Research ArticleNight-Time Decibel Hell Mapping Noise ExposureZones and Individual Annoyance Ratings in an UrbanEnvironment in Ghana

Rachel N Zakpala1 Frederick Ato Armah2 Brigid M Sackey3 and Opoku Pabi1

1 Institute for Environment and Sanitation Studies University of Ghana Legon Accra Ghana2Department of Environmental Sciences University of Cape Coast Cape Coast Ghana3 Centre for Social Policy Studies University of Ghana Legon Accra Ghana

Correspondence should be addressed to Rachel N Zakpala rachelzakpalagmailcom

Received 26 January 2014 Revised 10 June 2014 Accepted 17 June 2014 Published 17 July 2014

Academic Editor Guang-Di Chen

Copyright copy 2014 Rachel N Zakpala et al This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons AttributionLicense which permits unrestricted use distribution and reproduction in any medium provided the original work is properlycited

Although accumulating evidence over the past thirty years indicates that noise is an environmental stressor in residential settingsmuch of the data emanated from studies in high-intensity noise impact zones around airports or major roads Little is knownabout religious noise especially at night which is increasingly a growing concern for both the general public and policy-makers insub-Saharan Africa Using geographical information systems (GIS) this study measured and mapped exposure to religious noisein a rapidly urbanising municipality in Ghana Quantitative noise risk assessment was used to evaluate the risk of religious noise-induced hearing loss to residents in the exposed neighbourhoods The results show that all neighbourhoods where churches weresituated had at least one location with significant risk of noise-induced hearing loss However there was no statistically significantrelationship between neighbourhoods where religious noise exposure was the highest and where noise annoyance was the highestThemagnitude of the noise values for night-time exposure is remarkable particularly given that excessive night-time noise exposurehas the greatest detrimental effect on public health There is the need to focus on vulnerable groups sensitive hours of the nightand possible confounding with air pollution in order to wholly address this potential hazard

1 Introduction

Theproliferation of environmental noise is a defining charac-teristic of the 21st century [1] Despite attempts to regulate itnoise pollution has become an unfortunate fact of life world-wide Analogous to second-hand smoke second-hand noiseis an unwanted airborne pollutant produced by others [1] Inurban environments air and road traffic have been the majorsources of environmental noise Assessment of exposureto noise requires consideration of many factors includingmeasured exposure or calculatedpredicted exposure choiceof noise indicator population distribution time-activity pat-terns of the exposed population and combined exposures tomultiple sources of noise [2] Social and behavioural effectsof noise exposure are complex subtle and indirect Theseeffects include changes in everyday behaviour changes in

social behaviour changes in social indicators and changes inmood [1]

Sleep is an essential behaviour that provides physicalandmental restoration and sleep disturbances are considereddeleterious to mood performance and health [3] Religiousnoise has become a major source of sleep disturbances andthis situation will worsen with increasing church andmosquedensity within the forthcoming years and here more duringthe night than during the day Night-time environmentalnoise exposure is an issue of enduring importance to urbanplanners policy-makers and researchers

In 2009 the WHO published the night noise guide-lines for Europe This publication presented new evidenceof the health damage of night-time noise exposure andrecommended threshold values that if breached at nightwould threaten health Night-time noise disturbance during

Hindawi Publishing CorporationScientificaVolume 2014 Article ID 892105 11 pageshttpdxdoiorg1011552014892105

2 Scientifica

Table 1 Range for the relationship between nocturnal noise expo-sure and health effects in the population

Night-time noise(outside) exposure Health effects observed in the population

lt30 dB(A)

Although individual sensitivities andcircumstances differ it appears that up tothis level no substantial biological effectsare observed

30ndash40 dB(A)

A number of effects are observed toincrease body movements awakeningsself-reported sleep disturbance andarousals The intensity of the effectdepends on the nature of the source andthe number of events Vulnerable groups(eg children and chronically ill andelderly people) are more susceptibleHowever even in the worst cases theeffects seem modest

40ndash55 dB(A)

Adverse health effects are observedamong the exposed populations Manypeople have to adapt their lives to copewith the noise at night Vulnerable groupsare severely affected

gt55 dB(A)

The situation is considered increasinglydangerous for public health Adversehealth effects occur frequently and asizable proportion of the population ishighly annoyed and sleep-disturbedThere is evidence that the risk ofcardiovascular disease increases

[23]

sleep is regarded as one of the most important aspects ofenvironmental noise exposure with possible effects on health[4ndash6] Exposure to night-time noise can also produce anumber of secondary effects (ie those that can be measuredthe day after the individual is exposed to night-time noise)including psychological and physiological symptoms as wellas reduced performance in adults [7]

The noise sensitivity of the sleeper depends on a plethoraof factors some of which are noise dependent such as the typeof noise (eg continuous intermittent and impulsive) noiseintensity noise frequency noise spectrum noise interval(eg duration regularity expected) noise signification andthe difference between the background noise level and themaximum amplitude of the occurring noise stimulus [8]Other factors are related to the sleeper such as age sexpersonality characteristics and self-estimated sensitivity tonoise [8] Noise-dependent and sleeper-dependent factorsthus constitute a complex set of factors that jointly shape theresponses of individuals and the population to night-timenoise exposure Table 1 shows the relationship of night-timenoise exposure and adverse health outcomes

Hitherto attention to night-time noise exposure hasfocused on air and road vehicular traffic in urban envi-ronments An often neglected source of night-time noiseexposure is religious noise which is fast becoming a definingcharacteristic of developing countries especially in sub-Saharan Africa Religious noise adds to other sources of

noise For instance if an individual works in a noise intensiveenvironment during the daytime the night-time exposureswill cumulate whatever dose has already accrued As ameasure of the growing concern in relation to this issueproblems with religious noise have recently been rated at thehighest level of environmental concern in some west Africancountries including Ghana According to Armah et al [9]religious noise especially in urban residential settings is afast growing issue that requires research and policy attentionReligious noise exposure at night is pervasive in developingcountries but has received little attention in the burgeoningliterature on noise pollution in urban environments

Noise characterises Christian Muslim and African tra-ditional religious activities in Ghana [10ndash13] This should beseen in the context of the balance between religious freedomand the public interest in environmental protection [14]In this regard public debate on religious noise in Ghanarevolves around the following issues (1) whether the right topractice religion is absolute and is not subject to limitations ofldquopublic order morality or healthrdquo (2) whether in a civilisedsociety religious activities disturbing the peace of others canbe justified (noting that no religion prescribes or preachesthat prayers must be performed through voice amplifiersor by beating drums) and whether there is a religiousright to breach the permissible limits of the EnvironmentalProtection Agency Act and (3) even if the noise pollution incertain cities may already exceed those limits whether it issufficient ground for permitting others to increase the noiseNight-time Christian religious services are of three typesnormal half-night and all-night each of which typicallylasts for up to 25 5 and 8 hours respectively The exposureduration of the latter is thus equivalent to occupational noisealthough the exposure frequency of night-time Christianreligious services may be different from occupational noiseTypically night services do not exceed five days per weekHowever it is also not uncommon to have night servicesevery day of the week during special occasions

Our understanding of religious noise exposure is rathernascent To our knowledge no study has till date consideredspatial distribution of night-time religious noise exposurein urban residential environments This study thereforesought to measure the levels of religious noise producedin the Ashaiman Municipality a rapidly growing urbanenvironment in Ghana to construct a night-time noisemap indicating the distribution of exposure in residentialneighbourhoods of the AshaimanMunicipality and to assessthe risk of religious noise-induced hearing loss to residentsin the exposed neighbourhoods Given the rapid increase indensity of buildings for religious activities in Ghana in recentyears it is hypothesised that exposure to religious noise in thestudy area is considerably above the Ghana EnvironmentalProtection Agency limits of 48 dB(A) 119871eq for night-timeexposure This limit is almost identical to the World HealthOrganisation limit of 45 dB(A) 119871eq for night-time exposure[15] These limits are regarded as the levels above whichexposure to noise is detrimental to human health In orderto investigate the hypothesis the measurements of noiselevels were taken at selected locations in the study area It isanticipated that this study will inform environmental noise

Scientifica 3

N

Study area

0 185 370 740

(M)

CommunityRoad network

Ghana map showing study area

0∘199840030

998400998400W0∘29984000998400998400W0

∘299840030

998400998400W

0∘199840030

998400998400W0∘29984000998400998400W0

∘299840030

998400998400W5∘429984000998400998400N

5∘4199840030998400998400N

5∘429984000998400998400N

5∘4199840030998400998400N

Ashaiman

Figure 1 Map of Ashaiman showing the selected communities

pollution policy in Ghana and the west African subregionFigure 1 shows the communities in which the study wasundertaken

2 Materials and Method

21 Study Area The Ashaiman Municipality is one of theten (10) districts in the Greater Accra Region of GhanaIts capital is Ashaiman and was created in 2008 Ashaimanhas coordinates 5∘ 421015840 north and 0∘ 011015840 west It is locatedabout four kilometers (4 km) to the north of Tema and aboutthirty kilometers (30 km) from Accra the capital city ofGhana Ashaiman shares boundaries to the north and eastwith Katamanso traditional area to the south with the TemaTownship and to the west with Adjei Kojo all within TemaMetropolitan Assembly It has many communities some ofwhich are planned and the rest unplanned Specifically thisstudy focuses on the following residential communities inthe Ashaiman Municipality Christian Village Zongo LakaRoman Down Market Square Taifa Taboo Line New TownJericho and Night Market These communities were selectedbased on the density of the religious noise sources Accordingto the 2010 census Ashaiman has 240000 inhabitants ofwhich 80 are Christians with majority of them (374)belonging to the PentecostalCharismatic denomination

Nine percent (9) Muslims and 11 either belong to thetraditional African religions or have no religion [16] Most ofthe inhabitants are into trading activities Some inhabitantsare engaged in the agriculture sector (crop farming livestockrearing and fishing)

22 Selection of Communities Churches and Mosques andRespondents The selection of communities was done usinga stratified random sampling technique The communitieswere stratified into the settlement patterns of planned andunplanned areas The communities were then selected fromthe two groups to adequately represent Ashaiman Threecommunities were selected from the planned settlementsnamely Christian Village Roman Down and New TownZongo Laka Market Square Taifa Taboo Line Jericho andNight Market were the other communities sampled fromthe unplanned areas Selection of houses of respondentswas based on the various distances from the noise sourcesnamely 50m 100m 150m and 200m This was based onthe fact that intensity varies from the source outwards Theheads of each household were interviewed However in theabsence of the head of the household any person available inthe selected houses capable of providing authentic answers tothe questionswas interviewedData collectionwas conductedusing a face-to-face personal interview on randomly selected

4 Scientifica

Table 2 Selected communities churches and mosques and respondents

Name of community Number of respondents Churches and mosques sampledMale Female

Taboo Line 9 8Church of JesusVoice of the Lord Evangelical ChurchTribe of Judah Ministries International (Intrsquol)

Market Square 15 14

Apostolic Church GhanaMusama Disco Christo ChurchSt Peter Methodist ChurchGrace Assembly (Assemblies of God (AG))

Taifa 13 13Central Assemblies of GodGreen and CreamMosqueUnique Chapel International (Intrsquol)

New Town 4 16Church of PentecostGlobal Evangelical ChurchLiberty Centre Annex (Assemblies of God (AG))

Christian Village 11 19

Presbyterian ChurchChurch of PentecostChrist Apostolic ChurchEvangelistic Fire Ministries International (Intrsquol)

Zongo Laka 15 5Grace Chapel International (Intrsquol)White and Green MosqueYellow Mosque

Roman Down 13 6Church of PentecostSt Augustine Catholic ChurchChrist Apostolic Church

Jericho 7 12Church of PentecostChurch of ChristChrist Apostolic Church

Night Market 14 16White and Green MosqueWhite Mosque (uncompleted)Cream and Green Mosque

Total 101 119

participants aged between the ages of 18 and 79 years Tobe eligible for study all interviewees were at least 18 yearsold and had continuously lived in the neighbourhood for aminimum of 3 years The personal interview collected self-reported information such as basic demographics perceptionof noise health and quality of life indicators Responses tonoise were also assessed through objectivemeasures of healthsuch as sleep disturbance

The churches and mosques were selected by purposivesampling technique Selection of churches was done basedon two criteria First the category of church that is eitherOrthodox churches Pentecostal churches or Charismaticchurch and secondly the physical structure that is onlychurches operating in permanent physical structures wereconsideredThiswas to ensure that the churcheswould alwaysbe there and would not relocate in the course of the studyThe number of churches sampled was however based onthose that could be assessed effectively and efficiently andwithin the time and material and financial resource limitsof the study The study population included individuals of

both sexes under 18 18ndash60 and those above 60 years Theparticipants who were within 18ndash60 years and those above 60years were either heads of the families or not andwere capableof providing authentic information for the study In all 220respondents were interviewed (Table 2)

23 Sound-Level Measurement A precision-grade sound-level meter RION NL-22 (Higashimotomachi Tokyo Japan)was used tomeasure the noise levels generated at the churchesand mosques and the various distances of 50m 100m150m and 200m away from the churches and mosques Thedevice conforms to International Electrotechnical Commis-sion 61672-12002 A battery and calibration check was doneon the sound-level meter before and after it was used at eachsite The sound-level meter was calibrated acoustically in thefield before and after every measurement using an externalreference (ie the sound-level calibrator CR 514) whichwas placed over the microphone The calibrator generateda stabilised sound pressure level of 94 dB (plusmn03 dB) at afrequency of 1 kHz

Scientifica 5

To avoid reflections from the body of the researcherwhich could increase the noise level when measurementswere being taken from the sound-levelmeter scale the instru-ment was held at armrsquos length with the microphone pointedat the noise source The instrument was used to obtain thenoise levels from both the churches and the mosques andat the various distances This was to determine whether thenoise produced from these sources was within ambient noiselevel guidelines of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)Ghana Noise emissions need to be observed for at least 30minutes for the purpose of assessing a duration adjustment ifthe noise is steady over this period (ie there is no observedrising or falling trend in the noise level either audibly orby sound-level meter inspection) a short measurement (egfive minutes) should be adequate to represent the 30-minuteLAeq [17] Based on this the noise readings were taken for 30minutes for the churches and 15 minutes for the mosques dueto the variation in the duration of their activities For eachlocation three different noise levels were taken for the night-time and the average noise level was computedThis was donein cognisance of the fact that noise is transient and that noiselevels within localities will be varying all the time

24 Global Positioning System (GPS) A Garmin Etrex hand-held GPS was used to obtain the coordinates of the churchesand mosques and the distances of 50m 100m 150m and200m away from the church and mosque within eachcommunity

25 Calculating Equivalent Noise Exposure Level This isbased on the 8-hour exposure duration for a typical all-night religious service in Ghana If a residentrsquos (including aworshipper) exposure to noise throughout an all-night ser-vice can be characterized by a number of 119871eq measurementsfor distinct noise activity periods the measurements can becombined into a full all-night service 119871eq using

119871eq all-night service

= 10 Log [( 1119879

) (1198791times 1001119871

1

+ 1198792times 1001119871

2

+ sdot sdot sdot + 119879119899times 1001119871

119899

) ]

(1)

where 119879 is the all-night service length hours 119879119899is the

duration of the 119899th measurement hours and 119871119899is the 119871eq

for the 119899th measurement period dBAFor example if a residentrsquos or worshipperrsquos exposure

consists of two distinct exposure periods 3 hours at an 119871eqof 84 dBA and 5 hours at an 119871eq of 88 dBA then

119871eq8 = 10 Log [(1

8

) (3 times 1001times84

) + (5 times 1001times88

)]

= 869 dBA = 119871ex8

(2)

For an all-night service length greater or less than 8 hours the119871ex8 may be calculated using

119871ex8 = 119871eq119879 + 10 Log(119879

8

) (3)

where 119879 is the religious service duration in hoursFor example a 119871eq for a 5-hour half-night service would

be converted to an 119871ex8 as follows

119871ex8 = 119871eq10 + 10 Log(5

8

) = 119871eq10 + 1 dBA (4)

where the night noise exposure is composed of two or moreperiods of noise exposure of different levels the followingequation may be used to determine if the overall exposureexceeds the allowable noise exposure limits

(

1198621

1198791

+

1198622

1198792

+ sdot sdot sdot +

119862119899

119879119899

) times 100 = of exposure limit (5)

where 119862 is the total duration of exposure at a specific noiselevel and 119879 is the total duration of exposure permitted at thatlevel

The 85 dBA 119871ex8 exposure limit is exceeded when thedose calculated using the above formula exceeds 100Based on Lutman [18] risk of religious noise-induced hearingloss is minimal if the 8-hour equivalent exposure level is lessthan 80 dBA Risk of religious noise-induced hearing loss issignificant if the 8-hour equivalent exposure level is greaterthan 85 dBA

26 Data Processing and Analysis Questionnaires werechecked for completeness and internal consistency at theclose of each day Questionnaires were then sorted num-bered and data-coded before entry into IBM SPSS (version19) software GPS noise locations and noise level readings perlocation were input in ARCGIS 101 software

27 Spatial Interpolation of Religious Noise MeasurementsSince noise is a continuous phenomenon in space noiselevels were converted into a continuous surface using Krigingtechnique of spatial interpolation The Kriging interpolationmodel is known for supplying the best linear unbiasedestimate of the level of noise pollution (eg ambient noisepollution concentration) at any given location in an area[19] The principle of Kriging is shown most simply withsets of equations that define the method Kriging is appliedto the estimation of the values of a regionalised variableat a selected location (119885

119896) based on surrounding existing

values (119885119894) Each of such locations is assigned a relevant

weighting coefficient (120582119894) and the calculation of this is the

most demanding part of the Kriging algorithm The value ofa regionalised variable can be defined as

119885119894= 119885 (119909

119894) (6)

where 119909119894is the value of religious noise at the known location

Moreover the value of a regionalised variable estimatedby ordinary Kriging based on n points is

119885119896=

119899

sum

119894=1

120582119894sdot 119885119894 (7)

where 120582119894is the weighting coefficient for a particular location

ldquo119894rdquo 119885119894are known values the so-called ldquocontrol pointsrdquo (hard

data) 119885119896is the value estimated by Kriging

6 Scientifica

These equations represent the system of linear Krigingequations

Previous equation also can be written as the matrix

[119860] sdot [120582] = [119861] (8)

In matrices 119860 and 119861 the values are expressed as variogramvalues that is these values depend only on the distancesand orientations between the control points and not ontheir valuesThe third matrix includes weighting coefficientswhich are simply estimated from a system with ldquo119899rdquo equa-tions with ldquo119899rdquo unknown variables The Kriging technique(employed in this study) applied some constraints to thematrices to minimize the error [1205902

119896

(119909)] and this techniquegives unbiased estimations Generally these factors woulddescribe some external limit (restriction) on the input datawhich cannot simply be observed in themeasured valuesTheconstraint factor in the ordinary Kriging equations called theLagrangemultiplicator was used in this study If the sumof allweighting coefficients is 1 Kriging expression can be writtenas

120574 (1198851minus 1198851) times 1205821+ 119892 (119885

1minus 1198852)

times 1205822+ sdot sdot sdot + 120574 (119885

1minus 119885119899) times 120582119899+ 119898 = 120574 (119885

1minus 119885)

120574 (1198852minus 1198851) times 1205821+ 119892 (119885

2minus 1198852)

times 1205822+ sdot sdot sdot + 120574 (119885

2minus 119885119899) times 120582119899+ 119898 = 120574 (119885

2minus 119885)

120574 (119885119899minus 1198851) times 1205821+ 119892 (119885

119899minus 1198852)

times 1205822+ sdot sdot sdot + 120574 (119885

119899minus 119885119899) times 120582119899+ 119898 = 120574 (119885

119899minus 119885)

1205821+ 1205822+ sdot sdot sdot + 120582

119899+ 0 = 1

(9)

If such a system of linear equations is shown as Krigingmatrices it can be written as

[[[[[[

[

120574 (1198851minus 1198851) 120574 (119885

1minus 1198852) sdot sdot sdot 120574 (119885

1minus 119885119899) 1

120574 (1198852minus 1198851) 120574 (119885

2minus 1198852) sdot sdot sdot 120574 (119885

2minus 119885119899) 1

1

120574 (119885119899minus 1198851) 120574 (119885

119899minus 1198852) sdot sdot sdot 120574 (119885

119899minus 119885119899) 1

1 1 sdot sdot sdot 1 0

]]]]]]

]

times

[[[[[

[

1205821

1205822

120582119899

119898

]]]]]

]

=

[[[[[

[

120574 (1198851minus 119885)

120574 (1198852minus 119885)

120574 (119885119899minus 119885)

1

]]]]]

]

(10)

The number of weighting coefficients and control points canbe very large but contemporary computers can successfullysolve numerically demanding tasks The estimation can beperformed simply by calculating the influence of all controlpoints weighted by their associated coefficients according to

119885 = 1205821sdot 1198851+ 1205822sdot 1198852+ sdot sdot sdot + 120582

119899sdot 119885119899 (11)

The calculation of the estimation variance includes adding theLagrange coefficient

1205902

= 1205821sdot 120574 (1198851minus 119885) + 120582

2sdot 120574 (1198852minus 119885)

+ sdot sdot sdot + 120582119899sdot 120574 (119885119899minus 119885) + 119898

(12)

3 Results

31 Night-Time Noise Levels at the Various Noise Sources50m and 100m Distances The noise levels recorded atthe churches and mosques and the various distances awayfrom the noise sources all exceeded the EPA permissiblelevel of 48 dB(A) for night time (2200ndash0600 h) expected forresidential areas These are presented in Tables 3 and 4 Fornight-time (2200ndash0600 h) noise levels Grace Assemblies ofGod Church recorded the lowest value of 719 dB and Tribeof Judah Ministries International recorded the highest valueof 1017 dB at the noise source Pentecost Church at RomanDown and Christ Apostolic Church at Christian Villagerecorded noise levels of 649 dB and 914 dB respectivelyat the 50m distance and 616 dB and 835 dB for the 100mdistance Tribe of Judah Ministries International at TabooLine recorded the highest value of 1017 dB(A) and GraceAssemblies of God at Market Square recorded the lowestvalue of 719 dB(A) However at a distance of 50m from thesource Tribe of Judah Ministries which recorded the highestvalue at the source recorded 785 dB(A) andGraceAssembliesof God which recorded the lowest value at the source alsorecorded 78 dB(A) The decrease could be attributed tothe glass windows used which acted as a form of sound-proof while the increment could be due to other activitiesaside the church service such as traffic noise None of thechurches or mosques produced noise within the permissiblelevel of 48 dB(A) for night at a distance of 100m from thechurchmosque

Generally dose for mosques decreased with increasingdistance from the noise source At the source the magnitudeof dose in decreasing order was as follows White andCream Mosque (Zongo Laka) gt Green and Cream Mosque(Taifa) gt Cream and Green Mosque (Night Market) gt YellowMosque (Zongo Laka) gt White Mosque (Night Market) gtWhite and GreenMosque (Night Market) Residents who arechronically exposed to noise from the first three locationsare at significant risk of noise-induced hearing loss whereasresidents within the vicinity ofWhiteMosque (NightMarket)are at minimum risk Also in terms of neighbourhood NightMarket and Zongo Laka areas had the lowest and highestnight-time noise exposure respectively (Table 3)

