FUW TRENDS IN SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL
(A Peer Review Journal)
e–ISSN: 2408–5162; p–ISSN: 2048–5170
keywords: Acoustics, noise pollution, outdoor noise, school, traffic noise, Zaria
Noise is considered as an environmental pollutant to which man is subjected to throughout his life. It has been reported to cause cardiovascular diseases, annoyance, aggression, impairment of cognitive performances and productivity. This study therefore investigated the impacts of traffic noise on the outdoor noise in an academic environment. The outdoor and traffic noise were quantified using a sound level meter. The collected data were used to evaluate noise parameters such as noise pollution level (LNP), equivalent continuous noise level (Leq.), traffic noise index (TNI), and Noise climate (NC). The traffic volumes around the schools were also evaluated which indicated high frequencies of road users particularly motorcycles. The outdoor noise levels ranged between 75.7-98.5dBA which exceeded the WHO standard of 55dBA and the traffic noise indices for the schools ranged between 56.2-122.7dBA. The Traffic Noise Indices were positively correlated (r=0.279) with the outdoor noise levels. The planting of trees around the schools and installation of noise barriers should be encouraged to reduce the high outdoor noise levels.
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