TITLE:
Noise Exposure Levels in Basic School Environments in a City in Ghana
AUTHORS:
Lois N. K. Quartey, Samuel Amos-Abanyie, Samuel O. Afram
KEYWORDS:
Environmental Noise, Sound Level, Basic Schools, Central Business District, Kumasi
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Civil Engineering,
Vol.11 No.1,
March
12,
2021
ABSTRACT: Basic
schools that are located in heavily populated residential and commercial areas
in Ghana are exposed to environmental noise that can have detrimental effects
on the academic attainments of children. Limited studies have been conducted on
noise level in basic schools to date in Ghana. The objective of the study was
to assess noise levels in and around learning spaces in basic schools in Ghana
with a focus on Kumasi. A survey
employing the use of interviews and an empirical monitoring of noise levels in
and around learning spaces in four selected basic schools were adopted. The
study revealed that mean outdoor and indoor noise levels exceed the World
Health Organisation permissible limits by 30 - 40 percent and 90 - 107 percent
respectively for schools in the commercial zones and schools that are located
near highways. The school that is sited in an educational environment with a
setback from the highway attained mean noise levels ranging from 1.2 percent
below to 3.7 percent above the permissible limits for outdoor and between 64 -
105 percent for indoor. The outcome of the study is expected to engender the
design of environmental noise resilient buildings to facilitate teaching and
learning in basic schools in Ghana.