Regarding churches all neighbourhoods had at least onelocation with significant risk of noise-induced hearing loss(Table 4) At the source the magnitude of dose for the firstten churches in decreasing order was as follows Tribe ofJudah Ministries (Taboo Line) gt Musama Church (MarketSquare) gt Christ Apostolic (Roman Down) gt Church ofPentecost (Newtown) gt Global Evangelical (Newtown) gtChurch of Pentecost (ChristianVillage)gtCentral Assembliesof God (Taifa) gt Unique Chapel (Taifa) gt Christ Apostolic(Christian Village) gt Christ Apostolic (Jericho) In terms of

Scientifica 7

Table3Night-timen

oise

expo

sure

levels

dose

form

osqu

esand

riskof

hearinglossin

neighb

ourhoo

ds

Neighbo

urho

odLo

catio

nNoise

leveld

B(A)lowast

Dose()

8-ho

urequivalent

expo

sure

level

Risk

ofno

ise-in

ducedhearingloss

Source

50m

100m

source

50m

100m

Taifa

Green

andCr

eam

Mosqu

e936

768

686

2264

47

07

885

Sign

ificant

risk

ZongoLaka

WhiteandGreen

Mosqu

e938

856

752

2371

359

33

887

Sign

ificant

risk

Yello

wMosqu

e856

812

726

359

130

18

805

Somer

isk

Night

Market

WhiteandGreen

Mosqu

e844

762

642

272

41

03

793

Minim

alris

kWhiteMosqu

e(un

completed)

854

756

646

343

36

03

803

Somer

iskCr

eam

andGreen

Mosqu

e902

774

641035

54

02

851

Sign

ificant

risk

Equivalent

noise

expo

sure

level

932

833

732

66430

6680

660

lowast

Measurementtim

eper

locatio

nis15

minutes

andtotalexp

osuretim

eis15ho

ursfor

them

osqu

es

8 Scientifica

Table4Night-timen

oise

expo

sure

levels

dose

forc

hurchesandris

kof

hearinglossin

neighb

ourhoo

ds

Neighbo

urho

odLo

catio

nNoise

dB(A

)lowastDose()

8-ho

urequivalent

noise

expo

sure

Risk

ofno

ise-in

ducedhearingloss

Source

50m

100m

source

50m

100m

Tabo

oLine

Church

ofJesus

801

853

725

101

335

18

75Minim

alVo

iceo

fthe

Lord

EvangelicalCh

urch

89815

648

785

140

03

839

Some

Tribeo

fJud

ahMinistrie

sInternatio

nal

1017

785

743

14617

70

27

966

Sign

ificant

MarketS

quare

Apostolic

ChurchG

hana

863

805

765

422

111

44

812

Some

Musam

aDisc

oCh

risto

Church

1005

813

747

11088

133

29

954

Sign

ificant

StPeter

Metho

distCh

urch

837

697

617

232

09

01

786

Minim

alGrace

Assembly(A

ssem

blieso

fGod

)719

78741

15

62

25

668

Minim

al

Taifa

CentralAs

semblieso

fGod

948

743

739

2984

27

24

897

Sign

ificant

Uniqu

eChapelInternatio

nal

947

842

676

2916

260

06

896

Sign

ificant

New

town

Church

ofPentecost

995

833

705

8807

211

11

944

Sign

ificant

GlobalE

vangelicalC

hurch

985

869

707

6996

484

12

934

Sign

ificant

LibertyCentre

Ann

ex(A

ssem

blieso

fGod

)851

748

653

320

30

03

80Some

Chris

tianVillage

Presbyteria

nCh

urch

825

708

637

176

12

02

774

Minim

alCh

urch

ofPentecost

971

83725

5068

197

18

92Sign

ificant

Chris

tApo

stolic

Church

945

914

835

2785

1364

221

894

Sign

ificant

Evangelistic

Fire

Ministrie

sInternatio

nal

932

825

727

2065

176

18

881

Sign

ificant

ZongoLaka

Grace

ChapelInternational

873

725

625

531

18

02

822

Some

Roman

Dow

nCh

urch

ofPentecost

824

649

616

172

03

01

774

Minim

alStA

ugustin

eCatho

licCh

urch

809

739

64122

24

02

758

Minim

alCh

ristA

posto

licCh

urch

100

851

731

9882

320

20

949

Sign

ificant

Jeric

hoCh

urch

ofPentecost

857

712

637

367

13

02

806

Some

Church

ofCh

rist

823

752

648

168

243

03

772

Minim

alCh

ristA

posto

licCh

urch

943

839

744

266

209

270

892

Sign

ificant

Equivalent

noise

expo

sure

level

986

882

777

73278

63310

5210

lowast

Measurementtim

eper

locatio

nis30

minutes

andtotalexp

osuretim

eis115

hoursfor

thec

hurches

Scientifica 9

Table 5 Night-time exposure classes

Noise range (dB(A)) Exposure class818ndash848 Low848ndash872 Moderately high872ndash899 High899ndash926 Very high926ndash953 Extremely high

neighbourhoodMarket Square and Taboo Line areas had thelowest and highest night-time noise exposure respectively(Table 4)

32 Distribution of Night-Time Noise Exposure in the UrbanNeighbourhoods Table 5 shows the classification scheme fornight-time noise exposure in the study area Religious noiseexposure up to 848 db(A) is regarded as low whereas expo-sure above 926 db(A) is considered extremely high

As observed in Figure 2 none of the communities waswithin the low noise exposure class A major part of NightMarket and small portions of Roman Down and Zongo Lakawere in the moderately high noise exposure class Every partof Jericho major parts of Market Square Zongo Laka andRoman Down and a small portion of Night Market werein the high noise exposure zone Every part of New TownChristian Village Taifa and Taboo Line and a small portionof Market Square were in the very high noise exposure classNone of the communitieswaswithin the extremely high noiseexposure class

4 Discussion

This study measured the levels of religious noise producedin the Ashaiman Municipality a rapidly growing urbanenvironment in Ghana constructed a night-time noise mapindicating the distribution of exposure in residential neigh-bourhoods of the Ashaiman Municipality and assessed therisk of religious noise-induced hearing loss to residents inthe exposed neighbourhoods In this municipality there areseveral worksites for artisanal metal workers in the informalsector These noise-intensity work environments deliver sig-nificant noise to this subset of the people (artisanal metalworkers) living in these neighbourhoods Night-time noiseadds to the daytime noise doseThe results showed that all thetwenty-three churches and six mosques sampled producednight-time noise levels far exceeding the EPArsquos guidelinesstandard of 48 dB(A) for night (2200ndash0600 h) The noisemaps generated also showed that most of the communitieswere exposed to high noise levels due to religious activitiesas most of them were within the extremely high very highand high noise exposure zones Just a few communitieswere within the moderately high zone but none of thecommunities was within the low noise exposure zone Thenight-time noise levels obtained in this study are comparableto the observations of Armah et al [9] in the Cape CoastMetropolis However the latter study did not control forbackground noise

Themagnitude of the figure for night-time noise exposureis striking particularly given that excessive night-time noiseexposure has the greatest detrimental effect on public healthIf the foregoing exposure levels were extrapolated for theentire Accra and Tema areas it quickly becomes obvious thatthemagnitude of the problem is considerableThe impact thatthese levels of exposure are having on individual health andthe quality of life as well as the economic impact in terms ofreduced productively of residents is likely to be considerablealso

Interestingly there was no statistically significant rela-tionship between neighbourhoods where religious noiseexposure was the highest and where noise annoyance wasthe highest This finding supports the results Armah et al [9]obtained in the Cape Coast Metropolis of Ghana The degreeof annoyance produced by noise may vary with the time ofday the unpleasant characteristics of the noise the durationand intensity of the noise the meaning associated with itand the nature of the activity that the noise interrupted [20]Annoyance may be influenced by a variety of nonacousticalfactors including individual sensitivity to noise [21] Theseinclude fear of the noise source conviction that noise couldbe reduced by third parties individual sensitivity the degreeto which an individual feels able to control the noise andwhether or not the noise originated from an important eco-nomic activity [20 22] Other less direct effects of annoyanceare disruption of onersquos peace of mind the enjoyment of onersquosproperty and the enjoyment of solitude

Seldom are populations exposed to a single source ofnoise pollutionUsually noise exposure is complex consistingof several simultaneous noise exposures (eg religious airtraffic etc) This means that the noise exposure estimatesin this study could be far less than the expected compositenoise levels In any case there is some level of risk of noise-induced hearing loss as shown in this study and the potentialeffects of exposure cannot be discounted In fact the effectsof noise exposure depend on several factors and the absenceof a clear dose-effect relationship is certainly due to thecomplex interactions of these factors including the noisecharacteristics the individual sensitivity and the context ofthe explored living environment [2] However the amplitudeof the subjective complaints about sleep disturbance seems tohave been increasing during recent yearsThis is supported bythe growing frequency of noise-related complaints receivedby the Ghana EPA in the last few years Unfortunately onlya few epidemiological studies have considered the possi-ble effect of noise exposure (considered globally) togetherwith other environmental factors on the health of exposedpopulations As noted by Fritschi et al [2] no large-scaleepidemiological study focusing on the effect of night-timenoise exposure on health has yet been undertakenThereforeit is necessary to answer some fundamental questions inorder to understand the detrimental effects on health andquality of life in the long-term for night-time noise-exposedpopulations

Continuous high level exposure can lead to aggressionin a hostile angry and helpless population It is often thepopulation with the least income that suffers the most fromnoise in general Future epidemiological noise research will

10 Scientifica

TaifaJericho

New Town

Zongo LakaRoman Down

Taboo Line

Market Square

Christian Village

CommunitiesChurchesMosquesLow

Moderately highHighVery highExtremely high

065 0 0650325

Night Market

(km) N

0∘199840040

998400998400W 0∘199840020

998400998400W0∘299840020

998400998400W 0∘29984000998400998400W 0

∘19984000998400998400W0

∘299840040

998400998400W 0∘099840040

998400998400W

0∘199840040

998400998400W 0∘199840020

998400998400W0∘299840020

998400998400W 0∘29984000998400998400W 0

∘19984000998400998400W0

∘299840040

998400998400W 0∘099840040

998400998400W5∘429984000998400998400N

5∘419984000998400998400N

5∘4199840040998400998400N

5∘4199840020998400998400N

5∘4299840020998400998400N

5∘429984000998400998400N

5∘419984000998400998400N

5∘4199840040998400998400N

5∘4199840020998400998400N

5∘4299840020998400998400N

Figure 2 Noise map for in situ night-time noise levels in churches and mosques

need to focus on vulnerable groups effectmodifiers sensitivehours of the night coping mechanisms differences betweennoise sources possible confounding with air pollution dif-ferences between objective (noise level) and subjective (noiseperception) exposure and multiple exposures (home workand leisure environments)

5 Conclusion

This study shows that night-time exposure to religious noiseis a growing menace in urban residential areas in Ghana Asexpected noise dose for mosques and churches decreasedwith increasing distance from the noise source The magni-tude of the figure for night-time noise exposure is strikingparticularly given that excessive night-time noise exposurehas the greatest detrimental effect on public health Allneighbourhoods where churches are situated had at least onelocation with significant risk of noise-induced hearing lossHowever there was no statistically significant relationshipbetween neighbourhoods where religious noise exposure wasthe highest and where noise annoyance was the highestFurther research is required to focus on long-term effects of

night-time noise exposure of different populations In thiscontext the study of specific subgroups can be consideredto be ldquoat riskrdquo (eg children elderly people self-estimatedsensitive people insomniacs sleep disorder patients andnight worshippers)

Conflict of Interests

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interestsregarding the publication of this paper

Acknowledgments

The authors sincerely thank Mr Mark Kpalega Ghaaton andall respondents for their assistance

References

[1] L Goines and L Hagler ldquoNoise pollution a modern plaguerdquoSouthern Medical Journal vol 100 no 3 pp 287ndash294 2007

[2] L Fritschi L Brown R Kim D Schwela and S Keph-alopolous ldquoBurden of disease from environmental noise

Scientifica 11

quantification of healthy life years lost in Europerdquo 2011httpwwwwhointquantifying ehimpactspublicationse94888en

[3] BGriefahnAMarks and S Robens ldquoNoise emitted from roadrail and air traffic and their effects on sleeprdquo Journal of Soundand Vibration vol 295 no 1-2 pp 129ndash140 2006

[4] W Babisch ldquoNoise and healthrdquo Environmental Health Perspec-tives vol 113 no 1 pp A14ndashA15 2005

[5] J di Nisi A Muzet J Ehrhart and J P Libert ldquoComparison ofcardiovascular responses to noise during waking and sleepingin humansrdquo Sleep vol 13 no 2 pp 108ndash120 1990

[6] N L Carter ldquoTransportation noise sleep and possible after-effectsrdquo Environment International vol 22 no 1 pp 105ndash1161996

[7] E Ohrstrom A Skanberg H Svensson and A Gidlof-Gunnarsson ldquoEffects of road traffic noise and the benefit ofaccess to quietnessrdquo Journal of Sound and Vibration vol 295no 1 pp 40ndash59 2006

[8] A Muzet ldquoEnvironmental noise sleep and healthrdquo SleepMedicine Reviews vol 11 no 2 pp 135ndash142 2007

[9] F A Armah J OOdoi DO Yawson G T Yengoh E K Afrifaand A N Pappoe ldquoMapping of noise risk zones derived fromreligious activities and perceptions in residential neighbour-hoods in the Cape Coast metropolis Ghanardquo EnvironmentalHazards vol 9 no 4 pp 358ndash368 2010

[10] K Asamoah-Gyadu African Charismatics Current Develop-ments within Independent Indigenous Pentecostalism in GhanaBrill Leiden The Netherlands 2005

[11] J K Asamoah-Gyadu ldquoOf faith and visual alertness themessage of ldquomediatizedrdquo religion in an African PentecostalcontextrdquoMaterial Religion vol 1 no 3 pp 336ndash357 2005

[12] M De Witte ldquoAccrarsquos sounds and sacred spacesrdquo InternationalJournal of Urban and Regional Research vol 32 no 3 pp 690ndash709 2008

[13] R Van Dijk ldquoContesting silence the ban on drumming andthe musical politics of Pentecostalism in GhanardquoGhana StudiesReview vol 4 pp 31ndash64 2001

[14] S Knights ldquoSacred space and the city religious buildings andnoise pollutionrdquoHarvard International Law Journal Online vol49 pp 50ndash55 2008

[15] B Berglund T Lindvall and D H Schwela Eds Guidelinesfor Community Noise World Health Organization GenevaSwitzerland 1999

[16] Ashaiman Municipal Assembly (ASHMA) Annual ReportAshaiman Ghana 2011

[17] Australia Victoria Environmental Protection Agency A Guideto The Measurement and Analysis of Noise EPA Publi-cation 2013 httpwwwepavicgovausimmediaPublications280pdf

[18] M E Lutman ldquoWhat is the risk of noise-induced hearing lossat 80 85 90 dB(A) and aboverdquo Occupational Medicine vol 50no 4 pp 274ndash275 2000

[19] P Goovaerts Geostatistics for Natural Resources EvaluationOxford University Press Oxford UK 1997

[20] B Berglund and T Lindvall Eds Community Noise Centerfor Sensory Research Stockholm University and KarolinskaInstitute 1995

[21] R F J Soames ldquoNoise sensitivity as a factor influencing humanreaction to noiserdquoNoise andHealth vol 1 no 3 pp 57ndash68 1999

[22] S A Stansfeld and M P Matheson ldquoNoise pollution non-auditory effects on healthrdquo British Medical Bulletin vol 68 pp243ndash257 2003

[23] WHONight Noise Guidelines for Europe WHORegional Officefor Europe Copenhagen Denmark 2009 httpwwweurowhoint dataassetspdf file001743316E92845pdf

Submit your manuscripts athttpwwwhindawicom

Stem CellsInternational

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

MEDIATORSINFLAMMATION

of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Behavioural Neurology

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Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Disease Markers

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

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OncologyJournal of

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Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

PPAR Research

The Scientific World JournalHindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Immunology ResearchHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Journal of

ObesityJournal of

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Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Research and TreatmentAIDS

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

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Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Parkinsonrsquos Disease

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Volume 2014Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom

2 Scientifica

Table 1 Range for the relationship between nocturnal noise expo-sure and health effects in the population

Night-time noise(outside) exposure Health effects observed in the population

lt30 dB(A)

Although individual sensitivities andcircumstances differ it appears that up tothis level no substantial biological effectsare observed

30ndash40 dB(A)

A number of effects are observed toincrease body movements awakeningsself-reported sleep disturbance andarousals The intensity of the effectdepends on the nature of the source andthe number of events Vulnerable groups(eg children and chronically ill andelderly people) are more susceptibleHowever even in the worst cases theeffects seem modest

40ndash55 dB(A)

Adverse health effects are observedamong the exposed populations Manypeople have to adapt their lives to copewith the noise at night Vulnerable groupsare severely affected

gt55 dB(A)

The situation is considered increasinglydangerous for public health Adversehealth effects occur frequently and asizable proportion of the population ishighly annoyed and sleep-disturbedThere is evidence that the risk ofcardiovascular disease increases

[23]

sleep is regarded as one of the most important aspects ofenvironmental noise exposure with possible effects on health[4ndash6] Exposure to night-time noise can also produce anumber of secondary effects (ie those that can be measuredthe day after the individual is exposed to night-time noise)including psychological and physiological symptoms as wellas reduced performance in adults [7]

The noise sensitivity of the sleeper depends on a plethoraof factors some of which are noise dependent such as the typeof noise (eg continuous intermittent and impulsive) noiseintensity noise frequency noise spectrum noise interval(eg duration regularity expected) noise signification andthe difference between the background noise level and themaximum amplitude of the occurring noise stimulus [8]Other factors are related to the sleeper such as age sexpersonality characteristics and self-estimated sensitivity tonoise [8] Noise-dependent and sleeper-dependent factorsthus constitute a complex set of factors that jointly shape theresponses of individuals and the population to night-timenoise exposure Table 1 shows the relationship of night-timenoise exposure and adverse health outcomes

Hitherto attention to night-time noise exposure hasfocused on air and road vehicular traffic in urban envi-ronments An often neglected source of night-time noiseexposure is religious noise which is fast becoming a definingcharacteristic of developing countries especially in sub-Saharan Africa Religious noise adds to other sources of

noise For instance if an individual works in a noise intensiveenvironment during the daytime the night-time exposureswill cumulate whatever dose has already accrued As ameasure of the growing concern in relation to this issueproblems with religious noise have recently been rated at thehighest level of environmental concern in some west Africancountries including Ghana According to Armah et al [9]religious noise especially in urban residential settings is afast growing issue that requires research and policy attentionReligious noise exposure at night is pervasive in developingcountries but has received little attention in the burgeoningliterature on noise pollution in urban environments

Noise characterises Christian Muslim and African tra-ditional religious activities in Ghana [10ndash13] This should beseen in the context of the balance between religious freedomand the public interest in environmental protection [14]In this regard public debate on religious noise in Ghanarevolves around the following issues (1) whether the right topractice religion is absolute and is not subject to limitations ofldquopublic order morality or healthrdquo (2) whether in a civilisedsociety religious activities disturbing the peace of others canbe justified (noting that no religion prescribes or preachesthat prayers must be performed through voice amplifiersor by beating drums) and whether there is a religiousright to breach the permissible limits of the EnvironmentalProtection Agency Act and (3) even if the noise pollution incertain cities may already exceed those limits whether it issufficient ground for permitting others to increase the noiseNight-time Christian religious services are of three typesnormal half-night and all-night each of which typicallylasts for up to 25 5 and 8 hours respectively The exposureduration of the latter is thus equivalent to occupational noisealthough the exposure frequency of night-time Christianreligious services may be different from occupational noiseTypically night services do not exceed five days per weekHowever it is also not uncommon to have night servicesevery day of the week during special occasions

Our understanding of religious noise exposure is rathernascent To our knowledge no study has till date consideredspatial distribution of night-time religious noise exposurein urban residential environments This study thereforesought to measure the levels of religious noise producedin the Ashaiman Municipality a rapidly growing urbanenvironment in Ghana to construct a night-time noisemap indicating the distribution of exposure in residentialneighbourhoods of the AshaimanMunicipality and to assessthe risk of religious noise-induced hearing loss to residentsin the exposed neighbourhoods Given the rapid increase indensity of buildings for religious activities in Ghana in recentyears it is hypothesised that exposure to religious noise in thestudy area is considerably above the Ghana EnvironmentalProtection Agency limits of 48 dB(A) 119871eq for night-timeexposure This limit is almost identical to the World HealthOrganisation limit of 45 dB(A) 119871eq for night-time exposure[15] These limits are regarded as the levels above whichexposure to noise is detrimental to human health In orderto investigate the hypothesis the measurements of noiselevels were taken at selected locations in the study area It isanticipated that this study will inform environmental noise

Scientifica 3

N

Study area

0 185 370 740

(M)

CommunityRoad network

Ghana map showing study area

0∘199840030

998400998400W0∘29984000998400998400W0

∘299840030

998400998400W

0∘199840030

998400998400W0∘29984000998400998400W0

∘299840030

998400998400W5∘429984000998400998400N

5∘4199840030998400998400N

5∘429984000998400998400N

5∘4199840030998400998400N

Ashaiman

Figure 1 Map of Ashaiman showing the selected communities

pollution policy in Ghana and the west African subregionFigure 1 shows the communities in which the study wasundertaken

2 Materials and Method

21 Study Area The Ashaiman Municipality is one of theten (10) districts in the Greater Accra Region of GhanaIts capital is Ashaiman and was created in 2008 Ashaimanhas coordinates 5∘ 421015840 north and 0∘ 011015840 west It is locatedabout four kilometers (4 km) to the north of Tema and aboutthirty kilometers (30 km) from Accra the capital city ofGhana Ashaiman shares boundaries to the north and eastwith Katamanso traditional area to the south with the TemaTownship and to the west with Adjei Kojo all within TemaMetropolitan Assembly It has many communities some ofwhich are planned and the rest unplanned Specifically thisstudy focuses on the following residential communities inthe Ashaiman Municipality Christian Village Zongo LakaRoman Down Market Square Taifa Taboo Line New TownJericho and Night Market These communities were selectedbased on the density of the religious noise sources Accordingto the 2010 census Ashaiman has 240000 inhabitants ofwhich 80 are Christians with majority of them (374)belonging to the PentecostalCharismatic denomination

Nine percent (9) Muslims and 11 either belong to thetraditional African religions or have no religion [16] Most ofthe inhabitants are into trading activities Some inhabitantsare engaged in the agriculture sector (crop farming livestockrearing and fishing)

22 Selection of Communities Churches and Mosques andRespondents The selection of communities was done usinga stratified random sampling technique The communitieswere stratified into the settlement patterns of planned andunplanned areas The communities were then selected fromthe two groups to adequately represent Ashaiman Threecommunities were selected from the planned settlementsnamely Christian Village Roman Down and New TownZongo Laka Market Square Taifa Taboo Line Jericho andNight Market were the other communities sampled fromthe unplanned areas Selection of houses of respondentswas based on the various distances from the noise sourcesnamely 50m 100m 150m and 200m This was based onthe fact that intensity varies from the source outwards Theheads of each household were interviewed However in theabsence of the head of the household any person available inthe selected houses capable of providing authentic answers tothe questionswas interviewedData collectionwas conductedusing a face-to-face personal interview on randomly selected

4 Scientifica

Table 2 Selected communities churches and mosques and respondents

Name of community Number of respondents Churches and mosques sampledMale Female

Taboo Line 9 8Church of JesusVoice of the Lord Evangelical ChurchTribe of Judah Ministries International (Intrsquol)

