A comparative study of noise pollution levels in some selected areas in Ilorin Metropolis, Nigeria

The noise pollution is a major problem for the quality of life in urban areas. This study was conducted to compare the noise pollution levels at busy roads/road junctions, passengers loading parks, commercial, industrial and residential areas in Ilorin metropolis. A total number of 47-locations were selected within the metropolis. Statistical analysis shows significant difference (P < 0.05) in noise pollution levels between industrial areas and low density residential areas, industrial areas and high density areas, industrial areas and passengers loading parks, industrial areas and commercial areas, busy roads/road junctions and low density areas, passengers loading parks and commercial areas and commercial areas and low density areas. There is no significant difference (P > 0.05) in noise pollution levels between industrial areas and busy roads/road junctions, busy roads/road junctions and high density areas, busy roads/road junctions and passengers loading parks, busy roads/road junctions and commercial areas, passengers loading parks and high density areas, passengers loading parks and commercial areas and commercial areas and high density areas. The results show that Industrial areas have the highest noise pollution levels (110.2 dB(A)) followed by busy roads/Road junctions (91.5 dB(A)), Passengers loading parks (87.8 dB(A)) and Commercial areas (84.4 dB(A)). The noise pollution levels in Ilorin metropolis exceeded the recommended level by WHO at 34 of 47 measuring points. It can be concluded that the city is environmentally noise polluted and road traffic and industrial machineries are the major sources of it. Noting the noise emission standards, technical control measures, planning and promoting the citizens awareness about the high noise risk may help to relieve the noise problem in the metropolis.     

Analysing and mapping spatial and temporal dynamics of urban traffic noise pollution: a case study in Kahramanmaraş, Turkey

This study aimed at quantifying noise pollution from urban traffic in the city of Kahramanmara?, Turkey. A total of 114 measurements for the equivalent noise level (L _Aeq) were made at 38 urban locations classified as “residential areas”, “residential and commercial areas” and “industrial areas” according to the national regulations, during morning, mid-day and evening hours. Our findings tabulated and mapped revealed that mean noise level in “residential and commercial areas” was highest relative to the other land-use types. Minimum and maximum values of noise pollution were recorded during the mid-day and evening hours, regardless of the land-use types. Noise limit values were exceeded at two locations only out of 38 based on the national regulation criteria and at over half of the locations based on the international criteria.     

A comparative study of noise levels in some residential,industrial and commercial areas of Delhi

The measurements of noise levels in residential, industrial and commercial areas in the capital city of India, Delhi, were carried out in the month of March and April, 1992. Six sites in residential areas, four in industrial areas and nine in commercial areas were chosen, which were situated in different parts of Delhi. The results of statistical analysis of sound pressure levels show that commercial areas have the highest noise levels followed by industrial and residential areas. Spectral distribution of noise at octave band frequencies have also been presented for the above mentioned areas.     

Evaluation of Traffic Noise Pollution in Amman, Jordan

The City of Amman, Jordan, has been subjected to persistent increase in road traffic due to overall increase in prosperity, fast development and expansion of economy, travel and tourism. This study investigates traffic noise pollution in Amman. Road traffic noise index L ₁₀(1 h) was measured at 28 locations that cover most of the City of Amman. Noise measurements were carried out at these 28 locations two times a day for a period of one hour during the early morning and early evening rush hours, in the presence and absence of a barrier. The Calculation of Road Traffic Noise (CRTN) prediction model was employed to predict noise levels at the locations chosen for the study. Data required for the model include traffic volume, speed, percentage of heavy vehicles, road surface, gradient, obstructions, distance, noise path, intervening ground, effect of shielding, and angle of view. The results of the investigation showed that the minimum and the maximum noise levels are 46 dB(A) and 81 dB(A) during day-time and 58 dB(A) and 71 dB(A) during night-time. The measured noise level exceeded the 62 dB(A) acceptable limit at most of the locations. The CTRN prediction model was successful in predicting noise levels at most of the locations chosen for this investigation, with more accurate predictions for night-time measurements.     

