial Area of Cape Coast, Ghana
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作者：Paul K. Essandoh ; Frederick Ato Armah
期刊名称：Research Journal of Environmental and Earth Sciences
印刷版ISSN：2041-0484
电子版ISSN：2041-0492
出版年度：2011
卷号：3
期号：6
页码：637-644
出版社：Maxwell Science Publications
摘要：Noise pollution associated with urbanisation is an emerging environmental problem in many developing countries including Ghana. In comparison with other pollutants, the control of environmental noise has been hampered by insufficient knowledge of its effects on humans and of dose-response relationships, as well as by a lack of sufficient data. The study set to quantify noise and obtain the perceptions of residents in selected neighbourhoods in the main commercial area of Cape Coast, Ghana. The focus was on five selected areas: commercial centres, road junctions/busy roads, passengers loading stations, high-density residential areas, and low-density residential areas. The range of noise pollution levels, L_NP, at high-density residential areas is 58-68 dB (A), while that of low-density residential areas is 53-72 dB (A). The range of traffic noise index TNI at high-density residential areas is 34-107 dB (A), and that of low density residential areas is 27-65 dB (A). There is a wide disparity in the noise level exposure by the residents in high-density residential areas and that of low-density residential areas. At 90% confidence level, the Mean Square Ratio (MSR) calculated for L_NP is 65.02, while the tabulated value is 2.36. Similarly, at the same confidence level, the MSR calculated for TNI is 6.23 and the tabulated value remains as 2.36. Since, in the two cases, the calculated MSR is greater than the tabulated value, there is a significant difference (p<0.05) in the noise pollution level and TNI in the locations surveyed based on the data analyzed at 90% confidence level. About 82.1% of the respondents complained that the noise from the audio music shops and traffic is a nuisance. Noise levels at all the 10 measurement points exceeded the Ghana EPA recommended upper limit by values of 1-15 dB (A). This makes it imperative for the regulatory authority to enforce compliance on noise.
关键词：Ambient noise ; Cape Coast ; perception ; pollution ; traffic ;