Market Square 15 14

Apostolic Church GhanaMusama Disco Christo ChurchSt Peter Methodist ChurchGrace Assembly (Assemblies of God (AG))

Taifa 13 13Central Assemblies of GodGreen and CreamMosqueUnique Chapel International (Intrsquol)

New Town 4 16Church of PentecostGlobal Evangelical ChurchLiberty Centre Annex (Assemblies of God (AG))

Christian Village 11 19

Presbyterian ChurchChurch of PentecostChrist Apostolic ChurchEvangelistic Fire Ministries International (Intrsquol)

Zongo Laka 15 5Grace Chapel International (Intrsquol)White and Green MosqueYellow Mosque

Roman Down 13 6Church of PentecostSt Augustine Catholic ChurchChrist Apostolic Church

Jericho 7 12Church of PentecostChurch of ChristChrist Apostolic Church

Night Market 14 16White and Green MosqueWhite Mosque (uncompleted)Cream and Green Mosque

Total 101 119

participants aged between the ages of 18 and 79 years Tobe eligible for study all interviewees were at least 18 yearsold and had continuously lived in the neighbourhood for aminimum of 3 years The personal interview collected self-reported information such as basic demographics perceptionof noise health and quality of life indicators Responses tonoise were also assessed through objectivemeasures of healthsuch as sleep disturbance

The churches and mosques were selected by purposivesampling technique Selection of churches was done basedon two criteria First the category of church that is eitherOrthodox churches Pentecostal churches or Charismaticchurch and secondly the physical structure that is onlychurches operating in permanent physical structures wereconsideredThiswas to ensure that the churcheswould alwaysbe there and would not relocate in the course of the studyThe number of churches sampled was however based onthose that could be assessed effectively and efficiently andwithin the time and material and financial resource limitsof the study The study population included individuals of

both sexes under 18 18ndash60 and those above 60 years Theparticipants who were within 18ndash60 years and those above 60years were either heads of the families or not andwere capableof providing authentic information for the study In all 220respondents were interviewed (Table 2)

23 Sound-Level Measurement A precision-grade sound-level meter RION NL-22 (Higashimotomachi Tokyo Japan)was used tomeasure the noise levels generated at the churchesand mosques and the various distances of 50m 100m150m and 200m away from the churches and mosques Thedevice conforms to International Electrotechnical Commis-sion 61672-12002 A battery and calibration check was doneon the sound-level meter before and after it was used at eachsite The sound-level meter was calibrated acoustically in thefield before and after every measurement using an externalreference (ie the sound-level calibrator CR 514) whichwas placed over the microphone The calibrator generateda stabilised sound pressure level of 94 dB (plusmn03 dB) at afrequency of 1 kHz

Scientifica 5

To avoid reflections from the body of the researcherwhich could increase the noise level when measurementswere being taken from the sound-levelmeter scale the instru-ment was held at armrsquos length with the microphone pointedat the noise source The instrument was used to obtain thenoise levels from both the churches and the mosques andat the various distances This was to determine whether thenoise produced from these sources was within ambient noiselevel guidelines of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)Ghana Noise emissions need to be observed for at least 30minutes for the purpose of assessing a duration adjustment ifthe noise is steady over this period (ie there is no observedrising or falling trend in the noise level either audibly orby sound-level meter inspection) a short measurement (egfive minutes) should be adequate to represent the 30-minuteLAeq [17] Based on this the noise readings were taken for 30minutes for the churches and 15 minutes for the mosques dueto the variation in the duration of their activities For eachlocation three different noise levels were taken for the night-time and the average noise level was computedThis was donein cognisance of the fact that noise is transient and that noiselevels within localities will be varying all the time

24 Global Positioning System (GPS) A Garmin Etrex hand-held GPS was used to obtain the coordinates of the churchesand mosques and the distances of 50m 100m 150m and200m away from the church and mosque within eachcommunity

25 Calculating Equivalent Noise Exposure Level This isbased on the 8-hour exposure duration for a typical all-night religious service in Ghana If a residentrsquos (including aworshipper) exposure to noise throughout an all-night ser-vice can be characterized by a number of 119871eq measurementsfor distinct noise activity periods the measurements can becombined into a full all-night service 119871eq using

119871eq all-night service

= 10 Log [( 1119879

) (1198791times 1001119871

1

+ 1198792times 1001119871

2

+ sdot sdot sdot + 119879119899times 1001119871

119899

) ]

(1)

where 119879 is the all-night service length hours 119879119899is the

duration of the 119899th measurement hours and 119871119899is the 119871eq

for the 119899th measurement period dBAFor example if a residentrsquos or worshipperrsquos exposure

consists of two distinct exposure periods 3 hours at an 119871eqof 84 dBA and 5 hours at an 119871eq of 88 dBA then

119871eq8 = 10 Log [(1

8

) (3 times 1001times84

) + (5 times 1001times88

)]

= 869 dBA = 119871ex8

(2)

For an all-night service length greater or less than 8 hours the119871ex8 may be calculated using

119871ex8 = 119871eq119879 + 10 Log(119879

8

) (3)

where 119879 is the religious service duration in hoursFor example a 119871eq for a 5-hour half-night service would

be converted to an 119871ex8 as follows

119871ex8 = 119871eq10 + 10 Log(5

8

) = 119871eq10 + 1 dBA (4)

where the night noise exposure is composed of two or moreperiods of noise exposure of different levels the followingequation may be used to determine if the overall exposureexceeds the allowable noise exposure limits

(

1198621

1198791

+

1198622

1198792

+ sdot sdot sdot +

119862119899

119879119899

) times 100 = of exposure limit (5)

where 119862 is the total duration of exposure at a specific noiselevel and 119879 is the total duration of exposure permitted at thatlevel

The 85 dBA 119871ex8 exposure limit is exceeded when thedose calculated using the above formula exceeds 100Based on Lutman [18] risk of religious noise-induced hearingloss is minimal if the 8-hour equivalent exposure level is lessthan 80 dBA Risk of religious noise-induced hearing loss issignificant if the 8-hour equivalent exposure level is greaterthan 85 dBA

26 Data Processing and Analysis Questionnaires werechecked for completeness and internal consistency at theclose of each day Questionnaires were then sorted num-bered and data-coded before entry into IBM SPSS (version19) software GPS noise locations and noise level readings perlocation were input in ARCGIS 101 software

27 Spatial Interpolation of Religious Noise MeasurementsSince noise is a continuous phenomenon in space noiselevels were converted into a continuous surface using Krigingtechnique of spatial interpolation The Kriging interpolationmodel is known for supplying the best linear unbiasedestimate of the level of noise pollution (eg ambient noisepollution concentration) at any given location in an area[19] The principle of Kriging is shown most simply withsets of equations that define the method Kriging is appliedto the estimation of the values of a regionalised variableat a selected location (119885

119896) based on surrounding existing

values (119885119894) Each of such locations is assigned a relevant

weighting coefficient (120582119894) and the calculation of this is the

most demanding part of the Kriging algorithm The value ofa regionalised variable can be defined as

119885119894= 119885 (119909

119894) (6)

where 119909119894is the value of religious noise at the known location

Moreover the value of a regionalised variable estimatedby ordinary Kriging based on n points is

119885119896=

119899

sum

119894=1

120582119894sdot 119885119894 (7)

where 120582119894is the weighting coefficient for a particular location

ldquo119894rdquo 119885119894are known values the so-called ldquocontrol pointsrdquo (hard

data) 119885119896is the value estimated by Kriging

6 Scientifica

These equations represent the system of linear Krigingequations

Previous equation also can be written as the matrix

[119860] sdot [120582] = [119861] (8)

In matrices 119860 and 119861 the values are expressed as variogramvalues that is these values depend only on the distancesand orientations between the control points and not ontheir valuesThe third matrix includes weighting coefficientswhich are simply estimated from a system with ldquo119899rdquo equa-tions with ldquo119899rdquo unknown variables The Kriging technique(employed in this study) applied some constraints to thematrices to minimize the error [1205902

119896

(119909)] and this techniquegives unbiased estimations Generally these factors woulddescribe some external limit (restriction) on the input datawhich cannot simply be observed in themeasured valuesTheconstraint factor in the ordinary Kriging equations called theLagrangemultiplicator was used in this study If the sumof allweighting coefficients is 1 Kriging expression can be writtenas

120574 (1198851minus 1198851) times 1205821+ 119892 (119885

1minus 1198852)

times 1205822+ sdot sdot sdot + 120574 (119885

1minus 119885119899) times 120582119899+ 119898 = 120574 (119885

1minus 119885)

120574 (1198852minus 1198851) times 1205821+ 119892 (119885

2minus 1198852)

times 1205822+ sdot sdot sdot + 120574 (119885

2minus 119885119899) times 120582119899+ 119898 = 120574 (119885

2minus 119885)

120574 (119885119899minus 1198851) times 1205821+ 119892 (119885

119899minus 1198852)

times 1205822+ sdot sdot sdot + 120574 (119885

119899minus 119885119899) times 120582119899+ 119898 = 120574 (119885

119899minus 119885)

1205821+ 1205822+ sdot sdot sdot + 120582

119899+ 0 = 1

(9)

If such a system of linear equations is shown as Krigingmatrices it can be written as

[[[[[[

[

120574 (1198851minus 1198851) 120574 (119885

1minus 1198852) sdot sdot sdot 120574 (119885

1minus 119885119899) 1

120574 (1198852minus 1198851) 120574 (119885

2minus 1198852) sdot sdot sdot 120574 (119885

2minus 119885119899) 1

1

120574 (119885119899minus 1198851) 120574 (119885

119899minus 1198852) sdot sdot sdot 120574 (119885

119899minus 119885119899) 1

1 1 sdot sdot sdot 1 0

]]]]]]

]

times

[[[[[

[

1205821

1205822

120582119899

119898

]]]]]

]

=

[[[[[

[

120574 (1198851minus 119885)

120574 (1198852minus 119885)

120574 (119885119899minus 119885)

1

]]]]]

]

(10)

The number of weighting coefficients and control points canbe very large but contemporary computers can successfullysolve numerically demanding tasks The estimation can beperformed simply by calculating the influence of all controlpoints weighted by their associated coefficients according to

119885 = 1205821sdot 1198851+ 1205822sdot 1198852+ sdot sdot sdot + 120582

119899sdot 119885119899 (11)

The calculation of the estimation variance includes adding theLagrange coefficient

1205902

= 1205821sdot 120574 (1198851minus 119885) + 120582

2sdot 120574 (1198852minus 119885)

+ sdot sdot sdot + 120582119899sdot 120574 (119885119899minus 119885) + 119898

(12)

3 Results

31 Night-Time Noise Levels at the Various Noise Sources50m and 100m Distances The noise levels recorded atthe churches and mosques and the various distances awayfrom the noise sources all exceeded the EPA permissiblelevel of 48 dB(A) for night time (2200ndash0600 h) expected forresidential areas These are presented in Tables 3 and 4 Fornight-time (2200ndash0600 h) noise levels Grace Assemblies ofGod Church recorded the lowest value of 719 dB and Tribeof Judah Ministries International recorded the highest valueof 1017 dB at the noise source Pentecost Church at RomanDown and Christ Apostolic Church at Christian Villagerecorded noise levels of 649 dB and 914 dB respectivelyat the 50m distance and 616 dB and 835 dB for the 100mdistance Tribe of Judah Ministries International at TabooLine recorded the highest value of 1017 dB(A) and GraceAssemblies of God at Market Square recorded the lowestvalue of 719 dB(A) However at a distance of 50m from thesource Tribe of Judah Ministries which recorded the highestvalue at the source recorded 785 dB(A) andGraceAssembliesof God which recorded the lowest value at the source alsorecorded 78 dB(A) The decrease could be attributed tothe glass windows used which acted as a form of sound-proof while the increment could be due to other activitiesaside the church service such as traffic noise None of thechurches or mosques produced noise within the permissiblelevel of 48 dB(A) for night at a distance of 100m from thechurchmosque

Generally dose for mosques decreased with increasingdistance from the noise source At the source the magnitudeof dose in decreasing order was as follows White andCream Mosque (Zongo Laka) gt Green and Cream Mosque(Taifa) gt Cream and Green Mosque (Night Market) gt YellowMosque (Zongo Laka) gt White Mosque (Night Market) gtWhite and GreenMosque (Night Market) Residents who arechronically exposed to noise from the first three locationsare at significant risk of noise-induced hearing loss whereasresidents within the vicinity ofWhiteMosque (NightMarket)are at minimum risk Also in terms of neighbourhood NightMarket and Zongo Laka areas had the lowest and highestnight-time noise exposure respectively (Table 3)

Regarding churches all neighbourhoods had at least onelocation with significant risk of noise-induced hearing loss(Table 4) At the source the magnitude of dose for the firstten churches in decreasing order was as follows Tribe ofJudah Ministries (Taboo Line) gt Musama Church (MarketSquare) gt Christ Apostolic (Roman Down) gt Church ofPentecost (Newtown) gt Global Evangelical (Newtown) gtChurch of Pentecost (ChristianVillage)gtCentral Assembliesof God (Taifa) gt Unique Chapel (Taifa) gt Christ Apostolic(Christian Village) gt Christ Apostolic (Jericho) In terms of

Scientifica 7

Table3Night-timen

oise

expo

sure

levels

dose

form

osqu

esand

riskof

hearinglossin

neighb

ourhoo

ds

Neighbo

urho

odLo

catio

nNoise

leveld

B(A)lowast

Dose()

8-ho

urequivalent

expo

sure

level

Risk

ofno

ise-in

ducedhearingloss

Source

50m

100m

source

50m

100m

Taifa

Green

andCr

eam

Mosqu

e936

768

686

2264

47

07

885

Sign

ificant

risk

ZongoLaka

WhiteandGreen

Mosqu

e938

856

752

2371

359

33

887

Sign

ificant

risk

Yello

wMosqu

e856

812

726

359

130

18

805

Somer

isk

Night

Market

WhiteandGreen

Mosqu

e844

762

642

272

41

03

793

Minim

alris

kWhiteMosqu

e(un

completed)

854

756

646

343

36

03

803

Somer

iskCr

eam

andGreen

Mosqu

e902

774

641035

54

02

851

Sign

ificant

risk

Equivalent

noise

expo

sure

level

932

833

732

66430

6680

660

lowast

Measurementtim

eper

locatio

nis15

minutes

andtotalexp

osuretim

eis15ho

ursfor

them

osqu

es

8 Scientifica

Table4Night-timen

oise

expo

sure

levels

dose

forc

hurchesandris

kof

hearinglossin

neighb

ourhoo

ds

Neighbo

urho

odLo

catio

nNoise

dB(A

)lowastDose()

8-ho

urequivalent

noise

expo

sure

Risk

ofno

ise-in

ducedhearingloss

Source

50m

100m

source

50m

100m

Tabo

oLine

Church

ofJesus

801

853

725

101

335

18

75Minim

alVo

iceo

fthe

Lord

EvangelicalCh

urch

89815

648

785

140

03

839

Some

Tribeo

fJud

ahMinistrie

sInternatio

nal

1017

785

743

14617

70

27

966

Sign

ificant

MarketS

quare

Apostolic

ChurchG

hana

863

805

765

422

111

44

812

Some

Musam

aDisc

oCh

risto

Church

1005

813

747

11088

133

29

954

Sign

ificant

StPeter

Metho

distCh

urch

837

697

617

232

09

01

786

Minim

alGrace

Assembly(A

ssem

blieso

fGod

)719

78741

15

62

25

668

Minim

al

Taifa

CentralAs

semblieso

fGod

948

743

739

2984

27

24

897

Sign

ificant

Uniqu

eChapelInternatio

nal

947

842

676

2916

260

06

896

Sign

ificant

New

town

Church

ofPentecost

995

833

705

8807

211

11

944

Sign

ificant

GlobalE

vangelicalC

hurch

985

869

707

6996

484

12

934

Sign

ificant

LibertyCentre

Ann

ex(A

ssem

blieso

fGod

)851

748

653

320

30

03

80Some

Chris

tianVillage

Presbyteria

nCh

urch

825

708

637

176

12

02

774

Minim

alCh

urch

ofPentecost

971

83725

5068

197

18

92Sign

ificant

Chris

tApo

stolic

Church

945

914

835

2785

1364

221

894

Sign

ificant

Evangelistic

Fire

Ministrie

sInternatio

nal

932

825

727

2065

176

18

881

Sign

ificant

ZongoLaka

Grace

ChapelInternational

873

725

625

531

18

02

822

Some

Roman

Dow

nCh

urch

ofPentecost

824

649

616

172

03

01

774

Minim

alStA

ugustin

eCatho

licCh

urch

809

739

64122

24

02

758

Minim

alCh

ristA

posto

licCh

urch

100

851

731

9882

320

20

949

Sign

ificant

Jeric

hoCh

urch

ofPentecost

857

712

637

367

13

02

806

Some

Church

ofCh

rist

823

752

648

168

243

03

772

Minim

alCh

ristA

posto

licCh

urch

943

839

744

266

209

270

892

Sign

ificant

Equivalent

noise

expo

sure

level

986

882

777

73278

63310

5210

lowast

Measurementtim

eper

locatio

nis30

minutes

andtotalexp

osuretim

eis115

hoursfor

thec

hurches

Scientifica 9

Table 5 Night-time exposure classes

Noise range (dB(A)) Exposure class818ndash848 Low848ndash872 Moderately high872ndash899 High899ndash926 Very high926ndash953 Extremely high

neighbourhoodMarket Square and Taboo Line areas had thelowest and highest night-time noise exposure respectively(Table 4)

32 Distribution of Night-Time Noise Exposure in the UrbanNeighbourhoods Table 5 shows the classification scheme fornight-time noise exposure in the study area Religious noiseexposure up to 848 db(A) is regarded as low whereas expo-sure above 926 db(A) is considered extremely high

As observed in Figure 2 none of the communities waswithin the low noise exposure class A major part of NightMarket and small portions of Roman Down and Zongo Lakawere in the moderately high noise exposure class Every partof Jericho major parts of Market Square Zongo Laka andRoman Down and a small portion of Night Market werein the high noise exposure zone Every part of New TownChristian Village Taifa and Taboo Line and a small portionof Market Square were in the very high noise exposure classNone of the communitieswaswithin the extremely high noiseexposure class

4 Discussion

This study measured the levels of religious noise producedin the Ashaiman Municipality a rapidly growing urbanenvironment in Ghana constructed a night-time noise mapindicating the distribution of exposure in residential neigh-bourhoods of the Ashaiman Municipality and assessed therisk of religious noise-induced hearing loss to residents inthe exposed neighbourhoods In this municipality there areseveral worksites for artisanal metal workers in the informalsector These noise-intensity work environments deliver sig-nificant noise to this subset of the people (artisanal metalworkers) living in these neighbourhoods Night-time noiseadds to the daytime noise doseThe results showed that all thetwenty-three churches and six mosques sampled producednight-time noise levels far exceeding the EPArsquos guidelinesstandard of 48 dB(A) for night (2200ndash0600 h) The noisemaps generated also showed that most of the communitieswere exposed to high noise levels due to religious activitiesas most of them were within the extremely high very highand high noise exposure zones Just a few communitieswere within the moderately high zone but none of thecommunities was within the low noise exposure zone Thenight-time noise levels obtained in this study are comparableto the observations of Armah et al [9] in the Cape CoastMetropolis However the latter study did not control forbackground noise

Themagnitude of the figure for night-time noise exposureis striking particularly given that excessive night-time noiseexposure has the greatest detrimental effect on public healthIf the foregoing exposure levels were extrapolated for theentire Accra and Tema areas it quickly becomes obvious thatthemagnitude of the problem is considerableThe impact thatthese levels of exposure are having on individual health andthe quality of life as well as the economic impact in terms ofreduced productively of residents is likely to be considerablealso

Interestingly there was no statistically significant rela-tionship between neighbourhoods where religious noiseexposure was the highest and where noise annoyance wasthe highest This finding supports the results Armah et al [9]obtained in the Cape Coast Metropolis of Ghana The degreeof annoyance produced by noise may vary with the time ofday the unpleasant characteristics of the noise the durationand intensity of the noise the meaning associated with itand the nature of the activity that the noise interrupted [20]Annoyance may be influenced by a variety of nonacousticalfactors including individual sensitivity to noise [21] Theseinclude fear of the noise source conviction that noise couldbe reduced by third parties individual sensitivity the degreeto which an individual feels able to control the noise andwhether or not the noise originated from an important eco-nomic activity [20 22] Other less direct effects of annoyanceare disruption of onersquos peace of mind the enjoyment of onersquosproperty and the enjoyment of solitude

Seldom are populations exposed to a single source ofnoise pollutionUsually noise exposure is complex consistingof several simultaneous noise exposures (eg religious airtraffic etc) This means that the noise exposure estimatesin this study could be far less than the expected compositenoise levels In any case there is some level of risk of noise-induced hearing loss as shown in this study and the potentialeffects of exposure cannot be discounted In fact the effectsof noise exposure depend on several factors and the absenceof a clear dose-effect relationship is certainly due to thecomplex interactions of these factors including the noisecharacteristics the individual sensitivity and the context ofthe explored living environment [2] However the amplitudeof the subjective complaints about sleep disturbance seems tohave been increasing during recent yearsThis is supported bythe growing frequency of noise-related complaints receivedby the Ghana EPA in the last few years Unfortunately onlya few epidemiological studies have considered the possi-ble effect of noise exposure (considered globally) togetherwith other environmental factors on the health of exposedpopulations As noted by Fritschi et al [2] no large-scaleepidemiological study focusing on the effect of night-timenoise exposure on health has yet been undertakenThereforeit is necessary to answer some fundamental questions inorder to understand the detrimental effects on health andquality of life in the long-term for night-time noise-exposedpopulations

Continuous high level exposure can lead to aggressionin a hostile angry and helpless population It is often thepopulation with the least income that suffers the most fromnoise in general Future epidemiological noise research will

10 Scientifica

TaifaJericho

New Town

Zongo LakaRoman Down

Taboo Line

Market Square

Christian Village

CommunitiesChurchesMosquesLow

Moderately highHighVery highExtremely high

065 0 0650325

Night Market

(km) N

0∘199840040

998400998400W 0∘199840020

998400998400W0∘299840020

998400998400W 0∘29984000998400998400W 0

∘19984000998400998400W0

∘299840040

998400998400W 0∘099840040

998400998400W

0∘199840040

998400998400W 0∘199840020

998400998400W0∘299840020

998400998400W 0∘29984000998400998400W 0

∘19984000998400998400W0

∘299840040

998400998400W 0∘099840040

998400998400W5∘429984000998400998400N

5∘419984000998400998400N

5∘4199840040998400998400N

5∘4199840020998400998400N

5∘4299840020998400998400N

5∘429984000998400998400N

5∘419984000998400998400N

5∘4199840040998400998400N

5∘4199840020998400998400N

5∘4299840020998400998400N

Figure 2 Noise map for in situ night-time noise levels in churches and mosques

need to focus on vulnerable groups effectmodifiers sensitivehours of the night coping mechanisms differences betweennoise sources possible confounding with air pollution dif-ferences between objective (noise level) and subjective (noiseperception) exposure and multiple exposures (home workand leisure environments)