青岛市主干道沿线高层建筑的交通噪声研究

采用A计权网络对青岛市东西快速路沿线高层建筑进行监测。利用Grapher软件,以Leq为监测值的基准值绘制连续线状图,分析城市主干道周边高层建筑上交通噪声的峰值点。根据道路中心线到高层建筑的距离信息,得出高层建筑交通噪声峰值点与道路中心线的连线与水平地面间的角度约为30°。     

Effects of noise pollution over the blood serum immunoglobulins and auditory system on the VFM airport workers, Van, Turkey

Noise pollution is a common health problem for developing countries. Especially highways and airports lead to noise pollution in different levels and in many frequencies. In this study, we focused on the effect of noise pollution in airports. This work aimed measurements of noise pollution levels in Van Ferit Melen (VFM) airport and effect of noise pollution over the immunoglobulin A, G, and M changes among VFM airport workers in Turkey. It was seen that apron and terminal workers were exposed to high noise (>80 dB(A)) without any protective precautions. Noise-induced temporary threshold shifts and noise-induced permanent threshold shifts were detected between the apron workers (p?<?0.001) and terminal workers (p?<?0.005). IgA values of apron terminal and control group workers were approximately the same in the morning and increased in a linear manner during the day. This increase was statistically significant (p?<?0.001). IgG and IgM values of apron, terminal, and control group workers were approximately same in the morning. Apron and terminal workers IgG and IgM levels were increased until noon and then decreased until evening as compare to control group, but these changes were not statically significant (p?>?0.05). These findings suggested that the noise pollution in the VFM airport could lead to hearing loss and changes in blood serum immunoglobulin levels of airport workers. Blood serum immunoglobulin changes might be due to vibrational effects of noise pollution. Airport workers should apply protective precautions against effect of noise pollution in the VFM airport.     

Aircraft-Induced Noise Levels in Some Residential Areas of Delhi

The measurements of aircraft-induced noise levels in some residential areas in the capital city of India were carried out in the month of April and May, 1996. Four areas were chosen which were located underneath the flight path. It has been found that average increase in noise levels over and above the background levels is more than 20 dBA except in case of the most distant site where it is 11 dBA. A good correlation has been found between average peak noise levels (dBA) and the population response in terms of annoyance.     

Measurement and evaluation of the environmental noise levels in the urban areas of the city of Nis (Serbia)

The environmental noise level represents one of the key factors of life quality in urban areas of modern cities. A continuous monitoring of the noise levels and the analysis of results have become a necessity when we discuss a possible recovery of those areas with high levels of noise pollution, and particularly, those zones which were designed for specific activities, e.g., areas around hospitals and schools. The city of Nis, Serbia, owing to the permanent long-term noise monitoring, possesses a database containing figures related to the noise levels at relevant locations in the city, which can serve as a basis for an analysis of the change of conditions, their tendencies in the future, and recognizing factors which influence the danger of noise pollution. The paper involves an analysis of the environmental noise level collected during the previous years.     

Monitoring of heavy metal levels in roadside dusts of Thessaloniki, Greece in relation to motor vehicle traffic density and flow

