Acoustic Over-Exposure in the Institutional Land Use of Calabar Metropolitan Area, Cross River State, Nigeria

Abstract

Every tertiary institution is meant to be a centre of excellence in terms of academic activities as well as an enabling environment to achieve such. However, many of these academic settings have turned into activity hubs of varying natures of land uses, which daily generate high acoustic levels. The study comparatively assessed noise levels across the two major tertiary institutions in Calabar metropolis, Nigeria. The objectives were to identify institutional sources of noise, perform a comparative analysis of noise levels across tertiary institutions in Calabar metropolis, as well as render viable measures for reducing the incidence and effects of noise levels in tertiary institutions within Calabar metropolis. Sound level data were acquired using BK Precision 732 Digital Sound Level Meters. Analysis was done using the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) technique. From the test, the ‘F’ value calculated (2.74) is greater than the ‘F’ tabulated (1.86), which implies that there is a significant variation in noise levels within the University of Calabar and the University of Cross River State. Observations show that generator noise, socio-economic activities, extracurricular activities within tertiary institutions, traffic within and outside the school premises, and business outlets within the study locations are the main sources of noise pollution within the institutions. It was therefore recommended that university authorities should zone/allocate land uses to activities that are similar to each other so as to avoid land use conflicts and incompatibilities. Moreover, land uses that are not compatible with the university environment should be eliminated. University authorities should help reduce the total number of generating sets within the school premises by allocating one generating set which will serve all business operations within the school premises, and such should be away from lecture venues and other offices.