5 Conclusion

This study shows that night-time exposure to religious noiseis a growing menace in urban residential areas in Ghana Asexpected noise dose for mosques and churches decreasedwith increasing distance from the noise source The magni-tude of the figure for night-time noise exposure is strikingparticularly given that excessive night-time noise exposurehas the greatest detrimental effect on public health Allneighbourhoods where churches are situated had at least onelocation with significant risk of noise-induced hearing lossHowever there was no statistically significant relationshipbetween neighbourhoods where religious noise exposure wasthe highest and where noise annoyance was the highestFurther research is required to focus on long-term effects of

night-time noise exposure of different populations In thiscontext the study of specific subgroups can be consideredto be ldquoat riskrdquo (eg children elderly people self-estimatedsensitive people insomniacs sleep disorder patients andnight worshippers)

Conflict of Interests

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interestsregarding the publication of this paper

Acknowledgments

The authors sincerely thank Mr Mark Kpalega Ghaaton andall respondents for their assistance

References

[1] L Goines and L Hagler ldquoNoise pollution a modern plaguerdquoSouthern Medical Journal vol 100 no 3 pp 287ndash294 2007

[2] L Fritschi L Brown R Kim D Schwela and S Keph-alopolous ldquoBurden of disease from environmental noise

Scientifica 11

quantification of healthy life years lost in Europerdquo 2011httpwwwwhointquantifying ehimpactspublicationse94888en

[3] BGriefahnAMarks and S Robens ldquoNoise emitted from roadrail and air traffic and their effects on sleeprdquo Journal of Soundand Vibration vol 295 no 1-2 pp 129ndash140 2006

[4] W Babisch ldquoNoise and healthrdquo Environmental Health Perspec-tives vol 113 no 1 pp A14ndashA15 2005

[5] J di Nisi A Muzet J Ehrhart and J P Libert ldquoComparison ofcardiovascular responses to noise during waking and sleepingin humansrdquo Sleep vol 13 no 2 pp 108ndash120 1990

[6] N L Carter ldquoTransportation noise sleep and possible after-effectsrdquo Environment International vol 22 no 1 pp 105ndash1161996

[7] E Ohrstrom A Skanberg H Svensson and A Gidlof-Gunnarsson ldquoEffects of road traffic noise and the benefit ofaccess to quietnessrdquo Journal of Sound and Vibration vol 295no 1 pp 40ndash59 2006

[8] A Muzet ldquoEnvironmental noise sleep and healthrdquo SleepMedicine Reviews vol 11 no 2 pp 135ndash142 2007

[9] F A Armah J OOdoi DO Yawson G T Yengoh E K Afrifaand A N Pappoe ldquoMapping of noise risk zones derived fromreligious activities and perceptions in residential neighbour-hoods in the Cape Coast metropolis Ghanardquo EnvironmentalHazards vol 9 no 4 pp 358ndash368 2010

[10] K Asamoah-Gyadu African Charismatics Current Develop-ments within Independent Indigenous Pentecostalism in GhanaBrill Leiden The Netherlands 2005

[11] J K Asamoah-Gyadu ldquoOf faith and visual alertness themessage of ldquomediatizedrdquo religion in an African PentecostalcontextrdquoMaterial Religion vol 1 no 3 pp 336ndash357 2005

[12] M De Witte ldquoAccrarsquos sounds and sacred spacesrdquo InternationalJournal of Urban and Regional Research vol 32 no 3 pp 690ndash709 2008

[13] R Van Dijk ldquoContesting silence the ban on drumming andthe musical politics of Pentecostalism in GhanardquoGhana StudiesReview vol 4 pp 31ndash64 2001

[14] S Knights ldquoSacred space and the city religious buildings andnoise pollutionrdquoHarvard International Law Journal Online vol49 pp 50ndash55 2008

[15] B Berglund T Lindvall and D H Schwela Eds Guidelinesfor Community Noise World Health Organization GenevaSwitzerland 1999

[16] Ashaiman Municipal Assembly (ASHMA) Annual ReportAshaiman Ghana 2011

[17] Australia Victoria Environmental Protection Agency A Guideto The Measurement and Analysis of Noise EPA Publi-cation 2013 httpwwwepavicgovausimmediaPublications280pdf

[18] M E Lutman ldquoWhat is the risk of noise-induced hearing lossat 80 85 90 dB(A) and aboverdquo Occupational Medicine vol 50no 4 pp 274ndash275 2000

[19] P Goovaerts Geostatistics for Natural Resources EvaluationOxford University Press Oxford UK 1997

[20] B Berglund and T Lindvall Eds Community Noise Centerfor Sensory Research Stockholm University and KarolinskaInstitute 1995

[21] R F J Soames ldquoNoise sensitivity as a factor influencing humanreaction to noiserdquoNoise andHealth vol 1 no 3 pp 57ndash68 1999

[22] S A Stansfeld and M P Matheson ldquoNoise pollution non-auditory effects on healthrdquo British Medical Bulletin vol 68 pp243ndash257 2003

[23] WHONight Noise Guidelines for Europe WHORegional Officefor Europe Copenhagen Denmark 2009 httpwwweurowhoint dataassetspdf file001743316E92845pdf

Submit your manuscripts athttpwwwhindawicom

Stem CellsInternational

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

MEDIATORSINFLAMMATION

of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Behavioural Neurology

EndocrinologyInternational Journal of

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Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Disease Markers

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

BioMed Research International

OncologyJournal of

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Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

PPAR Research

The Scientific World JournalHindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Immunology ResearchHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Journal of

ObesityJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Computational and Mathematical Methods in Medicine

OphthalmologyJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Diabetes ResearchJournal of

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Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Research and TreatmentAIDS

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Gastroenterology Research and Practice

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Parkinsonrsquos Disease

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Volume 2014Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom

Scientifica 3

N

Study area

0 185 370 740

(M)

CommunityRoad network

Ghana map showing study area

0∘199840030

998400998400W0∘29984000998400998400W0

∘299840030

998400998400W

0∘199840030

998400998400W0∘29984000998400998400W0

∘299840030

998400998400W5∘429984000998400998400N

5∘4199840030998400998400N

5∘429984000998400998400N

5∘4199840030998400998400N

Ashaiman

Figure 1 Map of Ashaiman showing the selected communities

pollution policy in Ghana and the west African subregionFigure 1 shows the communities in which the study wasundertaken

2 Materials and Method

21 Study Area The Ashaiman Municipality is one of theten (10) districts in the Greater Accra Region of GhanaIts capital is Ashaiman and was created in 2008 Ashaimanhas coordinates 5∘ 421015840 north and 0∘ 011015840 west It is locatedabout four kilometers (4 km) to the north of Tema and aboutthirty kilometers (30 km) from Accra the capital city ofGhana Ashaiman shares boundaries to the north and eastwith Katamanso traditional area to the south with the TemaTownship and to the west with Adjei Kojo all within TemaMetropolitan Assembly It has many communities some ofwhich are planned and the rest unplanned Specifically thisstudy focuses on the following residential communities inthe Ashaiman Municipality Christian Village Zongo LakaRoman Down Market Square Taifa Taboo Line New TownJericho and Night Market These communities were selectedbased on the density of the religious noise sources Accordingto the 2010 census Ashaiman has 240000 inhabitants ofwhich 80 are Christians with majority of them (374)belonging to the PentecostalCharismatic denomination

Nine percent (9) Muslims and 11 either belong to thetraditional African religions or have no religion [16] Most ofthe inhabitants are into trading activities Some inhabitantsare engaged in the agriculture sector (crop farming livestockrearing and fishing)

22 Selection of Communities Churches and Mosques andRespondents The selection of communities was done usinga stratified random sampling technique The communitieswere stratified into the settlement patterns of planned andunplanned areas The communities were then selected fromthe two groups to adequately represent Ashaiman Threecommunities were selected from the planned settlementsnamely Christian Village Roman Down and New TownZongo Laka Market Square Taifa Taboo Line Jericho andNight Market were the other communities sampled fromthe unplanned areas Selection of houses of respondentswas based on the various distances from the noise sourcesnamely 50m 100m 150m and 200m This was based onthe fact that intensity varies from the source outwards Theheads of each household were interviewed However in theabsence of the head of the household any person available inthe selected houses capable of providing authentic answers tothe questionswas interviewedData collectionwas conductedusing a face-to-face personal interview on randomly selected

4 Scientifica

Table 2 Selected communities churches and mosques and respondents

Name of community Number of respondents Churches and mosques sampledMale Female

Taboo Line 9 8Church of JesusVoice of the Lord Evangelical ChurchTribe of Judah Ministries International (Intrsquol)

Market Square 15 14

Apostolic Church GhanaMusama Disco Christo ChurchSt Peter Methodist ChurchGrace Assembly (Assemblies of God (AG))

Taifa 13 13Central Assemblies of GodGreen and CreamMosqueUnique Chapel International (Intrsquol)

New Town 4 16Church of PentecostGlobal Evangelical ChurchLiberty Centre Annex (Assemblies of God (AG))

Christian Village 11 19

Presbyterian ChurchChurch of PentecostChrist Apostolic ChurchEvangelistic Fire Ministries International (Intrsquol)

Zongo Laka 15 5Grace Chapel International (Intrsquol)White and Green MosqueYellow Mosque

Roman Down 13 6Church of PentecostSt Augustine Catholic ChurchChrist Apostolic Church

Jericho 7 12Church of PentecostChurch of ChristChrist Apostolic Church

Night Market 14 16White and Green MosqueWhite Mosque (uncompleted)Cream and Green Mosque

Total 101 119

participants aged between the ages of 18 and 79 years Tobe eligible for study all interviewees were at least 18 yearsold and had continuously lived in the neighbourhood for aminimum of 3 years The personal interview collected self-reported information such as basic demographics perceptionof noise health and quality of life indicators Responses tonoise were also assessed through objectivemeasures of healthsuch as sleep disturbance

The churches and mosques were selected by purposivesampling technique Selection of churches was done basedon two criteria First the category of church that is eitherOrthodox churches Pentecostal churches or Charismaticchurch and secondly the physical structure that is onlychurches operating in permanent physical structures wereconsideredThiswas to ensure that the churcheswould alwaysbe there and would not relocate in the course of the studyThe number of churches sampled was however based onthose that could be assessed effectively and efficiently andwithin the time and material and financial resource limitsof the study The study population included individuals of

both sexes under 18 18ndash60 and those above 60 years Theparticipants who were within 18ndash60 years and those above 60years were either heads of the families or not andwere capableof providing authentic information for the study In all 220respondents were interviewed (Table 2)

23 Sound-Level Measurement A precision-grade sound-level meter RION NL-22 (Higashimotomachi Tokyo Japan)was used tomeasure the noise levels generated at the churchesand mosques and the various distances of 50m 100m150m and 200m away from the churches and mosques Thedevice conforms to International Electrotechnical Commis-sion 61672-12002 A battery and calibration check was doneon the sound-level meter before and after it was used at eachsite The sound-level meter was calibrated acoustically in thefield before and after every measurement using an externalreference (ie the sound-level calibrator CR 514) whichwas placed over the microphone The calibrator generateda stabilised sound pressure level of 94 dB (plusmn03 dB) at afrequency of 1 kHz

Scientifica 5

To avoid reflections from the body of the researcherwhich could increase the noise level when measurementswere being taken from the sound-levelmeter scale the instru-ment was held at armrsquos length with the microphone pointedat the noise source The instrument was used to obtain thenoise levels from both the churches and the mosques andat the various distances This was to determine whether thenoise produced from these sources was within ambient noiselevel guidelines of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)Ghana Noise emissions need to be observed for at least 30minutes for the purpose of assessing a duration adjustment ifthe noise is steady over this period (ie there is no observedrising or falling trend in the noise level either audibly orby sound-level meter inspection) a short measurement (egfive minutes) should be adequate to represent the 30-minuteLAeq [17] Based on this the noise readings were taken for 30minutes for the churches and 15 minutes for the mosques dueto the variation in the duration of their activities For eachlocation three different noise levels were taken for the night-time and the average noise level was computedThis was donein cognisance of the fact that noise is transient and that noiselevels within localities will be varying all the time

24 Global Positioning System (GPS) A Garmin Etrex hand-held GPS was used to obtain the coordinates of the churchesand mosques and the distances of 50m 100m 150m and200m away from the church and mosque within eachcommunity

25 Calculating Equivalent Noise Exposure Level This isbased on the 8-hour exposure duration for a typical all-night religious service in Ghana If a residentrsquos (including aworshipper) exposure to noise throughout an all-night ser-vice can be characterized by a number of 119871eq measurementsfor distinct noise activity periods the measurements can becombined into a full all-night service 119871eq using

119871eq all-night service

= 10 Log [( 1119879

) (1198791times 1001119871

1

+ 1198792times 1001119871

2

+ sdot sdot sdot + 119879119899times 1001119871

119899

) ]

(1)

where 119879 is the all-night service length hours 119879119899is the

duration of the 119899th measurement hours and 119871119899is the 119871eq

for the 119899th measurement period dBAFor example if a residentrsquos or worshipperrsquos exposure

consists of two distinct exposure periods 3 hours at an 119871eqof 84 dBA and 5 hours at an 119871eq of 88 dBA then

119871eq8 = 10 Log [(1

8

) (3 times 1001times84

) + (5 times 1001times88

)]

= 869 dBA = 119871ex8

(2)

For an all-night service length greater or less than 8 hours the119871ex8 may be calculated using

119871ex8 = 119871eq119879 + 10 Log(119879

8

) (3)

where 119879 is the religious service duration in hoursFor example a 119871eq for a 5-hour half-night service would

be converted to an 119871ex8 as follows

119871ex8 = 119871eq10 + 10 Log(5

8

) = 119871eq10 + 1 dBA (4)

where the night noise exposure is composed of two or moreperiods of noise exposure of different levels the followingequation may be used to determine if the overall exposureexceeds the allowable noise exposure limits

(

1198621

1198791

+

1198622

1198792

+ sdot sdot sdot +

119862119899

119879119899

) times 100 = of exposure limit (5)

where 119862 is the total duration of exposure at a specific noiselevel and 119879 is the total duration of exposure permitted at thatlevel

The 85 dBA 119871ex8 exposure limit is exceeded when thedose calculated using the above formula exceeds 100Based on Lutman [18] risk of religious noise-induced hearingloss is minimal if the 8-hour equivalent exposure level is lessthan 80 dBA Risk of religious noise-induced hearing loss issignificant if the 8-hour equivalent exposure level is greaterthan 85 dBA

26 Data Processing and Analysis Questionnaires werechecked for completeness and internal consistency at theclose of each day Questionnaires were then sorted num-bered and data-coded before entry into IBM SPSS (version19) software GPS noise locations and noise level readings perlocation were input in ARCGIS 101 software

27 Spatial Interpolation of Religious Noise MeasurementsSince noise is a continuous phenomenon in space noiselevels were converted into a continuous surface using Krigingtechnique of spatial interpolation The Kriging interpolationmodel is known for supplying the best linear unbiasedestimate of the level of noise pollution (eg ambient noisepollution concentration) at any given location in an area[19] The principle of Kriging is shown most simply withsets of equations that define the method Kriging is appliedto the estimation of the values of a regionalised variableat a selected location (119885

119896) based on surrounding existing

values (119885119894) Each of such locations is assigned a relevant

weighting coefficient (120582119894) and the calculation of this is the

most demanding part of the Kriging algorithm The value ofa regionalised variable can be defined as

119885119894= 119885 (119909

119894) (6)

where 119909119894is the value of religious noise at the known location

Moreover the value of a regionalised variable estimatedby ordinary Kriging based on n points is

119885119896=

119899

sum

119894=1

120582119894sdot 119885119894 (7)

where 120582119894is the weighting coefficient for a particular location

ldquo119894rdquo 119885119894are known values the so-called ldquocontrol pointsrdquo (hard

data) 119885119896is the value estimated by Kriging

6 Scientifica

These equations represent the system of linear Krigingequations

Previous equation also can be written as the matrix

[119860] sdot [120582] = [119861] (8)

In matrices 119860 and 119861 the values are expressed as variogramvalues that is these values depend only on the distancesand orientations between the control points and not ontheir valuesThe third matrix includes weighting coefficientswhich are simply estimated from a system with ldquo119899rdquo equa-tions with ldquo119899rdquo unknown variables The Kriging technique(employed in this study) applied some constraints to thematrices to minimize the error [1205902

119896

(119909)] and this techniquegives unbiased estimations Generally these factors woulddescribe some external limit (restriction) on the input datawhich cannot simply be observed in themeasured valuesTheconstraint factor in the ordinary Kriging equations called theLagrangemultiplicator was used in this study If the sumof allweighting coefficients is 1 Kriging expression can be writtenas

120574 (1198851minus 1198851) times 1205821+ 119892 (119885

1minus 1198852)

times 1205822+ sdot sdot sdot + 120574 (119885

1minus 119885119899) times 120582119899+ 119898 = 120574 (119885

1minus 119885)

120574 (1198852minus 1198851) times 1205821+ 119892 (119885

2minus 1198852)

times 1205822+ sdot sdot sdot + 120574 (119885

2minus 119885119899) times 120582119899+ 119898 = 120574 (119885

2minus 119885)

120574 (119885119899minus 1198851) times 1205821+ 119892 (119885

119899minus 1198852)

times 1205822+ sdot sdot sdot + 120574 (119885

119899minus 119885119899) times 120582119899+ 119898 = 120574 (119885

119899minus 119885)

1205821+ 1205822+ sdot sdot sdot + 120582

119899+ 0 = 1

(9)

If such a system of linear equations is shown as Krigingmatrices it can be written as

[[[[[[

[

120574 (1198851minus 1198851) 120574 (119885

1minus 1198852) sdot sdot sdot 120574 (119885

1minus 119885119899) 1

120574 (1198852minus 1198851) 120574 (119885

2minus 1198852) sdot sdot sdot 120574 (119885

2minus 119885119899) 1

1

120574 (119885119899minus 1198851) 120574 (119885

119899minus 1198852) sdot sdot sdot 120574 (119885

119899minus 119885119899) 1

1 1 sdot sdot sdot 1 0

]]]]]]

]

times

[[[[[

[

1205821

1205822

120582119899

119898

]]]]]

]

=

[[[[[

[

120574 (1198851minus 119885)

120574 (1198852minus 119885)

120574 (119885119899minus 119885)

1

]]]]]

]

(10)

The number of weighting coefficients and control points canbe very large but contemporary computers can successfullysolve numerically demanding tasks The estimation can beperformed simply by calculating the influence of all controlpoints weighted by their associated coefficients according to

119885 = 1205821sdot 1198851+ 1205822sdot 1198852+ sdot sdot sdot + 120582

119899sdot 119885119899 (11)

The calculation of the estimation variance includes adding theLagrange coefficient

1205902

= 1205821sdot 120574 (1198851minus 119885) + 120582

2sdot 120574 (1198852minus 119885)

+ sdot sdot sdot + 120582119899sdot 120574 (119885119899minus 119885) + 119898

(12)

3 Results

31 Night-Time Noise Levels at the Various Noise Sources50m and 100m Distances The noise levels recorded atthe churches and mosques and the various distances awayfrom the noise sources all exceeded the EPA permissiblelevel of 48 dB(A) for night time (2200ndash0600 h) expected forresidential areas These are presented in Tables 3 and 4 Fornight-time (2200ndash0600 h) noise levels Grace Assemblies ofGod Church recorded the lowest value of 719 dB and Tribeof Judah Ministries International recorded the highest valueof 1017 dB at the noise source Pentecost Church at RomanDown and Christ Apostolic Church at Christian Villagerecorded noise levels of 649 dB and 914 dB respectivelyat the 50m distance and 616 dB and 835 dB for the 100mdistance Tribe of Judah Ministries International at TabooLine recorded the highest value of 1017 dB(A) and GraceAssemblies of God at Market Square recorded the lowestvalue of 719 dB(A) However at a distance of 50m from thesource Tribe of Judah Ministries which recorded the highestvalue at the source recorded 785 dB(A) andGraceAssembliesof God which recorded the lowest value at the source alsorecorded 78 dB(A) The decrease could be attributed tothe glass windows used which acted as a form of sound-proof while the increment could be due to other activitiesaside the church service such as traffic noise None of thechurches or mosques produced noise within the permissiblelevel of 48 dB(A) for night at a distance of 100m from thechurchmosque

Generally dose for mosques decreased with increasingdistance from the noise source At the source the magnitudeof dose in decreasing order was as follows White andCream Mosque (Zongo Laka) gt Green and Cream Mosque(Taifa) gt Cream and Green Mosque (Night Market) gt YellowMosque (Zongo Laka) gt White Mosque (Night Market) gtWhite and GreenMosque (Night Market) Residents who arechronically exposed to noise from the first three locationsare at significant risk of noise-induced hearing loss whereasresidents within the vicinity ofWhiteMosque (NightMarket)are at minimum risk Also in terms of neighbourhood NightMarket and Zongo Laka areas had the lowest and highestnight-time noise exposure respectively (Table 3)

Regarding churches all neighbourhoods had at least onelocation with significant risk of noise-induced hearing loss(Table 4) At the source the magnitude of dose for the firstten churches in decreasing order was as follows Tribe ofJudah Ministries (Taboo Line) gt Musama Church (MarketSquare) gt Christ Apostolic (Roman Down) gt Church ofPentecost (Newtown) gt Global Evangelical (Newtown) gtChurch of Pentecost (ChristianVillage)gtCentral Assembliesof God (Taifa) gt Unique Chapel (Taifa) gt Christ Apostolic(Christian Village) gt Christ Apostolic (Jericho) In terms of

Scientifica 7

Table3Night-timen

oise

expo

sure

levels

dose

form

osqu

esand

riskof

hearinglossin

neighb

ourhoo

ds

Neighbo

urho

odLo

catio

nNoise

leveld

B(A)lowast

Dose()

8-ho

urequivalent

expo

sure

level

Risk

ofno

ise-in

ducedhearingloss

Source

50m

100m

source

50m

100m

Taifa

Green

andCr

eam

Mosqu

e936

768

686

2264

47

07

885

Sign

ificant

risk

ZongoLaka

WhiteandGreen

Mosqu

e938

856

752

2371

359

33

887

Sign

ificant

risk

Yello

wMosqu

e856

812

726

359

130

18

805

Somer

isk

Night

Market

WhiteandGreen

Mosqu

e844

762

642

272

41

03

793

Minim

alris

kWhiteMosqu

e(un

completed)

854

756

646

343

36

03

803

Somer

iskCr

eam

andGreen

Mosqu

e902

774

641035

54

02

851

Sign

ificant

risk

Equivalent

noise

expo

sure

level

932

833

732

66430

6680

660

lowast

Measurementtim

eper

locatio

nis15

minutes

andtotalexp

osuretim

eis15ho

ursfor

them

osqu

es

8 Scientifica

Table4Night-timen

oise

expo

sure

levels

dose

forc

hurchesandris

kof

hearinglossin

neighb

ourhoo

ds

Neighbo

urho

odLo

catio

nNoise

dB(A

)lowastDose()