In recent years, the level of heavy metal pollution in urban areas has been of considerable concern. The principal source has been attributed to the motor vehicle and increasing inner city congestion, which has lead to a change and enlargement of transport stop-start zones. These areas of high traffic density are associated with an increased release of heavy metals into the adjacent residential or commercial areas. Seventy-five roadside dust samples were collected throughout the inner city and by-pass motorway areas of Thessaloniki, Northern Greece. Samples were taken from arterial, major and minor roads, as well as the ring road, to compare and contrast the levels of heavy metals, namely Cu, Zn, Cd, Mn and Pb. Flame Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (FAAS) was developed to quantitatively determine concentrations of both total element and geochemical fractionation, within the two dust particulate fraction sizes <75 microm and 75-125 microm. Acid digestion using Aqua Regia (3:1 conc. HCl:HNO(3)) was employed for the total elemental analysis, a method that was validated through the use of certified reference materials (CRM). Fractionation studies involved a three-step sequential extraction method performed on five selected samples (representatives of high, mid and low total elemental concentrations). The resultant solutions were analysed for lead and zinc levels to ascertain fractionation throughout the different geochemical fractions, thus assessing bioavailability.It was found that congestion/stop-start traffic patterns did influence and have led to increased levels of heavy metal deposition along inner city roads compared to levels observed on the new relief ring road. Dust particulate fraction sizes were only found to show statistically significant differences in cadmium and manganese, at the probability P < 0.001 or 99.9% confidence limit. Both Cd and Mn showed higher total levels in the smaller fraction sizes (<75 microm), implying that their major release source is exhaust emissions. There were no significant differences in the other elements, at the P > 0.05 or 95% confidence limit. Road type was seen to have little affect on cadmium and manganese, though lead, copper and zinc were all found to show higher levels on the inner city routes. This can be related back to the wear-and-tear of vehicle components as a result of the stop-start traffic patterns (brake pads etc). Both Pb and Zn have shown to be in chemical forms that are bio available to ecosystems.     

Evolution of building façade road traffic noise levels in Flanders

The evolution of daytime fa?ade noise levels by road traffic at 250 dwellings in Flanders is assessed. Three identical man-operated measurement campaigns have been conducted in the years 1996, 2001 and 2009, during fall. A practical methodology has been developed, based on short time noise measurements and context observations at these locations. The uncertainty introduced by short-term sampling has been quantified as a function of the noise level. Furthermore, a correction is proposed for measuring at a random moment during daytime. Analysis of the data showed that road traffic noise levels hardly changed globally over this period of 13 years. The distribution of changes in noise level at corresponding measurement locations is nevertheless rather wide-all improvements are equally compensated by increases in noise levels at other locations. The percentage of the dwelling fa?ades exposed to daytime noise levels above 65 dBA has increased slightly between 1996 and 2001, but seems to stagnate in 2009. In spite of the increased interest and actions of policy makers during the past decades, noise exposure caused by road traffic at dwelling fa?ades is a persistent problem.     

北京市典型道路交通噪声排放特征

采用北京市道路交通噪声自动监测系统2013—2017年采集的等效连续A声级数据,对城市快速路、城市主干线、城市次干线、城市支路的代表性站点噪声排放情况进行了统计分析,结果显示,北京市不同等级的道路噪声排放具备一定的特征,排放水平从大到小依次为城市快速路城市主干线城市支路和城市次干线,道路噪声随时间变化存在较为一致的周期性排放特征,24 h变化特征比较明显。个别道路排放特征存在特异性,如城市主干线道路的一个代表监测站点噪声监测值出现了逐年下降趋势,分析发现,北京市非首都功能疏解对其噪声值的下降有一定贡献。采取一定的规划和管理措施有助于减少道路交通噪声的排放。     

城市交通干道绿地砷污染评价

为了研究城市砷污染的现状及不同区域砷污染的空间差异性,以吉林市表层土壤为研究对象,在交通干道的绿化带和磨盘山保护区采集35个土壤样本,进行pH、有机质及砷含量的测定。采用单项污染指数、污染累计指数法等对土壤砷污染进行评价,并运用方差分析的方法对不同区域的砷污染进行了差异比较。研究表明:吉林市街道砷含量为26.43 mg/kg,为磨盘山自然土壤砷含量的4.08倍,为吉林市砷土壤背景值7.26倍;吉林市砷总体超标率12.9%。江北工业区、吉林大街和解放大路的单项污染指数分别为1.34、0.95、0.87,整体达到轻微污染水平。江北工业区和吉林大街、解放大路的变异系数相差不大,依次为0.13、0.11、0.17。土壤砷的污染累积指数为3.21,且由北向南递减,因此,砷污染主要来自于江北工业区的工业"三废"污染。     

Alkylphenols and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in eastern Mediterranean Spanish coastal marine bivalves

