Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIM: Noise pollution is a growing environmental health concern in rapidly urbanising sub-Saharan African (SSA) cities. Yet mapping levels and variations of environmental noise in SSA cities has been scarce. METHODS: We measured outdoor sound levels at 146 locations in a city-wide measurement campaign from April 2019 to June 2020 with combined yearlong and weeklong measurements. We used these data together with geospatial predictors to develop land use regression models to estimate noise pollution metrics across the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA, 1500 km2), Ghana. Predictor variables included land use, road networks, locations of human activity and the airport, population and building density, and vegetation. We selected the final parsimonious models through a stepwise procedure. We used separate day and night-time models to estimate equivalent continuous sound levels (LAeq1hr (dBA)) for each hour of the day. As a secondary analysis, we modelled a metric which represents sound intermittency (intermittency ratio, % of sound energy from events). We overlayed model predictions with census data to estimate population levels of, and potential area-level socioeconomic inequalities in, noise levels in Accra Metropolis at the census enumeration-area level. RESULTS:Variables representing road-traffic and vegetation explained the most variation in noise levels and intermittency. Predicted day-evening-night (Lden) noise levels were highest in the city-core (median: 64 dBA) and near major roads (median: 68 dBA). In the more urbanised Accra Metropolis, 99% of the population lived in areas with average Lden and night-time noise (Lnight) that surpassed international guidelines for road-traffic noise (Lden 53; Lnight 45). The poorest areas in Accra also had significantly higher median Lden and Lnight compared with the wealthiest ones, at a difference of 3 dBA. CONCLUSIONS:Considering that outdoor noise levels surpassed international health-based guidelines almost everywhere in the GAMA, noise management and control should be prioritised in the city. KEYWORDS: Noise,Traffic-related, Exposure assessment,Spatial statistics,Socio-economic factors
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