8-ho

urequivalent

noise

expo

sure

Risk

ofno

ise-in

ducedhearingloss

Source

50m

100m

source

50m

100m

Tabo

oLine

Church

ofJesus

801

853

725

101

335

18

75Minim

alVo

iceo

fthe

Lord

EvangelicalCh

urch

89815

648

785

140

03

839

Some

Tribeo

fJud

ahMinistrie

sInternatio

nal

1017

785

743

14617

70

27

966

Sign

ificant

MarketS

quare

Apostolic

ChurchG

hana

863

805

765

422

111

44

812

Some

Musam

aDisc

oCh

risto

Church

1005

813

747

11088

133

29

954

Sign

ificant

StPeter

Metho

distCh

urch

837

697

617

232

09

01

786

Minim

alGrace

Assembly(A

ssem

blieso

fGod

)719

78741

15

62

25

668

Minim

al

Taifa

CentralAs

semblieso

fGod

948

743

739

2984

27

24

897

Sign

ificant

Uniqu

eChapelInternatio

nal

947

842

676

2916

260

06

896

Sign

ificant

New

town

Church

ofPentecost

995

833

705

8807

211

11

944

Sign

ificant

GlobalE

vangelicalC

hurch

985

869

707

6996

484

12

934

Sign

ificant

LibertyCentre

Ann

ex(A

ssem

blieso

fGod

)851

748

653

320

30

03

80Some

Chris

tianVillage

Presbyteria

nCh

urch

825

708

637

176

12

02

774

Minim

alCh

urch

ofPentecost

971

83725

5068

197

18

92Sign

ificant

Chris

tApo

stolic

Church

945

914

835

2785

1364

221

894

Sign

ificant

Evangelistic

Fire

Ministrie

sInternatio

nal

932

825

727

2065

176

18

881

Sign

ificant

ZongoLaka

Grace

ChapelInternational

873

725

625

531

18

02

822

Some

Roman

Dow

nCh

urch

ofPentecost

824

649

616

172

03

01

774

Minim

alStA

ugustin

eCatho

licCh

urch

809

739

64122

24

02

758

Minim

alCh

ristA

posto

licCh

urch

100

851

731

9882

320

20

949

Sign

ificant

Jeric

hoCh

urch

ofPentecost

857

712

637

367

13

02

806

Some

Church

ofCh

rist

823

752

648

168

243

03

772

Minim

alCh

ristA

posto

licCh

urch

943

839

744

266

209

270

892

Sign

ificant

Equivalent

noise

expo

sure

level

986

882

777

73278

63310

5210

lowast

Measurementtim

eper

locatio

nis30

minutes

andtotalexp

osuretim

eis115

hoursfor

thec

hurches

Scientifica 9

Table 5 Night-time exposure classes

Noise range (dB(A)) Exposure class818ndash848 Low848ndash872 Moderately high872ndash899 High899ndash926 Very high926ndash953 Extremely high

neighbourhoodMarket Square and Taboo Line areas had thelowest and highest night-time noise exposure respectively(Table 4)

32 Distribution of Night-Time Noise Exposure in the UrbanNeighbourhoods Table 5 shows the classification scheme fornight-time noise exposure in the study area Religious noiseexposure up to 848 db(A) is regarded as low whereas expo-sure above 926 db(A) is considered extremely high

As observed in Figure 2 none of the communities waswithin the low noise exposure class A major part of NightMarket and small portions of Roman Down and Zongo Lakawere in the moderately high noise exposure class Every partof Jericho major parts of Market Square Zongo Laka andRoman Down and a small portion of Night Market werein the high noise exposure zone Every part of New TownChristian Village Taifa and Taboo Line and a small portionof Market Square were in the very high noise exposure classNone of the communitieswaswithin the extremely high noiseexposure class

4 Discussion

This study measured the levels of religious noise producedin the Ashaiman Municipality a rapidly growing urbanenvironment in Ghana constructed a night-time noise mapindicating the distribution of exposure in residential neigh-bourhoods of the Ashaiman Municipality and assessed therisk of religious noise-induced hearing loss to residents inthe exposed neighbourhoods In this municipality there areseveral worksites for artisanal metal workers in the informalsector These noise-intensity work environments deliver sig-nificant noise to this subset of the people (artisanal metalworkers) living in these neighbourhoods Night-time noiseadds to the daytime noise doseThe results showed that all thetwenty-three churches and six mosques sampled producednight-time noise levels far exceeding the EPArsquos guidelinesstandard of 48 dB(A) for night (2200ndash0600 h) The noisemaps generated also showed that most of the communitieswere exposed to high noise levels due to religious activitiesas most of them were within the extremely high very highand high noise exposure zones Just a few communitieswere within the moderately high zone but none of thecommunities was within the low noise exposure zone Thenight-time noise levels obtained in this study are comparableto the observations of Armah et al [9] in the Cape CoastMetropolis However the latter study did not control forbackground noise

Themagnitude of the figure for night-time noise exposureis striking particularly given that excessive night-time noiseexposure has the greatest detrimental effect on public healthIf the foregoing exposure levels were extrapolated for theentire Accra and Tema areas it quickly becomes obvious thatthemagnitude of the problem is considerableThe impact thatthese levels of exposure are having on individual health andthe quality of life as well as the economic impact in terms ofreduced productively of residents is likely to be considerablealso

Interestingly there was no statistically significant rela-tionship between neighbourhoods where religious noiseexposure was the highest and where noise annoyance wasthe highest This finding supports the results Armah et al [9]obtained in the Cape Coast Metropolis of Ghana The degreeof annoyance produced by noise may vary with the time ofday the unpleasant characteristics of the noise the durationand intensity of the noise the meaning associated with itand the nature of the activity that the noise interrupted [20]Annoyance may be influenced by a variety of nonacousticalfactors including individual sensitivity to noise [21] Theseinclude fear of the noise source conviction that noise couldbe reduced by third parties individual sensitivity the degreeto which an individual feels able to control the noise andwhether or not the noise originated from an important eco-nomic activity [20 22] Other less direct effects of annoyanceare disruption of onersquos peace of mind the enjoyment of onersquosproperty and the enjoyment of solitude

Seldom are populations exposed to a single source ofnoise pollutionUsually noise exposure is complex consistingof several simultaneous noise exposures (eg religious airtraffic etc) This means that the noise exposure estimatesin this study could be far less than the expected compositenoise levels In any case there is some level of risk of noise-induced hearing loss as shown in this study and the potentialeffects of exposure cannot be discounted In fact the effectsof noise exposure depend on several factors and the absenceof a clear dose-effect relationship is certainly due to thecomplex interactions of these factors including the noisecharacteristics the individual sensitivity and the context ofthe explored living environment [2] However the amplitudeof the subjective complaints about sleep disturbance seems tohave been increasing during recent yearsThis is supported bythe growing frequency of noise-related complaints receivedby the Ghana EPA in the last few years Unfortunately onlya few epidemiological studies have considered the possi-ble effect of noise exposure (considered globally) togetherwith other environmental factors on the health of exposedpopulations As noted by Fritschi et al [2] no large-scaleepidemiological study focusing on the effect of night-timenoise exposure on health has yet been undertakenThereforeit is necessary to answer some fundamental questions inorder to understand the detrimental effects on health andquality of life in the long-term for night-time noise-exposedpopulations

Continuous high level exposure can lead to aggressionin a hostile angry and helpless population It is often thepopulation with the least income that suffers the most fromnoise in general Future epidemiological noise research will

10 Scientifica

TaifaJericho

New Town

Zongo LakaRoman Down

Taboo Line

Market Square

Christian Village

CommunitiesChurchesMosquesLow

Moderately highHighVery highExtremely high

065 0 0650325

Night Market

(km) N

0∘199840040

998400998400W 0∘199840020

998400998400W0∘299840020

998400998400W 0∘29984000998400998400W 0

∘19984000998400998400W0

∘299840040

998400998400W 0∘099840040

998400998400W

0∘199840040

998400998400W 0∘199840020

998400998400W0∘299840020

998400998400W 0∘29984000998400998400W 0

∘19984000998400998400W0

∘299840040

998400998400W 0∘099840040

998400998400W5∘429984000998400998400N

5∘419984000998400998400N

5∘4199840040998400998400N

5∘4199840020998400998400N

5∘4299840020998400998400N

5∘429984000998400998400N

5∘419984000998400998400N

5∘4199840040998400998400N

5∘4199840020998400998400N

5∘4299840020998400998400N

Figure 2 Noise map for in situ night-time noise levels in churches and mosques

need to focus on vulnerable groups effectmodifiers sensitivehours of the night coping mechanisms differences betweennoise sources possible confounding with air pollution dif-ferences between objective (noise level) and subjective (noiseperception) exposure and multiple exposures (home workand leisure environments)

5 Conclusion

This study shows that night-time exposure to religious noiseis a growing menace in urban residential areas in Ghana Asexpected noise dose for mosques and churches decreasedwith increasing distance from the noise source The magni-tude of the figure for night-time noise exposure is strikingparticularly given that excessive night-time noise exposurehas the greatest detrimental effect on public health Allneighbourhoods where churches are situated had at least onelocation with significant risk of noise-induced hearing lossHowever there was no statistically significant relationshipbetween neighbourhoods where religious noise exposure wasthe highest and where noise annoyance was the highestFurther research is required to focus on long-term effects of

night-time noise exposure of different populations In thiscontext the study of specific subgroups can be consideredto be ldquoat riskrdquo (eg children elderly people self-estimatedsensitive people insomniacs sleep disorder patients andnight worshippers)

Conflict of Interests

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interestsregarding the publication of this paper

Acknowledgments

The authors sincerely thank Mr Mark Kpalega Ghaaton andall respondents for their assistance

References

[1] L Goines and L Hagler ldquoNoise pollution a modern plaguerdquoSouthern Medical Journal vol 100 no 3 pp 287ndash294 2007

[2] L Fritschi L Brown R Kim D Schwela and S Keph-alopolous ldquoBurden of disease from environmental noise

Scientifica 11

quantification of healthy life years lost in Europerdquo 2011httpwwwwhointquantifying ehimpactspublicationse94888en

[3] BGriefahnAMarks and S Robens ldquoNoise emitted from roadrail and air traffic and their effects on sleeprdquo Journal of Soundand Vibration vol 295 no 1-2 pp 129ndash140 2006

[4] W Babisch ldquoNoise and healthrdquo Environmental Health Perspec-tives vol 113 no 1 pp A14ndashA15 2005

[5] J di Nisi A Muzet J Ehrhart and J P Libert ldquoComparison ofcardiovascular responses to noise during waking and sleepingin humansrdquo Sleep vol 13 no 2 pp 108ndash120 1990

[6] N L Carter ldquoTransportation noise sleep and possible after-effectsrdquo Environment International vol 22 no 1 pp 105ndash1161996

[7] E Ohrstrom A Skanberg H Svensson and A Gidlof-Gunnarsson ldquoEffects of road traffic noise and the benefit ofaccess to quietnessrdquo Journal of Sound and Vibration vol 295no 1 pp 40ndash59 2006

[8] A Muzet ldquoEnvironmental noise sleep and healthrdquo SleepMedicine Reviews vol 11 no 2 pp 135ndash142 2007

[9] F A Armah J OOdoi DO Yawson G T Yengoh E K Afrifaand A N Pappoe ldquoMapping of noise risk zones derived fromreligious activities and perceptions in residential neighbour-hoods in the Cape Coast metropolis Ghanardquo EnvironmentalHazards vol 9 no 4 pp 358ndash368 2010

[10] K Asamoah-Gyadu African Charismatics Current Develop-ments within Independent Indigenous Pentecostalism in GhanaBrill Leiden The Netherlands 2005

[11] J K Asamoah-Gyadu ldquoOf faith and visual alertness themessage of ldquomediatizedrdquo religion in an African PentecostalcontextrdquoMaterial Religion vol 1 no 3 pp 336ndash357 2005

[12] M De Witte ldquoAccrarsquos sounds and sacred spacesrdquo InternationalJournal of Urban and Regional Research vol 32 no 3 pp 690ndash709 2008

[13] R Van Dijk ldquoContesting silence the ban on drumming andthe musical politics of Pentecostalism in GhanardquoGhana StudiesReview vol 4 pp 31ndash64 2001

[14] S Knights ldquoSacred space and the city religious buildings andnoise pollutionrdquoHarvard International Law Journal Online vol49 pp 50ndash55 2008

[15] B Berglund T Lindvall and D H Schwela Eds Guidelinesfor Community Noise World Health Organization GenevaSwitzerland 1999

[16] Ashaiman Municipal Assembly (ASHMA) Annual ReportAshaiman Ghana 2011

[17] Australia Victoria Environmental Protection Agency A Guideto The Measurement and Analysis of Noise EPA Publi-cation 2013 httpwwwepavicgovausimmediaPublications280pdf

[18] M E Lutman ldquoWhat is the risk of noise-induced hearing lossat 80 85 90 dB(A) and aboverdquo Occupational Medicine vol 50no 4 pp 274ndash275 2000

[19] P Goovaerts Geostatistics for Natural Resources EvaluationOxford University Press Oxford UK 1997

[20] B Berglund and T Lindvall Eds Community Noise Centerfor Sensory Research Stockholm University and KarolinskaInstitute 1995

[21] R F J Soames ldquoNoise sensitivity as a factor influencing humanreaction to noiserdquoNoise andHealth vol 1 no 3 pp 57ndash68 1999

[22] S A Stansfeld and M P Matheson ldquoNoise pollution non-auditory effects on healthrdquo British Medical Bulletin vol 68 pp243ndash257 2003

[23] WHONight Noise Guidelines for Europe WHORegional Officefor Europe Copenhagen Denmark 2009 httpwwweurowhoint dataassetspdf file001743316E92845pdf

Submit your manuscripts athttpwwwhindawicom

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Disease Markers

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OncologyJournal of

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PPAR Research

The Scientific World JournalHindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Immunology ResearchHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Journal of

ObesityJournal of

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Research and TreatmentAIDS

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Parkinsonrsquos Disease

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Volume 2014Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom

4 Scientifica

Table 2 Selected communities churches and mosques and respondents

Name of community Number of respondents Churches and mosques sampledMale Female

Taboo Line 9 8Church of JesusVoice of the Lord Evangelical ChurchTribe of Judah Ministries International (Intrsquol)

Market Square 15 14

Apostolic Church GhanaMusama Disco Christo ChurchSt Peter Methodist ChurchGrace Assembly (Assemblies of God (AG))

Taifa 13 13Central Assemblies of GodGreen and CreamMosqueUnique Chapel International (Intrsquol)

New Town 4 16Church of PentecostGlobal Evangelical ChurchLiberty Centre Annex (Assemblies of God (AG))

Christian Village 11 19

Presbyterian ChurchChurch of PentecostChrist Apostolic ChurchEvangelistic Fire Ministries International (Intrsquol)

Zongo Laka 15 5Grace Chapel International (Intrsquol)White and Green MosqueYellow Mosque

Roman Down 13 6Church of PentecostSt Augustine Catholic ChurchChrist Apostolic Church

Jericho 7 12Church of PentecostChurch of ChristChrist Apostolic Church

Night Market 14 16White and Green MosqueWhite Mosque (uncompleted)Cream and Green Mosque

Total 101 119

participants aged between the ages of 18 and 79 years Tobe eligible for study all interviewees were at least 18 yearsold and had continuously lived in the neighbourhood for aminimum of 3 years The personal interview collected self-reported information such as basic demographics perceptionof noise health and quality of life indicators Responses tonoise were also assessed through objectivemeasures of healthsuch as sleep disturbance

The churches and mosques were selected by purposivesampling technique Selection of churches was done basedon two criteria First the category of church that is eitherOrthodox churches Pentecostal churches or Charismaticchurch and secondly the physical structure that is onlychurches operating in permanent physical structures wereconsideredThiswas to ensure that the churcheswould alwaysbe there and would not relocate in the course of the studyThe number of churches sampled was however based onthose that could be assessed effectively and efficiently andwithin the time and material and financial resource limitsof the study The study population included individuals of

both sexes under 18 18ndash60 and those above 60 years Theparticipants who were within 18ndash60 years and those above 60years were either heads of the families or not andwere capableof providing authentic information for the study In all 220respondents were interviewed (Table 2)

23 Sound-Level Measurement A precision-grade sound-level meter RION NL-22 (Higashimotomachi Tokyo Japan)was used tomeasure the noise levels generated at the churchesand mosques and the various distances of 50m 100m150m and 200m away from the churches and mosques Thedevice conforms to International Electrotechnical Commis-sion 61672-12002 A battery and calibration check was doneon the sound-level meter before and after it was used at eachsite The sound-level meter was calibrated acoustically in thefield before and after every measurement using an externalreference (ie the sound-level calibrator CR 514) whichwas placed over the microphone The calibrator generateda stabilised sound pressure level of 94 dB (plusmn03 dB) at afrequency of 1 kHz

Scientifica 5

To avoid reflections from the body of the researcherwhich could increase the noise level when measurementswere being taken from the sound-levelmeter scale the instru-ment was held at armrsquos length with the microphone pointedat the noise source The instrument was used to obtain thenoise levels from both the churches and the mosques andat the various distances This was to determine whether thenoise produced from these sources was within ambient noiselevel guidelines of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)Ghana Noise emissions need to be observed for at least 30minutes for the purpose of assessing a duration adjustment ifthe noise is steady over this period (ie there is no observedrising or falling trend in the noise level either audibly orby sound-level meter inspection) a short measurement (egfive minutes) should be adequate to represent the 30-minuteLAeq [17] Based on this the noise readings were taken for 30minutes for the churches and 15 minutes for the mosques dueto the variation in the duration of their activities For eachlocation three different noise levels were taken for the night-time and the average noise level was computedThis was donein cognisance of the fact that noise is transient and that noiselevels within localities will be varying all the time

24 Global Positioning System (GPS) A Garmin Etrex hand-held GPS was used to obtain the coordinates of the churchesand mosques and the distances of 50m 100m 150m and200m away from the church and mosque within eachcommunity

25 Calculating Equivalent Noise Exposure Level This isbased on the 8-hour exposure duration for a typical all-night religious service in Ghana If a residentrsquos (including aworshipper) exposure to noise throughout an all-night ser-vice can be characterized by a number of 119871eq measurementsfor distinct noise activity periods the measurements can becombined into a full all-night service 119871eq using

119871eq all-night service

= 10 Log [( 1119879

) (1198791times 1001119871

1

+ 1198792times 1001119871

2

+ sdot sdot sdot + 119879119899times 1001119871

119899

) ]

(1)

where 119879 is the all-night service length hours 119879119899is the

duration of the 119899th measurement hours and 119871119899is the 119871eq

for the 119899th measurement period dBAFor example if a residentrsquos or worshipperrsquos exposure

consists of two distinct exposure periods 3 hours at an 119871eqof 84 dBA and 5 hours at an 119871eq of 88 dBA then

119871eq8 = 10 Log [(1

8

) (3 times 1001times84

) + (5 times 1001times88

)]

= 869 dBA = 119871ex8

(2)

For an all-night service length greater or less than 8 hours the119871ex8 may be calculated using

119871ex8 = 119871eq119879 + 10 Log(119879

8

) (3)

where 119879 is the religious service duration in hoursFor example a 119871eq for a 5-hour half-night service would

be converted to an 119871ex8 as follows

119871ex8 = 119871eq10 + 10 Log(5

8

) = 119871eq10 + 1 dBA (4)

where the night noise exposure is composed of two or moreperiods of noise exposure of different levels the followingequation may be used to determine if the overall exposureexceeds the allowable noise exposure limits

(

1198621

1198791

+

1198622

1198792

+ sdot sdot sdot +

119862119899

119879119899

) times 100 = of exposure limit (5)

where 119862 is the total duration of exposure at a specific noiselevel and 119879 is the total duration of exposure permitted at thatlevel

The 85 dBA 119871ex8 exposure limit is exceeded when thedose calculated using the above formula exceeds 100Based on Lutman [18] risk of religious noise-induced hearingloss is minimal if the 8-hour equivalent exposure level is lessthan 80 dBA Risk of religious noise-induced hearing loss issignificant if the 8-hour equivalent exposure level is greaterthan 85 dBA

26 Data Processing and Analysis Questionnaires werechecked for completeness and internal consistency at theclose of each day Questionnaires were then sorted num-bered and data-coded before entry into IBM SPSS (version19) software GPS noise locations and noise level readings perlocation were input in ARCGIS 101 software

27 Spatial Interpolation of Religious Noise MeasurementsSince noise is a continuous phenomenon in space noiselevels were converted into a continuous surface using Krigingtechnique of spatial interpolation The Kriging interpolationmodel is known for supplying the best linear unbiasedestimate of the level of noise pollution (eg ambient noisepollution concentration) at any given location in an area[19] The principle of Kriging is shown most simply withsets of equations that define the method Kriging is appliedto the estimation of the values of a regionalised variableat a selected location (119885

119896) based on surrounding existing

values (119885119894) Each of such locations is assigned a relevant

weighting coefficient (120582119894) and the calculation of this is the

most demanding part of the Kriging algorithm The value ofa regionalised variable can be defined as

119885119894= 119885 (119909

119894) (6)

where 119909119894is the value of religious noise at the known location

Moreover the value of a regionalised variable estimatedby ordinary Kriging based on n points is

119885119896=

119899

sum

119894=1

120582119894sdot 119885119894 (7)

where 120582119894is the weighting coefficient for a particular location

ldquo119894rdquo 119885119894are known values the so-called ldquocontrol pointsrdquo (hard

data) 119885119896is the value estimated by Kriging

6 Scientifica

These equations represent the system of linear Krigingequations

Previous equation also can be written as the matrix

[119860] sdot [120582] = [119861] (8)

In matrices 119860 and 119861 the values are expressed as variogramvalues that is these values depend only on the distancesand orientations between the control points and not ontheir valuesThe third matrix includes weighting coefficientswhich are simply estimated from a system with ldquo119899rdquo equa-tions with ldquo119899rdquo unknown variables The Kriging technique(employed in this study) applied some constraints to thematrices to minimize the error [1205902

119896

(119909)] and this techniquegives unbiased estimations Generally these factors woulddescribe some external limit (restriction) on the input datawhich cannot simply be observed in themeasured valuesTheconstraint factor in the ordinary Kriging equations called theLagrangemultiplicator was used in this study If the sumof allweighting coefficients is 1 Kriging expression can be writtenas

120574 (1198851minus 1198851) times 1205821+ 119892 (119885

1minus 1198852)

times 1205822+ sdot sdot sdot + 120574 (119885

1minus 119885119899) times 120582119899+ 119898 = 120574 (119885

1minus 119885)

120574 (1198852minus 1198851) times 1205821+ 119892 (119885

2minus 1198852)

times 1205822+ sdot sdot sdot + 120574 (119885

2minus 119885119899) times 120582119899+ 119898 = 120574 (119885

2minus 119885)

120574 (119885119899minus 1198851) times 1205821+ 119892 (119885

119899minus 1198852)

times 1205822+ sdot sdot sdot + 120574 (119885

119899minus 119885119899) times 120582119899+ 119898 = 120574 (119885

119899minus 119885)

1205821+ 1205822+ sdot sdot sdot + 120582

119899+ 0 = 1

(9)

If such a system of linear equations is shown as Krigingmatrices it can be written as

[[[[[[

[

120574 (1198851minus 1198851) 120574 (119885

1minus 1198852) sdot sdot sdot 120574 (119885

1minus 119885119899) 1

120574 (1198852minus 1198851) 120574 (119885

2minus 1198852) sdot sdot sdot 120574 (119885

2minus 119885119899) 1

1

120574 (119885119899minus 1198851) 120574 (119885

119899minus 1198852) sdot sdot sdot 120574 (119885

119899minus 119885119899) 1

1 1 sdot sdot sdot 1 0

]]]]]]

]

times

[[[[[

[

1205821

1205822

120582119899

119898

]]]]]

]

=

[[[[[

[

120574 (1198851minus 119885)

120574 (1198852minus 119885)

120574 (119885119899minus 119885)