This paper reports the first results on alkylphenol pollution in edible bivalves from the Spanish coast. Two sampling campaigns (July 2006 and July 2007) were carried out to determine the concentration of nonylphenol (NP), octylphenol (OP), and eight polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in wild mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialys) and clams (Donax trunculus) at 14 sampling sites along the eastern Mediterranean Spanish coast. The results show that NP is the predominant alkylphenol, being the port of Valencia the most polluted area (up to 147 ??g/kg wet weight in clams). Moving away from the ports the concentration of NP in bivalves decreased. OP concentration was below its detection limit in most of the studied areas and its maximum concentration (6 ??g/kg w/w) was measured in clams from the port of Sagunto. The presence of low levels of PAHs was observed in most of the studied areas. The total PAHs concentration (i.e., sum of the eight measured PAHs) achieved a maximum value of 10.09 ??g/kg w/w in the north coast of Valencia city. The distribution pattern of the individual PAHs showed that both pollution sources petrogenic and pyrolytic were present in the sampled areas. Fluoranthene was the most abundant PAH in mussels while benzo(b)fluoranthene in clams. The maximum concentration of 10 ??g/kg w/w for benzo(a)pyrene established by the European Commission was never reached, indeed sampled bivalves showed concentrations 10 times lower than this reference value. Thus, they can be considered safe for human consumption. Despite the low contamination levels, the results show an overall pollution of bivalves by alkylphenol and PAHs as well as an increment in the number of polluted areas from 2006 to 2007. Thus, periodical sampling campaigns should be carried out to monitor the long-term tendency of these toxic and persistent pollutants.     

Road Traffic Noise Prediction Model under Interrupted Traffic Flow Condition

The objective of this study is to develop an empirical traffic noise prediction model under interrupted traffic flow conditions using two analytical the approaches, the first being the acceleration lane approach and second being the deceleration approach. The urban road network of Bangalore city has been selected as the study area. Sixteen locations are chosen in major traffic junctions of the study area. The traffic noise data collected from the study locations were analyzed separately for both acceleration and deceleration lanes when vehicles leave an intersection on a green traffic light and come to a stop on red traffic light. Based on the study, a regression noise prediction model has been developed for both acceleration and deceleration lanes.     

Biochemical changes in plant leaves as a biomarker of pollution due to anthropogenic activity

The air pollution due to anthropogenic activities seriously affected human life, vegetation, and heritage as well. The vegetation cover in and around the city mitigates the air pollution by acting as a sink for pollution. An attempt was made to evaluate biochemical changes occurred in four selected plant species, namely Azadirachta indica, Mangifera indica, Delonix regia, and Cassia fistula of residential, commercial, and industrial areas of Nagpur city in India. It was observed that the correlated values of air pollutants and plant leaves characteristics alter foliar biochemical features (i.e., chlorophyll and ascorbic acid content, pH and relative water content) of plants due to air pollution. The changes in air pollution tolerance index of plants was also estimated which revealed that these plants can be used as a biomarker of air pollution.     

Efficient control of air pollution through plants, a cost-effective alternative: studies on Dalbergia sissoo Roxb

Plants can be used as both passive biomonitors and biomitigators in urban and industrial environments to indicate the environmental quality and to ameliorate pollution level in a locality. Many studies reveal that plants are negatively affected by the ambient levels of air pollutants. The present study was conducted to evaluate the impact of air pollution on comparative basis with reference to changes in photosynthetic pigments, plant height, leaves, as well as, biochemical parameters of plants of different sites around Udaipur city receiving varying levels of pollution load. The investigated tree species Dalbergia sissoo Roxb. (Family: Fabaceae) exhibited a reduction in various physiological and biochemical growth parameters that correspond with air pollution levels at different sites. The tree species growing in polluted and control areas were compared with respect to foliar dust load, leaf area, and chlorophyll and total carbohydrate and total protein concentration in the leaves. Our studies suggest that D. sissoo Roxb. can successfully be grown in an area for monitoring air pollution, where it is mild and droughts are common. It will prove as an ideal tree species to control pollution effectively beside acting as a shade tree and being a source of food for birds and animals. By plantation of D. sissoo Roxb., mitigative measure at the polluted sites to control generation of particulate matter and the air quality required can be ensured. Our results also confirm that industrial and vehicular air pollution level in Udaipur city is shifting beyond limits.     

