A Survey of Noise Pollution in Ado-Ekiti Metropolis Using Mobile Phone

Abstract

Noise is considered as the most pervasive pollutant, it constitutes the most disturbing among the city pollutants and is a serious urban crisis in Ado Ekiti metropolis. Noise pollution was monitored at five different locations in Ado-Ekiti, the capital town of Ekiti State of Nigeria. The study was done using a Virtual Instrument; a Sound Pressure Level mobile application installed on a mobile phone. The equivalent noise level using A-weighting was taken every fifteen minutes in each location between 6:00 am and 9:00 pm and the LAeq,T of each location was calculated. Maximum LAeq,6h of 105.40 dB was obtained in marketplace between 6:00 am and 12:00 pm while the minimum value of LAeq,6h obtained for a residential area in the same period is 69.51 dBA. The residents are exposed to average noise levels of 75 - 98 dB (A) or more every day which is higher than the recommended value of 60 dBA by WHO. This is very dangerous to the health of the people in these areas, and the results obtained in this study are useful as reference and guideline for future regulations on noise limit to be implemented for urban areas in Nigeria.