1

]]]]]

]

(10)

The number of weighting coefficients and control points canbe very large but contemporary computers can successfullysolve numerically demanding tasks The estimation can beperformed simply by calculating the influence of all controlpoints weighted by their associated coefficients according to

119885 = 1205821sdot 1198851+ 1205822sdot 1198852+ sdot sdot sdot + 120582

119899sdot 119885119899 (11)

The calculation of the estimation variance includes adding theLagrange coefficient

1205902

= 1205821sdot 120574 (1198851minus 119885) + 120582

2sdot 120574 (1198852minus 119885)

+ sdot sdot sdot + 120582119899sdot 120574 (119885119899minus 119885) + 119898

(12)

3 Results

31 Night-Time Noise Levels at the Various Noise Sources50m and 100m Distances The noise levels recorded atthe churches and mosques and the various distances awayfrom the noise sources all exceeded the EPA permissiblelevel of 48 dB(A) for night time (2200ndash0600 h) expected forresidential areas These are presented in Tables 3 and 4 Fornight-time (2200ndash0600 h) noise levels Grace Assemblies ofGod Church recorded the lowest value of 719 dB and Tribeof Judah Ministries International recorded the highest valueof 1017 dB at the noise source Pentecost Church at RomanDown and Christ Apostolic Church at Christian Villagerecorded noise levels of 649 dB and 914 dB respectivelyat the 50m distance and 616 dB and 835 dB for the 100mdistance Tribe of Judah Ministries International at TabooLine recorded the highest value of 1017 dB(A) and GraceAssemblies of God at Market Square recorded the lowestvalue of 719 dB(A) However at a distance of 50m from thesource Tribe of Judah Ministries which recorded the highestvalue at the source recorded 785 dB(A) andGraceAssembliesof God which recorded the lowest value at the source alsorecorded 78 dB(A) The decrease could be attributed tothe glass windows used which acted as a form of sound-proof while the increment could be due to other activitiesaside the church service such as traffic noise None of thechurches or mosques produced noise within the permissiblelevel of 48 dB(A) for night at a distance of 100m from thechurchmosque

Generally dose for mosques decreased with increasingdistance from the noise source At the source the magnitudeof dose in decreasing order was as follows White andCream Mosque (Zongo Laka) gt Green and Cream Mosque(Taifa) gt Cream and Green Mosque (Night Market) gt YellowMosque (Zongo Laka) gt White Mosque (Night Market) gtWhite and GreenMosque (Night Market) Residents who arechronically exposed to noise from the first three locationsare at significant risk of noise-induced hearing loss whereasresidents within the vicinity ofWhiteMosque (NightMarket)are at minimum risk Also in terms of neighbourhood NightMarket and Zongo Laka areas had the lowest and highestnight-time noise exposure respectively (Table 3)

Regarding churches all neighbourhoods had at least onelocation with significant risk of noise-induced hearing loss(Table 4) At the source the magnitude of dose for the firstten churches in decreasing order was as follows Tribe ofJudah Ministries (Taboo Line) gt Musama Church (MarketSquare) gt Christ Apostolic (Roman Down) gt Church ofPentecost (Newtown) gt Global Evangelical (Newtown) gtChurch of Pentecost (ChristianVillage)gtCentral Assembliesof God (Taifa) gt Unique Chapel (Taifa) gt Christ Apostolic(Christian Village) gt Christ Apostolic (Jericho) In terms of

Scientifica 7

Table3Night-timen

oise

expo

sure

levels

dose

form

osqu

esand

riskof

hearinglossin

neighb

ourhoo

ds

Neighbo

urho

odLo

catio

nNoise

leveld

B(A)lowast

Dose()

8-ho

urequivalent

expo

sure

level

Risk

ofno

ise-in

ducedhearingloss

Source

50m

100m

source

50m

100m

Taifa

Green

andCr

eam

Mosqu

e936

768

686

2264

47

07

885

Sign

ificant

risk

ZongoLaka

WhiteandGreen

Mosqu

e938

856

752

2371

359

33

887

Sign

ificant

risk

Yello

wMosqu

e856

812

726

359

130

18

805

Somer

isk

Night

Market

WhiteandGreen

Mosqu

e844

762

642

272

41

03

793

Minim

alris

kWhiteMosqu

e(un

completed)

854

756

646

343

36

03

803

Somer

iskCr

eam

andGreen

Mosqu

e902

774

641035

54

02

851

Sign

ificant

risk

Equivalent

noise

expo

sure

level

932

833

732

66430

6680

660

lowast

Measurementtim

eper

locatio

nis15

minutes

andtotalexp

osuretim

eis15ho

ursfor

them

osqu

es

8 Scientifica

Table4Night-timen

oise

expo

sure

levels

dose

forc

hurchesandris

kof

hearinglossin

neighb

ourhoo

ds

Neighbo

urho

odLo

catio

nNoise

dB(A

)lowastDose()

8-ho

urequivalent

noise

expo

sure

Risk

ofno

ise-in

ducedhearingloss

Source

50m

100m

source

50m

100m

Tabo

oLine

Church

ofJesus

801

853

725

101

335

18

75Minim

alVo

iceo

fthe

Lord

EvangelicalCh

urch

89815

648

785

140

03

839

Some

Tribeo

fJud

ahMinistrie

sInternatio

nal

1017

785

743

14617

70

27

966

Sign

ificant

MarketS

quare

Apostolic

ChurchG

hana

863

805

765

422

111

44

812

Some

Musam

aDisc

oCh

risto

Church

1005

813

747

11088

133

29

954

Sign

ificant

StPeter

Metho

distCh

urch

837

697

617

232

09

01

786

Minim

alGrace

Assembly(A

ssem

blieso

fGod

)719

78741

15

62

25

668

Minim

al

Taifa

CentralAs

semblieso

fGod

948

743

739

2984

27

24

897

Sign

ificant

Uniqu

eChapelInternatio

nal

947

842

676

2916

260

06

896

Sign

ificant

New

town

Church

ofPentecost

995

833

705

8807

211

11

944

Sign

ificant

GlobalE

vangelicalC

hurch

985

869

707

6996

484

12

934

Sign

ificant

LibertyCentre

Ann

ex(A

ssem

blieso

fGod

)851

748

653

320

30

03

80Some

Chris

tianVillage

Presbyteria

nCh

urch

825

708

637

176

12

02

774

Minim

alCh

urch

ofPentecost

971

83725

5068

197

18

92Sign

ificant

Chris

tApo

stolic

Church

945

914

835

2785

1364

221

894

Sign

ificant

Evangelistic

Fire

Ministrie

sInternatio

nal

932

825

727

2065

176

18

881

Sign

ificant

ZongoLaka

Grace

ChapelInternational

873

725

625

531

18

02

822

Some

Roman

Dow

nCh

urch

ofPentecost

824

649

616

172

03

01

774

Minim

alStA

ugustin

eCatho

licCh

urch

809

739

64122

24

02

758

Minim

alCh

ristA

posto

licCh

urch

100

851

731

9882

320

20

949

Sign

ificant

Jeric

hoCh

urch

ofPentecost

857

712

637

367

13

02

806

Some

Church

ofCh

rist

823

752

648

168

243

03

772

Minim

alCh

ristA

posto

licCh

urch

943

839

744

266

209

270

892

Sign

ificant

Equivalent

noise

expo

sure

level

986

882

777

73278

63310

5210

lowast

Measurementtim

eper

locatio

nis30

minutes

andtotalexp

osuretim

eis115

hoursfor

thec

hurches

Scientifica 9

Table 5 Night-time exposure classes

Noise range (dB(A)) Exposure class818ndash848 Low848ndash872 Moderately high872ndash899 High899ndash926 Very high926ndash953 Extremely high

neighbourhoodMarket Square and Taboo Line areas had thelowest and highest night-time noise exposure respectively(Table 4)

32 Distribution of Night-Time Noise Exposure in the UrbanNeighbourhoods Table 5 shows the classification scheme fornight-time noise exposure in the study area Religious noiseexposure up to 848 db(A) is regarded as low whereas expo-sure above 926 db(A) is considered extremely high

As observed in Figure 2 none of the communities waswithin the low noise exposure class A major part of NightMarket and small portions of Roman Down and Zongo Lakawere in the moderately high noise exposure class Every partof Jericho major parts of Market Square Zongo Laka andRoman Down and a small portion of Night Market werein the high noise exposure zone Every part of New TownChristian Village Taifa and Taboo Line and a small portionof Market Square were in the very high noise exposure classNone of the communitieswaswithin the extremely high noiseexposure class

4 Discussion

This study measured the levels of religious noise producedin the Ashaiman Municipality a rapidly growing urbanenvironment in Ghana constructed a night-time noise mapindicating the distribution of exposure in residential neigh-bourhoods of the Ashaiman Municipality and assessed therisk of religious noise-induced hearing loss to residents inthe exposed neighbourhoods In this municipality there areseveral worksites for artisanal metal workers in the informalsector These noise-intensity work environments deliver sig-nificant noise to this subset of the people (artisanal metalworkers) living in these neighbourhoods Night-time noiseadds to the daytime noise doseThe results showed that all thetwenty-three churches and six mosques sampled producednight-time noise levels far exceeding the EPArsquos guidelinesstandard of 48 dB(A) for night (2200ndash0600 h) The noisemaps generated also showed that most of the communitieswere exposed to high noise levels due to religious activitiesas most of them were within the extremely high very highand high noise exposure zones Just a few communitieswere within the moderately high zone but none of thecommunities was within the low noise exposure zone Thenight-time noise levels obtained in this study are comparableto the observations of Armah et al [9] in the Cape CoastMetropolis However the latter study did not control forbackground noise

Themagnitude of the figure for night-time noise exposureis striking particularly given that excessive night-time noiseexposure has the greatest detrimental effect on public healthIf the foregoing exposure levels were extrapolated for theentire Accra and Tema areas it quickly becomes obvious thatthemagnitude of the problem is considerableThe impact thatthese levels of exposure are having on individual health andthe quality of life as well as the economic impact in terms ofreduced productively of residents is likely to be considerablealso

Interestingly there was no statistically significant rela-tionship between neighbourhoods where religious noiseexposure was the highest and where noise annoyance wasthe highest This finding supports the results Armah et al [9]obtained in the Cape Coast Metropolis of Ghana The degreeof annoyance produced by noise may vary with the time ofday the unpleasant characteristics of the noise the durationand intensity of the noise the meaning associated with itand the nature of the activity that the noise interrupted [20]Annoyance may be influenced by a variety of nonacousticalfactors including individual sensitivity to noise [21] Theseinclude fear of the noise source conviction that noise couldbe reduced by third parties individual sensitivity the degreeto which an individual feels able to control the noise andwhether or not the noise originated from an important eco-nomic activity [20 22] Other less direct effects of annoyanceare disruption of onersquos peace of mind the enjoyment of onersquosproperty and the enjoyment of solitude

Seldom are populations exposed to a single source ofnoise pollutionUsually noise exposure is complex consistingof several simultaneous noise exposures (eg religious airtraffic etc) This means that the noise exposure estimatesin this study could be far less than the expected compositenoise levels In any case there is some level of risk of noise-induced hearing loss as shown in this study and the potentialeffects of exposure cannot be discounted In fact the effectsof noise exposure depend on several factors and the absenceof a clear dose-effect relationship is certainly due to thecomplex interactions of these factors including the noisecharacteristics the individual sensitivity and the context ofthe explored living environment [2] However the amplitudeof the subjective complaints about sleep disturbance seems tohave been increasing during recent yearsThis is supported bythe growing frequency of noise-related complaints receivedby the Ghana EPA in the last few years Unfortunately onlya few epidemiological studies have considered the possi-ble effect of noise exposure (considered globally) togetherwith other environmental factors on the health of exposedpopulations As noted by Fritschi et al [2] no large-scaleepidemiological study focusing on the effect of night-timenoise exposure on health has yet been undertakenThereforeit is necessary to answer some fundamental questions inorder to understand the detrimental effects on health andquality of life in the long-term for night-time noise-exposedpopulations

Continuous high level exposure can lead to aggressionin a hostile angry and helpless population It is often thepopulation with the least income that suffers the most fromnoise in general Future epidemiological noise research will

10 Scientifica

TaifaJericho

New Town

Zongo LakaRoman Down

Taboo Line

Market Square

Christian Village

CommunitiesChurchesMosquesLow

Moderately highHighVery highExtremely high

065 0 0650325

Night Market

(km) N

0∘199840040

998400998400W 0∘199840020

998400998400W0∘299840020

998400998400W 0∘29984000998400998400W 0

∘19984000998400998400W0

∘299840040

998400998400W 0∘099840040

998400998400W

0∘199840040

998400998400W 0∘199840020

998400998400W0∘299840020

998400998400W 0∘29984000998400998400W 0

∘19984000998400998400W0

∘299840040

998400998400W 0∘099840040

998400998400W5∘429984000998400998400N

5∘419984000998400998400N

5∘4199840040998400998400N

5∘4199840020998400998400N

5∘4299840020998400998400N

5∘429984000998400998400N

5∘419984000998400998400N

5∘4199840040998400998400N

5∘4199840020998400998400N

5∘4299840020998400998400N

Figure 2 Noise map for in situ night-time noise levels in churches and mosques

need to focus on vulnerable groups effectmodifiers sensitivehours of the night coping mechanisms differences betweennoise sources possible confounding with air pollution dif-ferences between objective (noise level) and subjective (noiseperception) exposure and multiple exposures (home workand leisure environments)

5 Conclusion

This study shows that night-time exposure to religious noiseis a growing menace in urban residential areas in Ghana Asexpected noise dose for mosques and churches decreasedwith increasing distance from the noise source The magni-tude of the figure for night-time noise exposure is strikingparticularly given that excessive night-time noise exposurehas the greatest detrimental effect on public health Allneighbourhoods where churches are situated had at least onelocation with significant risk of noise-induced hearing lossHowever there was no statistically significant relationshipbetween neighbourhoods where religious noise exposure wasthe highest and where noise annoyance was the highestFurther research is required to focus on long-term effects of

night-time noise exposure of different populations In thiscontext the study of specific subgroups can be consideredto be ldquoat riskrdquo (eg children elderly people self-estimatedsensitive people insomniacs sleep disorder patients andnight worshippers)

Conflict of Interests

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interestsregarding the publication of this paper

Acknowledgments

The authors sincerely thank Mr Mark Kpalega Ghaaton andall respondents for their assistance

References

[1] L Goines and L Hagler ldquoNoise pollution a modern plaguerdquoSouthern Medical Journal vol 100 no 3 pp 287ndash294 2007

[2] L Fritschi L Brown R Kim D Schwela and S Keph-alopolous ldquoBurden of disease from environmental noise

Scientifica 11

quantification of healthy life years lost in Europerdquo 2011httpwwwwhointquantifying ehimpactspublicationse94888en

[3] BGriefahnAMarks and S Robens ldquoNoise emitted from roadrail and air traffic and their effects on sleeprdquo Journal of Soundand Vibration vol 295 no 1-2 pp 129ndash140 2006

[4] W Babisch ldquoNoise and healthrdquo Environmental Health Perspec-tives vol 113 no 1 pp A14ndashA15 2005

[5] J di Nisi A Muzet J Ehrhart and J P Libert ldquoComparison ofcardiovascular responses to noise during waking and sleepingin humansrdquo Sleep vol 13 no 2 pp 108ndash120 1990

[6] N L Carter ldquoTransportation noise sleep and possible after-effectsrdquo Environment International vol 22 no 1 pp 105ndash1161996

[7] E Ohrstrom A Skanberg H Svensson and A Gidlof-Gunnarsson ldquoEffects of road traffic noise and the benefit ofaccess to quietnessrdquo Journal of Sound and Vibration vol 295no 1 pp 40ndash59 2006

[8] A Muzet ldquoEnvironmental noise sleep and healthrdquo SleepMedicine Reviews vol 11 no 2 pp 135ndash142 2007

[9] F A Armah J OOdoi DO Yawson G T Yengoh E K Afrifaand A N Pappoe ldquoMapping of noise risk zones derived fromreligious activities and perceptions in residential neighbour-hoods in the Cape Coast metropolis Ghanardquo EnvironmentalHazards vol 9 no 4 pp 358ndash368 2010

[10] K Asamoah-Gyadu African Charismatics Current Develop-ments within Independent Indigenous Pentecostalism in GhanaBrill Leiden The Netherlands 2005

[11] J K Asamoah-Gyadu ldquoOf faith and visual alertness themessage of ldquomediatizedrdquo religion in an African PentecostalcontextrdquoMaterial Religion vol 1 no 3 pp 336ndash357 2005

[12] M De Witte ldquoAccrarsquos sounds and sacred spacesrdquo InternationalJournal of Urban and Regional Research vol 32 no 3 pp 690ndash709 2008

[13] R Van Dijk ldquoContesting silence the ban on drumming andthe musical politics of Pentecostalism in GhanardquoGhana StudiesReview vol 4 pp 31ndash64 2001

[14] S Knights ldquoSacred space and the city religious buildings andnoise pollutionrdquoHarvard International Law Journal Online vol49 pp 50ndash55 2008

[15] B Berglund T Lindvall and D H Schwela Eds Guidelinesfor Community Noise World Health Organization GenevaSwitzerland 1999

[16] Ashaiman Municipal Assembly (ASHMA) Annual ReportAshaiman Ghana 2011

[17] Australia Victoria Environmental Protection Agency A Guideto The Measurement and Analysis of Noise EPA Publi-cation 2013 httpwwwepavicgovausimmediaPublications280pdf

[18] M E Lutman ldquoWhat is the risk of noise-induced hearing lossat 80 85 90 dB(A) and aboverdquo Occupational Medicine vol 50no 4 pp 274ndash275 2000

[19] P Goovaerts Geostatistics for Natural Resources EvaluationOxford University Press Oxford UK 1997

[20] B Berglund and T Lindvall Eds Community Noise Centerfor Sensory Research Stockholm University and KarolinskaInstitute 1995

[21] R F J Soames ldquoNoise sensitivity as a factor influencing humanreaction to noiserdquoNoise andHealth vol 1 no 3 pp 57ndash68 1999

[22] S A Stansfeld and M P Matheson ldquoNoise pollution non-auditory effects on healthrdquo British Medical Bulletin vol 68 pp243ndash257 2003

[23] WHONight Noise Guidelines for Europe WHORegional Officefor Europe Copenhagen Denmark 2009 httpwwweurowhoint dataassetspdf file001743316E92845pdf

Submit your manuscripts athttpwwwhindawicom

Stem CellsInternational

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

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of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

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Disease Markers

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Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity

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Volume 2014Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom

Scientifica 5

To avoid reflections from the body of the researcherwhich could increase the noise level when measurementswere being taken from the sound-levelmeter scale the instru-ment was held at armrsquos length with the microphone pointedat the noise source The instrument was used to obtain thenoise levels from both the churches and the mosques andat the various distances This was to determine whether thenoise produced from these sources was within ambient noiselevel guidelines of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)Ghana Noise emissions need to be observed for at least 30minutes for the purpose of assessing a duration adjustment ifthe noise is steady over this period (ie there is no observedrising or falling trend in the noise level either audibly orby sound-level meter inspection) a short measurement (egfive minutes) should be adequate to represent the 30-minuteLAeq [17] Based on this the noise readings were taken for 30minutes for the churches and 15 minutes for the mosques dueto the variation in the duration of their activities For eachlocation three different noise levels were taken for the night-time and the average noise level was computedThis was donein cognisance of the fact that noise is transient and that noiselevels within localities will be varying all the time

24 Global Positioning System (GPS) A Garmin Etrex hand-held GPS was used to obtain the coordinates of the churchesand mosques and the distances of 50m 100m 150m and200m away from the church and mosque within eachcommunity

25 Calculating Equivalent Noise Exposure Level This isbased on the 8-hour exposure duration for a typical all-night religious service in Ghana If a residentrsquos (including aworshipper) exposure to noise throughout an all-night ser-vice can be characterized by a number of 119871eq measurementsfor distinct noise activity periods the measurements can becombined into a full all-night service 119871eq using

119871eq all-night service

= 10 Log [( 1119879

) (1198791times 1001119871

1

+ 1198792times 1001119871

2

+ sdot sdot sdot + 119879119899times 1001119871

119899

) ]

(1)

where 119879 is the all-night service length hours 119879119899is the

duration of the 119899th measurement hours and 119871119899is the 119871eq

for the 119899th measurement period dBAFor example if a residentrsquos or worshipperrsquos exposure

consists of two distinct exposure periods 3 hours at an 119871eqof 84 dBA and 5 hours at an 119871eq of 88 dBA then

119871eq8 = 10 Log [(1

8

) (3 times 1001times84

) + (5 times 1001times88

)]

= 869 dBA = 119871ex8

(2)

For an all-night service length greater or less than 8 hours the119871ex8 may be calculated using

119871ex8 = 119871eq119879 + 10 Log(119879

8

) (3)

where 119879 is the religious service duration in hoursFor example a 119871eq for a 5-hour half-night service would

be converted to an 119871ex8 as follows

119871ex8 = 119871eq10 + 10 Log(5

8

) = 119871eq10 + 1 dBA (4)

where the night noise exposure is composed of two or moreperiods of noise exposure of different levels the followingequation may be used to determine if the overall exposureexceeds the allowable noise exposure limits

(

1198621

1198791

+

1198622

1198792

+ sdot sdot sdot +

119862119899

119879119899

) times 100 = of exposure limit (5)

where 119862 is the total duration of exposure at a specific noiselevel and 119879 is the total duration of exposure permitted at thatlevel

The 85 dBA 119871ex8 exposure limit is exceeded when thedose calculated using the above formula exceeds 100Based on Lutman [18] risk of religious noise-induced hearingloss is minimal if the 8-hour equivalent exposure level is lessthan 80 dBA Risk of religious noise-induced hearing loss issignificant if the 8-hour equivalent exposure level is greaterthan 85 dBA

26 Data Processing and Analysis Questionnaires werechecked for completeness and internal consistency at theclose of each day Questionnaires were then sorted num-bered and data-coded before entry into IBM SPSS (version19) software GPS noise locations and noise level readings perlocation were input in ARCGIS 101 software

27 Spatial Interpolation of Religious Noise MeasurementsSince noise is a continuous phenomenon in space noiselevels were converted into a continuous surface using Krigingtechnique of spatial interpolation The Kriging interpolationmodel is known for supplying the best linear unbiasedestimate of the level of noise pollution (eg ambient noisepollution concentration) at any given location in an area[19] The principle of Kriging is shown most simply withsets of equations that define the method Kriging is appliedto the estimation of the values of a regionalised variableat a selected location (119885

119896) based on surrounding existing

values (119885119894) Each of such locations is assigned a relevant

weighting coefficient (120582119894) and the calculation of this is the

most demanding part of the Kriging algorithm The value ofa regionalised variable can be defined as

119885119894= 119885 (119909

119894) (6)

where 119909119894is the value of religious noise at the known location

Moreover the value of a regionalised variable estimatedby ordinary Kriging based on n points is

119885119896=

119899

sum

119894=1

120582119894sdot 119885119894 (7)

where 120582119894is the weighting coefficient for a particular location

ldquo119894rdquo 119885119894are known values the so-called ldquocontrol pointsrdquo (hard

data) 119885119896is the value estimated by Kriging

6 Scientifica

These equations represent the system of linear Krigingequations

Previous equation also can be written as the matrix

[119860] sdot [120582] = [119861] (8)