Traffic noise assessment based on mobile measurements

Continuous noise monitoring based on mobile systems could provide a quick feedback to assess the effect of policies implemented by authorities to mitigate noise pollution. The present research verifies that mobile measurements taken along a main street and aggregated in time and space can accurately estimate noise levels at static points. As a consequence, mobile sensors would be suitable to build, and continuously update, noise maps. Furthermore, the experiment computes the optimum aggregation distance of the mobile measurements.To perform the mobile noise measurements, a low-cost noise sensor with an integrated GPS was mounted on a bicycle. One hour worth of measurements was taken along a main avenue with the mobile receiver simultaneously to 6 static measurement points. For the mobile receiver, the L_Aeq was computed aggregating samples within a radius from 1 m to 100 m around the static measurement points. Then, the error between the aggregated L_Aeq of the mobile and the static receivers for the same time period was computed. It is observed that the RMSE and the measurement uncertainties decrease as the aggregation distance increases, having a minimum at an aggregation radius of 33 m and reaching a stabilization due to the constant traffic of the studied street.     

海口市声环境影响因素分析及预测

噪声污染一直是海口市主要的环境问题之一。主要原因是城市纵深度太低，道路密度太高，交通布局不合理，1991年－2000年城市区域环境噪声和道路交通噪声的平均值分别为59．0dB（A）和69．5dB（A）。利用城市区域环境噪声预测方法和道路交通噪声预测方法对该市噪声进行预测，2001年－2005年该市的区域噪声昼间平均等效声级综合预测值在57．6dB（A）－56．7dB（A）之间；道路交通噪声昼间平均等效声级综合预测值在68．2dB（A）－68．3dB（A）之间。     

Measuring waste generation in third world cities: A case study of Ilorin,Nigeria

Problems associated with urban wastes are now at crisis stage in Nigeria. All efforts made to solve the problems have failed, as the efforts were directed towards instant cleaning rather than long lasting programs to cope with problems associated with environmental sanitation. Measurements were taken of the domestic waste generated by randomly selected households in Ilorin, to predict the generation rate for the city. The data was subjected to various analyses. The models used in developed nations were found inappropriate to predict the waste generation rate of the people at Ilorin because of cultural factors. Various methods to cope with the environmental sanitation problems of cities of developing areas were then suggested.     

Study on the effect of porous fence on air quality and traffic noise level around a double-decked road structure

Fence for traffic noise control sometimes causes adverse effect on air pollution. Thus in this study, performance of porous fence as a tool for control of both air pollution and noise pollution was evaluated. A two-dimensional numerical model for flow and pollutant concentration and an analytical model for traffic noise were utilized in the analysis of a double-decked road structure with fences only at ground (Case 1) and at both ground and upper deck (Case 2). Porous fences were assumed only at the ground level since the solid fences at the upper deck usually leads to desirable result on air pollution. Effects of the variable porosity on air quality and noise level near road were evaluated. Obtained results showed: (1) flow pattern in leeward of fence was drastically changed at 40–50% porosity in Case 1 and 50% in Case 2. The porosity larger than 40% excluded presence of a circulation behind the fence. (2) Effect of porous fence on air pollution was different in Cases 1 and 2. In Case 1, the porous fence generally resulted in the reduction of air pollution at the ground level; on the other hand, in Case 2, it rather led to increase of the concentration. (3) Traffic noise level was also largely changed by the porosity of the fence; an example of simultaneous evaluation of the effects of porous fence on both air and noise pollution in Case 1 showed that the fence of 60% porosity leads to reduction of air pollution by 20% compared with solid fence case, and reduction of noise pollution by 4–6% in dB compared with no fence case, at l m high and 10 m from the road.