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Mapping of noise risk zones derived from religious activities and perceptions in residential neighbourhoods in the Cape Coast metropolis, Ghana

Armah, FA ; Odoi, JO ; Yawson, DO ; Tambang, Yengoh Genesis LU ; Afrifa, EKA and Pappoe, ANM (2010) In Environmental Hazards: Human and Policy Dimensions 9(4). p.358-368
Abstract
Ambient noise levels emanating from religious activities in residential neighbourhoods are an emerging environmental problem that educes little attention from enforcement agencies and policy makers in Ghana. This paper set out to quantify religious noise exposure in urban residential neighbourhoods in the Cape Coast metropolis of Ghana. Subjective annoyance levels of residents in selected communities were determined. Noise risk zones were mapped using ARCGIS 9.3 software and surface interpolation for the data was carried out using inverse distance weighting. The results show that most (77 and 86 per cent) of the locations recorded noise levels that were above the Ghana Environmental Protection Agency maximum permissible limit for day and... (More)
Ambient noise levels emanating from religious activities in residential neighbourhoods are an emerging environmental problem that educes little attention from enforcement agencies and policy makers in Ghana. This paper set out to quantify religious noise exposure in urban residential neighbourhoods in the Cape Coast metropolis of Ghana. Subjective annoyance levels of residents in selected communities were determined. Noise risk zones were mapped using ARCGIS 9.3 software and surface interpolation for the data was carried out using inverse distance weighting. The results show that most (77 and 86 per cent) of the locations recorded noise levels that were above the Ghana Environmental Protection Agency maximum permissible limit for day and night, respectively. Pearson's correlation coefficient for day and night noise exposure shows strong association (0.714) at the 0.01 level. There is variability in the levels of noise for both day and night, which are rather high (standard deviation = 7.59477 and 7.94022, respectively). Generally, levels of noise exposure correlated with levels of annoyance of residents, except that the highest noise exposure was not recorded in the community where the annoyance level of residents was highest. Residential neighbourhoods within the study area largely experienced safe to tolerable levels of religious noise, although 5 per cent were within the high-risk zone. Given that the selected residential areas have high population densities, even when the dispersion of noise risk is spatially limited, it affects a large number of people who belong to different socio-economic classes. (Less)
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author
; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
environmental hazard, geographical information systems, interpolation, religious noise exposure, risk zones
in
Environmental Hazards: Human and Policy Dimensions
volume
9
issue
4
pages
358 - 368
publisher
Taylor & Francis
external identifiers
  • wos:000289914500003
  • scopus:84914107417
ISSN
1747-7891
DOI
10.3763/ehaz.2010.0003
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
65ee14b0-7832-42ef-b578-c3fc96782599 (old id 1757209)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 10:42:52
date last changed
2022-02-17 20:38:23
@article{65ee14b0-7832-42ef-b578-c3fc96782599,
  abstract     = {{Ambient noise levels emanating from religious activities in residential neighbourhoods are an emerging environmental problem that educes little attention from enforcement agencies and policy makers in Ghana. This paper set out to quantify religious noise exposure in urban residential neighbourhoods in the Cape Coast metropolis of Ghana. Subjective annoyance levels of residents in selected communities were determined. Noise risk zones were mapped using ARCGIS 9.3 software and surface interpolation for the data was carried out using inverse distance weighting. The results show that most (77 and 86 per cent) of the locations recorded noise levels that were above the Ghana Environmental Protection Agency maximum permissible limit for day and night, respectively. Pearson's correlation coefficient for day and night noise exposure shows strong association (0.714) at the 0.01 level. There is variability in the levels of noise for both day and night, which are rather high (standard deviation = 7.59477 and 7.94022, respectively). Generally, levels of noise exposure correlated with levels of annoyance of residents, except that the highest noise exposure was not recorded in the community where the annoyance level of residents was highest. Residential neighbourhoods within the study area largely experienced safe to tolerable levels of religious noise, although 5 per cent were within the high-risk zone. Given that the selected residential areas have high population densities, even when the dispersion of noise risk is spatially limited, it affects a large number of people who belong to different socio-economic classes.}},
  author       = {{Armah, FA and Odoi, JO and Yawson, DO and Tambang, Yengoh Genesis and Afrifa, EKA and Pappoe, ANM}},
  issn         = {{1747-7891}},
  keywords     = {{environmental hazard; geographical information systems; interpolation; religious noise exposure; risk zones}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{4}},
  pages        = {{358--368}},
  publisher    = {{Taylor & Francis}},
  series       = {{Environmental Hazards: Human and Policy Dimensions}},
  title        = {{Mapping of noise risk zones derived from religious activities and perceptions in residential neighbourhoods in the Cape Coast metropolis, Ghana}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.3763/ehaz.2010.0003}},
  doi          = {{10.3763/ehaz.2010.0003}},
  volume       = {{9}},
  year         = {{2010}},
}