In matrices 119860 and 119861 the values are expressed as variogramvalues that is these values depend only on the distancesand orientations between the control points and not ontheir valuesThe third matrix includes weighting coefficientswhich are simply estimated from a system with ldquo119899rdquo equa-tions with ldquo119899rdquo unknown variables The Kriging technique(employed in this study) applied some constraints to thematrices to minimize the error [1205902

119896

(119909)] and this techniquegives unbiased estimations Generally these factors woulddescribe some external limit (restriction) on the input datawhich cannot simply be observed in themeasured valuesTheconstraint factor in the ordinary Kriging equations called theLagrangemultiplicator was used in this study If the sumof allweighting coefficients is 1 Kriging expression can be writtenas

120574 (1198851minus 1198851) times 1205821+ 119892 (119885

1minus 1198852)

times 1205822+ sdot sdot sdot + 120574 (119885

1minus 119885119899) times 120582119899+ 119898 = 120574 (119885

1minus 119885)

120574 (1198852minus 1198851) times 1205821+ 119892 (119885

2minus 1198852)

times 1205822+ sdot sdot sdot + 120574 (119885

2minus 119885119899) times 120582119899+ 119898 = 120574 (119885

2minus 119885)

120574 (119885119899minus 1198851) times 1205821+ 119892 (119885

119899minus 1198852)

times 1205822+ sdot sdot sdot + 120574 (119885

119899minus 119885119899) times 120582119899+ 119898 = 120574 (119885

119899minus 119885)

1205821+ 1205822+ sdot sdot sdot + 120582

119899+ 0 = 1

(9)

If such a system of linear equations is shown as Krigingmatrices it can be written as

[[[[[[

[

120574 (1198851minus 1198851) 120574 (119885

1minus 1198852) sdot sdot sdot 120574 (119885

1minus 119885119899) 1

120574 (1198852minus 1198851) 120574 (119885

2minus 1198852) sdot sdot sdot 120574 (119885

2minus 119885119899) 1

1

120574 (119885119899minus 1198851) 120574 (119885

119899minus 1198852) sdot sdot sdot 120574 (119885

119899minus 119885119899) 1

1 1 sdot sdot sdot 1 0

]]]]]]

]

times

[[[[[

[

1205821

1205822

120582119899

119898

]]]]]

]

=

[[[[[

[

120574 (1198851minus 119885)

120574 (1198852minus 119885)

120574 (119885119899minus 119885)

1

]]]]]

]

(10)

The number of weighting coefficients and control points canbe very large but contemporary computers can successfullysolve numerically demanding tasks The estimation can beperformed simply by calculating the influence of all controlpoints weighted by their associated coefficients according to

119885 = 1205821sdot 1198851+ 1205822sdot 1198852+ sdot sdot sdot + 120582

119899sdot 119885119899 (11)

The calculation of the estimation variance includes adding theLagrange coefficient

1205902

= 1205821sdot 120574 (1198851minus 119885) + 120582

2sdot 120574 (1198852minus 119885)

+ sdot sdot sdot + 120582119899sdot 120574 (119885119899minus 119885) + 119898

(12)

3 Results

31 Night-Time Noise Levels at the Various Noise Sources50m and 100m Distances The noise levels recorded atthe churches and mosques and the various distances awayfrom the noise sources all exceeded the EPA permissiblelevel of 48 dB(A) for night time (2200ndash0600 h) expected forresidential areas These are presented in Tables 3 and 4 Fornight-time (2200ndash0600 h) noise levels Grace Assemblies ofGod Church recorded the lowest value of 719 dB and Tribeof Judah Ministries International recorded the highest valueof 1017 dB at the noise source Pentecost Church at RomanDown and Christ Apostolic Church at Christian Villagerecorded noise levels of 649 dB and 914 dB respectivelyat the 50m distance and 616 dB and 835 dB for the 100mdistance Tribe of Judah Ministries International at TabooLine recorded the highest value of 1017 dB(A) and GraceAssemblies of God at Market Square recorded the lowestvalue of 719 dB(A) However at a distance of 50m from thesource Tribe of Judah Ministries which recorded the highestvalue at the source recorded 785 dB(A) andGraceAssembliesof God which recorded the lowest value at the source alsorecorded 78 dB(A) The decrease could be attributed tothe glass windows used which acted as a form of sound-proof while the increment could be due to other activitiesaside the church service such as traffic noise None of thechurches or mosques produced noise within the permissiblelevel of 48 dB(A) for night at a distance of 100m from thechurchmosque

Generally dose for mosques decreased with increasingdistance from the noise source At the source the magnitudeof dose in decreasing order was as follows White andCream Mosque (Zongo Laka) gt Green and Cream Mosque(Taifa) gt Cream and Green Mosque (Night Market) gt YellowMosque (Zongo Laka) gt White Mosque (Night Market) gtWhite and GreenMosque (Night Market) Residents who arechronically exposed to noise from the first three locationsare at significant risk of noise-induced hearing loss whereasresidents within the vicinity ofWhiteMosque (NightMarket)are at minimum risk Also in terms of neighbourhood NightMarket and Zongo Laka areas had the lowest and highestnight-time noise exposure respectively (Table 3)

Regarding churches all neighbourhoods had at least onelocation with significant risk of noise-induced hearing loss(Table 4) At the source the magnitude of dose for the firstten churches in decreasing order was as follows Tribe ofJudah Ministries (Taboo Line) gt Musama Church (MarketSquare) gt Christ Apostolic (Roman Down) gt Church ofPentecost (Newtown) gt Global Evangelical (Newtown) gtChurch of Pentecost (ChristianVillage)gtCentral Assembliesof God (Taifa) gt Unique Chapel (Taifa) gt Christ Apostolic(Christian Village) gt Christ Apostolic (Jericho) In terms of

Scientifica 7

Table3Night-timen

oise

expo

sure

levels

dose

form

osqu

esand

riskof

hearinglossin

neighb

ourhoo

ds

Neighbo

urho

odLo

catio

nNoise

leveld

B(A)lowast

Dose()

8-ho

urequivalent

expo

sure

level

Risk

ofno

ise-in

ducedhearingloss

Source

50m

100m

source

50m

100m

Taifa

Green

andCr

eam

Mosqu

e936

768

686

2264

47

07

885

Sign

ificant

risk

ZongoLaka

WhiteandGreen

Mosqu

e938

856

752

2371

359

33

887

Sign

ificant

risk

Yello

wMosqu

e856

812

726

359

130

18

805

Somer

isk

Night

Market

WhiteandGreen

Mosqu

e844

762

642

272

41

03

793

Minim

alris

kWhiteMosqu

e(un

completed)

854

756

646

343

36

03

803

Somer

iskCr

eam

andGreen

Mosqu

e902

774

641035

54

02

851

Sign

ificant

risk

Equivalent

noise

expo

sure

level

932

833

732

66430

6680

660

lowast

Measurementtim

eper

locatio

nis15

minutes

andtotalexp

osuretim

eis15ho

ursfor

them

osqu

es

8 Scientifica

Table4Night-timen

oise

expo

sure

levels

dose

forc

hurchesandris

kof

hearinglossin

neighb

ourhoo

ds

Neighbo

urho

odLo

catio

nNoise

dB(A

)lowastDose()

8-ho

urequivalent

noise

expo

sure

Risk

ofno

ise-in

ducedhearingloss

Source

50m

100m

source

50m

100m

Tabo

oLine

Church

ofJesus

801

853

725

101

335

18

75Minim

alVo

iceo

fthe

Lord

EvangelicalCh

urch

89815

648

785

140

03

839

Some

Tribeo

fJud

ahMinistrie

sInternatio

nal

1017

785

743

14617

70

27

966

Sign

ificant

MarketS

quare

Apostolic

ChurchG

hana

863

805

765

422

111

44

812

Some

Musam

aDisc

oCh

risto

Church

1005

813

747

11088

133

29

954

Sign

ificant

StPeter

Metho

distCh

urch

837

697

617

232

09

01

786

Minim

alGrace

Assembly(A

ssem

blieso

fGod

)719

78741

15

62

25

668

Minim

al

Taifa

CentralAs

semblieso

fGod

948

743

739

2984

27

24

897

Sign

ificant

Uniqu

eChapelInternatio

nal

947

842

676

2916

260

06

896

Sign

ificant

New

town

Church

ofPentecost

995

833

705

8807

211

11

944

Sign

ificant

GlobalE

vangelicalC

hurch

985

869

707

6996

484

12

934

Sign

ificant

LibertyCentre

Ann

ex(A

ssem

blieso

fGod

)851

748

653

320

30

03

80Some

Chris

tianVillage

Presbyteria

nCh

urch

825

708

637

176

12

02

774

Minim

alCh

urch

ofPentecost

971

83725

5068

197

18

92Sign

ificant

Chris

tApo

stolic

Church

945

914

835

2785

1364

221

894

Sign

ificant

Evangelistic

Fire

Ministrie

sInternatio

nal

932

825

727

2065

176

18

881

Sign

ificant

ZongoLaka

Grace

ChapelInternational

873

725

625

531

18

02

822

Some

Roman

Dow

nCh

urch

ofPentecost

824

649

616

172

03

01

774

Minim

alStA

ugustin

eCatho

licCh

urch

809

739

64122

24

02

758

Minim

alCh

ristA

posto

licCh

urch

100

851

731

9882

320

20

949

Sign

ificant

Jeric

hoCh

urch

ofPentecost

857

712

637

367

13

02

806

Some

Church

ofCh

rist

823

752

648

168

243

03

772

Minim

alCh

ristA

posto

licCh

urch

943

839

744

266

209

270

892

Sign

ificant

Equivalent

noise

expo

sure

level

986

882

777

73278

63310

5210

lowast

Measurementtim

eper

locatio

nis30

minutes

andtotalexp

osuretim

eis115

hoursfor

thec

hurches

Scientifica 9

Table 5 Night-time exposure classes

Noise range (dB(A)) Exposure class818ndash848 Low848ndash872 Moderately high872ndash899 High899ndash926 Very high926ndash953 Extremely high

neighbourhoodMarket Square and Taboo Line areas had thelowest and highest night-time noise exposure respectively(Table 4)

32 Distribution of Night-Time Noise Exposure in the UrbanNeighbourhoods Table 5 shows the classification scheme fornight-time noise exposure in the study area Religious noiseexposure up to 848 db(A) is regarded as low whereas expo-sure above 926 db(A) is considered extremely high

As observed in Figure 2 none of the communities waswithin the low noise exposure class A major part of NightMarket and small portions of Roman Down and Zongo Lakawere in the moderately high noise exposure class Every partof Jericho major parts of Market Square Zongo Laka andRoman Down and a small portion of Night Market werein the high noise exposure zone Every part of New TownChristian Village Taifa and Taboo Line and a small portionof Market Square were in the very high noise exposure classNone of the communitieswaswithin the extremely high noiseexposure class

4 Discussion

This study measured the levels of religious noise producedin the Ashaiman Municipality a rapidly growing urbanenvironment in Ghana constructed a night-time noise mapindicating the distribution of exposure in residential neigh-bourhoods of the Ashaiman Municipality and assessed therisk of religious noise-induced hearing loss to residents inthe exposed neighbourhoods In this municipality there areseveral worksites for artisanal metal workers in the informalsector These noise-intensity work environments deliver sig-nificant noise to this subset of the people (artisanal metalworkers) living in these neighbourhoods Night-time noiseadds to the daytime noise doseThe results showed that all thetwenty-three churches and six mosques sampled producednight-time noise levels far exceeding the EPArsquos guidelinesstandard of 48 dB(A) for night (2200ndash0600 h) The noisemaps generated also showed that most of the communitieswere exposed to high noise levels due to religious activitiesas most of them were within the extremely high very highand high noise exposure zones Just a few communitieswere within the moderately high zone but none of thecommunities was within the low noise exposure zone Thenight-time noise levels obtained in this study are comparableto the observations of Armah et al [9] in the Cape CoastMetropolis However the latter study did not control forbackground noise

Themagnitude of the figure for night-time noise exposureis striking particularly given that excessive night-time noiseexposure has the greatest detrimental effect on public healthIf the foregoing exposure levels were extrapolated for theentire Accra and Tema areas it quickly becomes obvious thatthemagnitude of the problem is considerableThe impact thatthese levels of exposure are having on individual health andthe quality of life as well as the economic impact in terms ofreduced productively of residents is likely to be considerablealso

Interestingly there was no statistically significant rela-tionship between neighbourhoods where religious noiseexposure was the highest and where noise annoyance wasthe highest This finding supports the results Armah et al [9]obtained in the Cape Coast Metropolis of Ghana The degreeof annoyance produced by noise may vary with the time ofday the unpleasant characteristics of the noise the durationand intensity of the noise the meaning associated with itand the nature of the activity that the noise interrupted [20]Annoyance may be influenced by a variety of nonacousticalfactors including individual sensitivity to noise [21] Theseinclude fear of the noise source conviction that noise couldbe reduced by third parties individual sensitivity the degreeto which an individual feels able to control the noise andwhether or not the noise originated from an important eco-nomic activity [20 22] Other less direct effects of annoyanceare disruption of onersquos peace of mind the enjoyment of onersquosproperty and the enjoyment of solitude

Seldom are populations exposed to a single source ofnoise pollutionUsually noise exposure is complex consistingof several simultaneous noise exposures (eg religious airtraffic etc) This means that the noise exposure estimatesin this study could be far less than the expected compositenoise levels In any case there is some level of risk of noise-induced hearing loss as shown in this study and the potentialeffects of exposure cannot be discounted In fact the effectsof noise exposure depend on several factors and the absenceof a clear dose-effect relationship is certainly due to thecomplex interactions of these factors including the noisecharacteristics the individual sensitivity and the context ofthe explored living environment [2] However the amplitudeof the subjective complaints about sleep disturbance seems tohave been increasing during recent yearsThis is supported bythe growing frequency of noise-related complaints receivedby the Ghana EPA in the last few years Unfortunately onlya few epidemiological studies have considered the possi-ble effect of noise exposure (considered globally) togetherwith other environmental factors on the health of exposedpopulations As noted by Fritschi et al [2] no large-scaleepidemiological study focusing on the effect of night-timenoise exposure on health has yet been undertakenThereforeit is necessary to answer some fundamental questions inorder to understand the detrimental effects on health andquality of life in the long-term for night-time noise-exposedpopulations

Continuous high level exposure can lead to aggressionin a hostile angry and helpless population It is often thepopulation with the least income that suffers the most fromnoise in general Future epidemiological noise research will

10 Scientifica

TaifaJericho

New Town

Zongo LakaRoman Down

Taboo Line

Market Square

Christian Village

CommunitiesChurchesMosquesLow

Moderately highHighVery highExtremely high

065 0 0650325

Night Market

(km) N

0∘199840040

998400998400W 0∘199840020

998400998400W0∘299840020

998400998400W 0∘29984000998400998400W 0

∘19984000998400998400W0

∘299840040

998400998400W 0∘099840040

998400998400W

0∘199840040

998400998400W 0∘199840020

998400998400W0∘299840020

998400998400W 0∘29984000998400998400W 0

∘19984000998400998400W0

∘299840040

998400998400W 0∘099840040

998400998400W5∘429984000998400998400N

5∘419984000998400998400N

5∘4199840040998400998400N

5∘4199840020998400998400N

5∘4299840020998400998400N

5∘429984000998400998400N

5∘419984000998400998400N

5∘4199840040998400998400N

5∘4199840020998400998400N

5∘4299840020998400998400N

Figure 2 Noise map for in situ night-time noise levels in churches and mosques

need to focus on vulnerable groups effectmodifiers sensitivehours of the night coping mechanisms differences betweennoise sources possible confounding with air pollution dif-ferences between objective (noise level) and subjective (noiseperception) exposure and multiple exposures (home workand leisure environments)

5 Conclusion

This study shows that night-time exposure to religious noiseis a growing menace in urban residential areas in Ghana Asexpected noise dose for mosques and churches decreasedwith increasing distance from the noise source The magni-tude of the figure for night-time noise exposure is strikingparticularly given that excessive night-time noise exposurehas the greatest detrimental effect on public health Allneighbourhoods where churches are situated had at least onelocation with significant risk of noise-induced hearing lossHowever there was no statistically significant relationshipbetween neighbourhoods where religious noise exposure wasthe highest and where noise annoyance was the highestFurther research is required to focus on long-term effects of

night-time noise exposure of different populations In thiscontext the study of specific subgroups can be consideredto be ldquoat riskrdquo (eg children elderly people self-estimatedsensitive people insomniacs sleep disorder patients andnight worshippers)

Conflict of Interests

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interestsregarding the publication of this paper

Acknowledgments

The authors sincerely thank Mr Mark Kpalega Ghaaton andall respondents for their assistance

References

[1] L Goines and L Hagler ldquoNoise pollution a modern plaguerdquoSouthern Medical Journal vol 100 no 3 pp 287ndash294 2007

[2] L Fritschi L Brown R Kim D Schwela and S Keph-alopolous ldquoBurden of disease from environmental noise

Scientifica 11

quantification of healthy life years lost in Europerdquo 2011httpwwwwhointquantifying ehimpactspublicationse94888en

[3] BGriefahnAMarks and S Robens ldquoNoise emitted from roadrail and air traffic and their effects on sleeprdquo Journal of Soundand Vibration vol 295 no 1-2 pp 129ndash140 2006

[4] W Babisch ldquoNoise and healthrdquo Environmental Health Perspec-tives vol 113 no 1 pp A14ndashA15 2005

[5] J di Nisi A Muzet J Ehrhart and J P Libert ldquoComparison ofcardiovascular responses to noise during waking and sleepingin humansrdquo Sleep vol 13 no 2 pp 108ndash120 1990

[6] N L Carter ldquoTransportation noise sleep and possible after-effectsrdquo Environment International vol 22 no 1 pp 105ndash1161996

[7] E Ohrstrom A Skanberg H Svensson and A Gidlof-Gunnarsson ldquoEffects of road traffic noise and the benefit ofaccess to quietnessrdquo Journal of Sound and Vibration vol 295no 1 pp 40ndash59 2006

[8] A Muzet ldquoEnvironmental noise sleep and healthrdquo SleepMedicine Reviews vol 11 no 2 pp 135ndash142 2007

[9] F A Armah J OOdoi DO Yawson G T Yengoh E K Afrifaand A N Pappoe ldquoMapping of noise risk zones derived fromreligious activities and perceptions in residential neighbour-hoods in the Cape Coast metropolis Ghanardquo EnvironmentalHazards vol 9 no 4 pp 358ndash368 2010

[10] K Asamoah-Gyadu African Charismatics Current Develop-ments within Independent Indigenous Pentecostalism in GhanaBrill Leiden The Netherlands 2005

[11] J K Asamoah-Gyadu ldquoOf faith and visual alertness themessage of ldquomediatizedrdquo religion in an African PentecostalcontextrdquoMaterial Religion vol 1 no 3 pp 336ndash357 2005

[12] M De Witte ldquoAccrarsquos sounds and sacred spacesrdquo InternationalJournal of Urban and Regional Research vol 32 no 3 pp 690ndash709 2008

[13] R Van Dijk ldquoContesting silence the ban on drumming andthe musical politics of Pentecostalism in GhanardquoGhana StudiesReview vol 4 pp 31ndash64 2001

[14] S Knights ldquoSacred space and the city religious buildings andnoise pollutionrdquoHarvard International Law Journal Online vol49 pp 50ndash55 2008

[15] B Berglund T Lindvall and D H Schwela Eds Guidelinesfor Community Noise World Health Organization GenevaSwitzerland 1999

[16] Ashaiman Municipal Assembly (ASHMA) Annual ReportAshaiman Ghana 2011

[17] Australia Victoria Environmental Protection Agency A Guideto The Measurement and Analysis of Noise EPA Publi-cation 2013 httpwwwepavicgovausimmediaPublications280pdf

[18] M E Lutman ldquoWhat is the risk of noise-induced hearing lossat 80 85 90 dB(A) and aboverdquo Occupational Medicine vol 50no 4 pp 274ndash275 2000

[19] P Goovaerts Geostatistics for Natural Resources EvaluationOxford University Press Oxford UK 1997

[20] B Berglund and T Lindvall Eds Community Noise Centerfor Sensory Research Stockholm University and KarolinskaInstitute 1995

[21] R F J Soames ldquoNoise sensitivity as a factor influencing humanreaction to noiserdquoNoise andHealth vol 1 no 3 pp 57ndash68 1999

[22] S A Stansfeld and M P Matheson ldquoNoise pollution non-auditory effects on healthrdquo British Medical Bulletin vol 68 pp243ndash257 2003

[23] WHONight Noise Guidelines for Europe WHORegional Officefor Europe Copenhagen Denmark 2009 httpwwweurowhoint dataassetspdf file001743316E92845pdf

Submit your manuscripts athttpwwwhindawicom

Stem CellsInternational

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

MEDIATORSINFLAMMATION

of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Behavioural Neurology

EndocrinologyInternational Journal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Disease Markers

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

BioMed Research International

OncologyJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

PPAR Research

The Scientific World JournalHindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Immunology ResearchHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Journal of

ObesityJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Computational and Mathematical Methods in Medicine

OphthalmologyJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Diabetes ResearchJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Research and TreatmentAIDS

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Gastroenterology Research and Practice

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Parkinsonrsquos Disease

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Volume 2014Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom

6 Scientifica

These equations represent the system of linear Krigingequations

Previous equation also can be written as the matrix

[119860] sdot [120582] = [119861] (8)

In matrices 119860 and 119861 the values are expressed as variogramvalues that is these values depend only on the distancesand orientations between the control points and not ontheir valuesThe third matrix includes weighting coefficientswhich are simply estimated from a system with ldquo119899rdquo equa-tions with ldquo119899rdquo unknown variables The Kriging technique(employed in this study) applied some constraints to thematrices to minimize the error [1205902

119896

(119909)] and this techniquegives unbiased estimations Generally these factors woulddescribe some external limit (restriction) on the input datawhich cannot simply be observed in themeasured valuesTheconstraint factor in the ordinary Kriging equations called theLagrangemultiplicator was used in this study If the sumof allweighting coefficients is 1 Kriging expression can be writtenas

120574 (1198851minus 1198851) times 1205821+ 119892 (119885

1minus 1198852)

times 1205822+ sdot sdot sdot + 120574 (119885

1minus 119885119899) times 120582119899+ 119898 = 120574 (119885

1minus 119885)

120574 (1198852minus 1198851) times 1205821+ 119892 (119885

2minus 1198852)

times 1205822+ sdot sdot sdot + 120574 (119885

2minus 119885119899) times 120582119899+ 119898 = 120574 (119885

2minus 119885)

120574 (119885119899minus 1198851) times 1205821+ 119892 (119885

119899minus 1198852)

times 1205822+ sdot sdot sdot + 120574 (119885

119899minus 119885119899) times 120582119899+ 119898 = 120574 (119885

119899minus 119885)

1205821+ 1205822+ sdot sdot sdot + 120582

119899+ 0 = 1

(9)

If such a system of linear equations is shown as Krigingmatrices it can be written as

[[[[[[

[

120574 (1198851minus 1198851) 120574 (119885

1minus 1198852) sdot sdot sdot 120574 (119885

1minus 119885119899) 1

120574 (1198852minus 1198851) 120574 (119885

2minus 1198852) sdot sdot sdot 120574 (119885

2minus 119885119899) 1

1

120574 (119885119899minus 1198851) 120574 (119885

119899minus 1198852) sdot sdot sdot 120574 (119885

119899minus 119885119899) 1

1 1 sdot sdot sdot 1 0

]]]]]]

