An Assessment of the Impact of Helicopter Noise: Case Study of Mgbuoshimini Community Nigeria

Abstract

With the projected growth in demand for commercial aviation, it is anticipated that there will be an increased environmental impact associated with noise, air quality, and climate change. Against this backdrop, the noise levels experienced by the residents of Mgbuoshimini Community due to helicopters takeoff and landing were studied. The study was carried out for 14 days at three different locations using a Class 2 Optimus sound level meter from 7am to 5pm daily. Analysis involved the equivalent noise levels, statistical measures for the background noise, aircraft flyover noise as well as the Noise Gap Index (NGI) . It was found that the equivalent noise levels of the background noise and aircraft flyover noise range from 67.7 dBA to 72.4 dBA and 88.4 dBA to 88.6 dBA respectively. The peak background noise and aircraft flyover noise ranged from 69.17 dBA to 79 dBA and 93.2 dBA to 94.8 dBA respectively. These values exceeded the recommended value of 60 dBA for residential areas. Two models to determine the NGI for both low noise areas and high noise areas were developed. A correlation coefficient of 0.70 and 0.88 were obtained between the actual and predicted values of NGI for both low and high noise areas. Therefore, it is recommended that buildings should be adequately insulated by use of noise-absorbing materials. Furthermore, environmentally friendly (quieter) aircrafts should be used by the airline company operating in that area