]

times

[[[[[

[

1205821

1205822

120582119899

119898

]]]]]

]

=

[[[[[

[

120574 (1198851minus 119885)

120574 (1198852minus 119885)

120574 (119885119899minus 119885)

1

]]]]]

]

(10)

The number of weighting coefficients and control points canbe very large but contemporary computers can successfullysolve numerically demanding tasks The estimation can beperformed simply by calculating the influence of all controlpoints weighted by their associated coefficients according to

119885 = 1205821sdot 1198851+ 1205822sdot 1198852+ sdot sdot sdot + 120582

119899sdot 119885119899 (11)

The calculation of the estimation variance includes adding theLagrange coefficient

1205902

= 1205821sdot 120574 (1198851minus 119885) + 120582

2sdot 120574 (1198852minus 119885)

+ sdot sdot sdot + 120582119899sdot 120574 (119885119899minus 119885) + 119898

(12)

3 Results

31 Night-Time Noise Levels at the Various Noise Sources50m and 100m Distances The noise levels recorded atthe churches and mosques and the various distances awayfrom the noise sources all exceeded the EPA permissiblelevel of 48 dB(A) for night time (2200ndash0600 h) expected forresidential areas These are presented in Tables 3 and 4 Fornight-time (2200ndash0600 h) noise levels Grace Assemblies ofGod Church recorded the lowest value of 719 dB and Tribeof Judah Ministries International recorded the highest valueof 1017 dB at the noise source Pentecost Church at RomanDown and Christ Apostolic Church at Christian Villagerecorded noise levels of 649 dB and 914 dB respectivelyat the 50m distance and 616 dB and 835 dB for the 100mdistance Tribe of Judah Ministries International at TabooLine recorded the highest value of 1017 dB(A) and GraceAssemblies of God at Market Square recorded the lowestvalue of 719 dB(A) However at a distance of 50m from thesource Tribe of Judah Ministries which recorded the highestvalue at the source recorded 785 dB(A) andGraceAssembliesof God which recorded the lowest value at the source alsorecorded 78 dB(A) The decrease could be attributed tothe glass windows used which acted as a form of sound-proof while the increment could be due to other activitiesaside the church service such as traffic noise None of thechurches or mosques produced noise within the permissiblelevel of 48 dB(A) for night at a distance of 100m from thechurchmosque

Generally dose for mosques decreased with increasingdistance from the noise source At the source the magnitudeof dose in decreasing order was as follows White andCream Mosque (Zongo Laka) gt Green and Cream Mosque(Taifa) gt Cream and Green Mosque (Night Market) gt YellowMosque (Zongo Laka) gt White Mosque (Night Market) gtWhite and GreenMosque (Night Market) Residents who arechronically exposed to noise from the first three locationsare at significant risk of noise-induced hearing loss whereasresidents within the vicinity ofWhiteMosque (NightMarket)are at minimum risk Also in terms of neighbourhood NightMarket and Zongo Laka areas had the lowest and highestnight-time noise exposure respectively (Table 3)

Regarding churches all neighbourhoods had at least onelocation with significant risk of noise-induced hearing loss(Table 4) At the source the magnitude of dose for the firstten churches in decreasing order was as follows Tribe ofJudah Ministries (Taboo Line) gt Musama Church (MarketSquare) gt Christ Apostolic (Roman Down) gt Church ofPentecost (Newtown) gt Global Evangelical (Newtown) gtChurch of Pentecost (ChristianVillage)gtCentral Assembliesof God (Taifa) gt Unique Chapel (Taifa) gt Christ Apostolic(Christian Village) gt Christ Apostolic (Jericho) In terms of

Scientifica 7

Table3Night-timen

oise

expo

sure

levels

dose

form

osqu

esand

riskof

hearinglossin

neighb

ourhoo

ds

Neighbo

urho

odLo

catio

nNoise

leveld

B(A)lowast

Dose()

8-ho

urequivalent

expo

sure

level

Risk

ofno

ise-in

ducedhearingloss

Source

50m

100m

source

50m

100m

Taifa

Green

andCr

eam

Mosqu

e936

768

686

2264

47

07

885

Sign

ificant

risk

ZongoLaka

WhiteandGreen

Mosqu

e938

856

752

2371

359

33

887

Sign

ificant

risk

Yello

wMosqu

e856

812

726

359

130

18

805

Somer

isk

Night

Market

WhiteandGreen

Mosqu

e844

762

642

272

41

03

793

Minim

alris

kWhiteMosqu

e(un

completed)

854

756

646

343

36

03

803

Somer

iskCr

eam

andGreen

Mosqu

e902

774

641035

54

02

851

Sign

ificant

risk

Equivalent

noise

expo

sure

level

932

833

732

66430

6680

660

lowast

Measurementtim

eper

locatio

nis15

minutes

andtotalexp

osuretim

eis15ho

ursfor

them

osqu

es

8 Scientifica

Table4Night-timen

oise

expo

sure

levels

dose

forc

hurchesandris

kof

hearinglossin

neighb

ourhoo

ds

Neighbo

urho

odLo

catio

nNoise

dB(A

)lowastDose()

8-ho

urequivalent

noise

expo

sure

Risk

ofno

ise-in

ducedhearingloss

Source

50m

100m

source

50m

100m

Tabo

oLine

Church

ofJesus

801

853

725

101

335

18

75Minim

alVo

iceo

fthe

Lord

EvangelicalCh

urch

89815

648

785

140

03

839

Some

Tribeo

fJud

ahMinistrie

sInternatio

nal

1017

785

743

14617

70

27

966

Sign

ificant

MarketS

quare

Apostolic

ChurchG

hana

863

805

765

422

111

44

812

Some

Musam

aDisc

oCh

risto

Church

1005

813

747

11088

133

29

954

Sign

ificant

StPeter

Metho

distCh

urch

837

697

617

232

09

01

786

Minim

alGrace

Assembly(A

ssem

blieso

fGod

)719

78741

15

62

25

668

Minim

al

Taifa

CentralAs

semblieso

fGod

948

743

739

2984

27

24

897

Sign

ificant

Uniqu

eChapelInternatio

nal

947

842

676

2916

260

06

896

Sign

ificant

New

town

Church

ofPentecost

995

833

705

8807

211

11

944

Sign

ificant

GlobalE

vangelicalC

hurch

985

869

707

6996

484

12

934

Sign

ificant

LibertyCentre

Ann

ex(A

ssem

blieso

fGod

)851

748

653

320

30

03

80Some

Chris

tianVillage

Presbyteria

nCh

urch

825

708

637

176

12

02

774

Minim

alCh

urch

ofPentecost

971

83725

5068

197

18

92Sign

ificant

Chris

tApo

stolic

Church

945

914

835

2785

1364

221

894

Sign

ificant

Evangelistic

Fire

Ministrie

sInternatio

nal

932

825

727

2065

176

18

881

Sign

ificant

ZongoLaka

Grace

ChapelInternational

873

725

625

531

18

02

822

Some

Roman

Dow

nCh

urch

ofPentecost

824

649

616

172

03

01

774

Minim

alStA

ugustin

eCatho

licCh

urch

809

739

64122

24

02

758

Minim

alCh

ristA

posto

licCh

urch

100

851

731

9882

320

20

949

Sign

ificant

Jeric

hoCh

urch

ofPentecost

857

712

637

367

13

02

806

Some

Church

ofCh

rist

823

752

648

168

243

03

772

Minim

alCh

ristA

posto

licCh

urch

943

839

744

266

209

270

892

Sign

ificant

Equivalent

noise

expo

sure

level

986

882

777

73278

63310

5210

lowast

Measurementtim

eper

locatio

nis30

minutes

andtotalexp

osuretim

eis115

hoursfor

thec

hurches

Scientifica 9

Table 5 Night-time exposure classes

Noise range (dB(A)) Exposure class818ndash848 Low848ndash872 Moderately high872ndash899 High899ndash926 Very high926ndash953 Extremely high

neighbourhoodMarket Square and Taboo Line areas had thelowest and highest night-time noise exposure respectively(Table 4)

32 Distribution of Night-Time Noise Exposure in the UrbanNeighbourhoods Table 5 shows the classification scheme fornight-time noise exposure in the study area Religious noiseexposure up to 848 db(A) is regarded as low whereas expo-sure above 926 db(A) is considered extremely high

As observed in Figure 2 none of the communities waswithin the low noise exposure class A major part of NightMarket and small portions of Roman Down and Zongo Lakawere in the moderately high noise exposure class Every partof Jericho major parts of Market Square Zongo Laka andRoman Down and a small portion of Night Market werein the high noise exposure zone Every part of New TownChristian Village Taifa and Taboo Line and a small portionof Market Square were in the very high noise exposure classNone of the communitieswaswithin the extremely high noiseexposure class

4 Discussion

This study measured the levels of religious noise producedin the Ashaiman Municipality a rapidly growing urbanenvironment in Ghana constructed a night-time noise mapindicating the distribution of exposure in residential neigh-bourhoods of the Ashaiman Municipality and assessed therisk of religious noise-induced hearing loss to residents inthe exposed neighbourhoods In this municipality there areseveral worksites for artisanal metal workers in the informalsector These noise-intensity work environments deliver sig-nificant noise to this subset of the people (artisanal metalworkers) living in these neighbourhoods Night-time noiseadds to the daytime noise doseThe results showed that all thetwenty-three churches and six mosques sampled producednight-time noise levels far exceeding the EPArsquos guidelinesstandard of 48 dB(A) for night (2200ndash0600 h) The noisemaps generated also showed that most of the communitieswere exposed to high noise levels due to religious activitiesas most of them were within the extremely high very highand high noise exposure zones Just a few communitieswere within the moderately high zone but none of thecommunities was within the low noise exposure zone Thenight-time noise levels obtained in this study are comparableto the observations of Armah et al [9] in the Cape CoastMetropolis However the latter study did not control forbackground noise

Themagnitude of the figure for night-time noise exposureis striking particularly given that excessive night-time noiseexposure has the greatest detrimental effect on public healthIf the foregoing exposure levels were extrapolated for theentire Accra and Tema areas it quickly becomes obvious thatthemagnitude of the problem is considerableThe impact thatthese levels of exposure are having on individual health andthe quality of life as well as the economic impact in terms ofreduced productively of residents is likely to be considerablealso

Interestingly there was no statistically significant rela-tionship between neighbourhoods where religious noiseexposure was the highest and where noise annoyance wasthe highest This finding supports the results Armah et al [9]obtained in the Cape Coast Metropolis of Ghana The degreeof annoyance produced by noise may vary with the time ofday the unpleasant characteristics of the noise the durationand intensity of the noise the meaning associated with itand the nature of the activity that the noise interrupted [20]Annoyance may be influenced by a variety of nonacousticalfactors including individual sensitivity to noise [21] Theseinclude fear of the noise source conviction that noise couldbe reduced by third parties individual sensitivity the degreeto which an individual feels able to control the noise andwhether or not the noise originated from an important eco-nomic activity [20 22] Other less direct effects of annoyanceare disruption of onersquos peace of mind the enjoyment of onersquosproperty and the enjoyment of solitude

Seldom are populations exposed to a single source ofnoise pollutionUsually noise exposure is complex consistingof several simultaneous noise exposures (eg religious airtraffic etc) This means that the noise exposure estimatesin this study could be far less than the expected compositenoise levels In any case there is some level of risk of noise-induced hearing loss as shown in this study and the potentialeffects of exposure cannot be discounted In fact the effectsof noise exposure depend on several factors and the absenceof a clear dose-effect relationship is certainly due to thecomplex interactions of these factors including the noisecharacteristics the individual sensitivity and the context ofthe explored living environment [2] However the amplitudeof the subjective complaints about sleep disturbance seems tohave been increasing during recent yearsThis is supported bythe growing frequency of noise-related complaints receivedby the Ghana EPA in the last few years Unfortunately onlya few epidemiological studies have considered the possi-ble effect of noise exposure (considered globally) togetherwith other environmental factors on the health of exposedpopulations As noted by Fritschi et al [2] no large-scaleepidemiological study focusing on the effect of night-timenoise exposure on health has yet been undertakenThereforeit is necessary to answer some fundamental questions inorder to understand the detrimental effects on health andquality of life in the long-term for night-time noise-exposedpopulations

Continuous high level exposure can lead to aggressionin a hostile angry and helpless population It is often thepopulation with the least income that suffers the most fromnoise in general Future epidemiological noise research will

10 Scientifica

TaifaJericho

New Town

Zongo LakaRoman Down

Taboo Line

Market Square

Christian Village

CommunitiesChurchesMosquesLow

Moderately highHighVery highExtremely high

065 0 0650325

Night Market

(km) N

0∘199840040

998400998400W 0∘199840020

998400998400W0∘299840020

998400998400W 0∘29984000998400998400W 0

∘19984000998400998400W0

∘299840040

998400998400W 0∘099840040

998400998400W

0∘199840040

998400998400W 0∘199840020

998400998400W0∘299840020

998400998400W 0∘29984000998400998400W 0

∘19984000998400998400W0

∘299840040

998400998400W 0∘099840040

998400998400W5∘429984000998400998400N

5∘419984000998400998400N

5∘4199840040998400998400N

5∘4199840020998400998400N

5∘4299840020998400998400N

5∘429984000998400998400N

5∘419984000998400998400N

5∘4199840040998400998400N

5∘4199840020998400998400N

5∘4299840020998400998400N

Figure 2 Noise map for in situ night-time noise levels in churches and mosques

need to focus on vulnerable groups effectmodifiers sensitivehours of the night coping mechanisms differences betweennoise sources possible confounding with air pollution dif-ferences between objective (noise level) and subjective (noiseperception) exposure and multiple exposures (home workand leisure environments)

5 Conclusion

This study shows that night-time exposure to religious noiseis a growing menace in urban residential areas in Ghana Asexpected noise dose for mosques and churches decreasedwith increasing distance from the noise source The magni-tude of the figure for night-time noise exposure is strikingparticularly given that excessive night-time noise exposurehas the greatest detrimental effect on public health Allneighbourhoods where churches are situated had at least onelocation with significant risk of noise-induced hearing lossHowever there was no statistically significant relationshipbetween neighbourhoods where religious noise exposure wasthe highest and where noise annoyance was the highestFurther research is required to focus on long-term effects of

night-time noise exposure of different populations In thiscontext the study of specific subgroups can be consideredto be ldquoat riskrdquo (eg children elderly people self-estimatedsensitive people insomniacs sleep disorder patients andnight worshippers)

Conflict of Interests

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interestsregarding the publication of this paper

Acknowledgments

The authors sincerely thank Mr Mark Kpalega Ghaaton andall respondents for their assistance

References

[1] L Goines and L Hagler ldquoNoise pollution a modern plaguerdquoSouthern Medical Journal vol 100 no 3 pp 287ndash294 2007

[2] L Fritschi L Brown R Kim D Schwela and S Keph-alopolous ldquoBurden of disease from environmental noise

Scientifica 11

quantification of healthy life years lost in Europerdquo 2011httpwwwwhointquantifying ehimpactspublicationse94888en

[3] BGriefahnAMarks and S Robens ldquoNoise emitted from roadrail and air traffic and their effects on sleeprdquo Journal of Soundand Vibration vol 295 no 1-2 pp 129ndash140 2006

[4] W Babisch ldquoNoise and healthrdquo Environmental Health Perspec-tives vol 113 no 1 pp A14ndashA15 2005

[5] J di Nisi A Muzet J Ehrhart and J P Libert ldquoComparison ofcardiovascular responses to noise during waking and sleepingin humansrdquo Sleep vol 13 no 2 pp 108ndash120 1990

[6] N L Carter ldquoTransportation noise sleep and possible after-effectsrdquo Environment International vol 22 no 1 pp 105ndash1161996

[7] E Ohrstrom A Skanberg H Svensson and A Gidlof-Gunnarsson ldquoEffects of road traffic noise and the benefit ofaccess to quietnessrdquo Journal of Sound and Vibration vol 295no 1 pp 40ndash59 2006

[8] A Muzet ldquoEnvironmental noise sleep and healthrdquo SleepMedicine Reviews vol 11 no 2 pp 135ndash142 2007

[9] F A Armah J OOdoi DO Yawson G T Yengoh E K Afrifaand A N Pappoe ldquoMapping of noise risk zones derived fromreligious activities and perceptions in residential neighbour-hoods in the Cape Coast metropolis Ghanardquo EnvironmentalHazards vol 9 no 4 pp 358ndash368 2010

[10] K Asamoah-Gyadu African Charismatics Current Develop-ments within Independent Indigenous Pentecostalism in GhanaBrill Leiden The Netherlands 2005

[11] J K Asamoah-Gyadu ldquoOf faith and visual alertness themessage of ldquomediatizedrdquo religion in an African PentecostalcontextrdquoMaterial Religion vol 1 no 3 pp 336ndash357 2005

[12] M De Witte ldquoAccrarsquos sounds and sacred spacesrdquo InternationalJournal of Urban and Regional Research vol 32 no 3 pp 690ndash709 2008

[13] R Van Dijk ldquoContesting silence the ban on drumming andthe musical politics of Pentecostalism in GhanardquoGhana StudiesReview vol 4 pp 31ndash64 2001

[14] S Knights ldquoSacred space and the city religious buildings andnoise pollutionrdquoHarvard International Law Journal Online vol49 pp 50ndash55 2008

[15] B Berglund T Lindvall and D H Schwela Eds Guidelinesfor Community Noise World Health Organization GenevaSwitzerland 1999

[16] Ashaiman Municipal Assembly (ASHMA) Annual ReportAshaiman Ghana 2011

[17] Australia Victoria Environmental Protection Agency A Guideto The Measurement and Analysis of Noise EPA Publi-cation 2013 httpwwwepavicgovausimmediaPublications280pdf

[18] M E Lutman ldquoWhat is the risk of noise-induced hearing lossat 80 85 90 dB(A) and aboverdquo Occupational Medicine vol 50no 4 pp 274ndash275 2000

[19] P Goovaerts Geostatistics for Natural Resources EvaluationOxford University Press Oxford UK 1997

[20] B Berglund and T Lindvall Eds Community Noise Centerfor Sensory Research Stockholm University and KarolinskaInstitute 1995

[21] R F J Soames ldquoNoise sensitivity as a factor influencing humanreaction to noiserdquoNoise andHealth vol 1 no 3 pp 57ndash68 1999

[22] S A Stansfeld and M P Matheson ldquoNoise pollution non-auditory effects on healthrdquo British Medical Bulletin vol 68 pp243ndash257 2003

[23] WHONight Noise Guidelines for Europe WHORegional Officefor Europe Copenhagen Denmark 2009 httpwwweurowhoint dataassetspdf file001743316E92845pdf

Submit your manuscripts athttpwwwhindawicom

Stem CellsInternational

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

MEDIATORSINFLAMMATION

of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Behavioural Neurology

EndocrinologyInternational Journal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Disease Markers

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

BioMed Research International

OncologyJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

PPAR Research

The Scientific World JournalHindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Immunology ResearchHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Journal of

ObesityJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Computational and Mathematical Methods in Medicine

OphthalmologyJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Diabetes ResearchJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Research and TreatmentAIDS

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Gastroenterology Research and Practice

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Parkinsonrsquos Disease

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Volume 2014Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom

Scientifica 7

Table3Night-timen

oise

expo

sure

levels

dose

form

osqu

esand

riskof

hearinglossin

neighb

ourhoo

ds

Neighbo

urho

odLo

catio

nNoise

leveld

B(A)lowast

Dose()

8-ho

urequivalent

expo

sure

level

Risk

ofno

ise-in

ducedhearingloss

Source

50m

100m

source

50m

100m

Taifa

Green

andCr

eam

Mosqu

e936

768

686

2264

47

07

885

Sign

ificant

risk

ZongoLaka

WhiteandGreen

Mosqu

e938

856

752

2371

359

33

887

Sign

ificant

risk

Yello

wMosqu

e856

812

726

359

130

18

805

Somer

isk

Night

Market

WhiteandGreen

Mosqu

e844

762

642

272

41

03

793

Minim

alris

kWhiteMosqu

e(un

completed)

854

756

646

343

36

03

803

Somer

iskCr

eam

andGreen

Mosqu

e902

774

641035

54

02

851

Sign

ificant

risk

Equivalent

noise

expo

sure

level

932

833

732

66430

6680

660

lowast

Measurementtim

eper

locatio

nis15

minutes

andtotalexp

osuretim

eis15ho

ursfor

them

osqu

es

8 Scientifica

Table4Night-timen

oise

expo

sure

levels

dose

forc

hurchesandris

kof

hearinglossin

neighb

ourhoo

ds

Neighbo

urho

odLo

catio

nNoise

dB(A

)lowastDose()

8-ho

urequivalent

noise

expo

sure

Risk

ofno

ise-in

ducedhearingloss

Source

50m

100m

source

50m

100m

Tabo

oLine

Church

ofJesus

801

853

725

101

335

18

75Minim

alVo

iceo

fthe

Lord

EvangelicalCh

urch

89815

648

785

140

03

839

Some

Tribeo

fJud

ahMinistrie

sInternatio

nal

1017

785

743

14617

70

27

966

Sign

ificant

MarketS

quare

Apostolic

ChurchG

hana

863

805

765

422

111

44

812

Some

Musam

aDisc

oCh

risto

Church

1005

813

747

11088

133

29

954

Sign

ificant

StPeter

Metho

distCh

urch

837

697

617

232

09

01

786

Minim

alGrace

Assembly(A

ssem

blieso

fGod

)719

78741

15

62

25

668

Minim

al

Taifa

CentralAs

semblieso

fGod

948

743

739

2984

27

24

897

Sign

ificant

Uniqu

eChapelInternatio

nal

947

842

676

2916

260

06

896

Sign

ificant

New

town

Church

ofPentecost

995

833

705

8807

211

11

944

Sign

ificant

GlobalE

vangelicalC

hurch

985

869

707

6996

484

12

934

Sign

ificant

LibertyCentre

Ann

ex(A

ssem

blieso

fGod

)851

748

653

320

30

03

80Some

Chris

tianVillage

Presbyteria

nCh

urch

825

708

637

176

12

02

774

Minim

alCh

urch

ofPentecost

971

83725

5068

197

18

92Sign

ificant

Chris

tApo

stolic

Church

945

914

835

2785

1364

221

894

Sign

ificant

Evangelistic

Fire

Ministrie

sInternatio

nal

932

825

727

2065

176

18

881

Sign

ificant

ZongoLaka

Grace

ChapelInternational

873

725

625

531

18

02

822

Some

Roman

Dow

nCh

urch

ofPentecost

824

649

616

172

03

01

774

Minim

alStA

ugustin

eCatho

licCh

urch

809

739

64122

24

02

758

Minim

alCh

ristA

posto

licCh

urch

100

851

731

9882

320

20

949

Sign

ificant

Jeric

hoCh

urch

ofPentecost

857

712

637

367

13

02

806

Some

Church

ofCh

rist

823

752

648

168

243

03

772

Minim

alCh

ristA

posto

licCh

urch

943

839

744

266

209

270

892

Sign

ificant

Equivalent

noise

expo

sure

level

986

882

777

73278

63310

5210

lowast

Measurementtim

eper

locatio

nis30

minutes

andtotalexp

osuretim

eis115

hoursfor

thec

hurches

Scientifica 9

Table 5 Night-time exposure classes

Noise range (dB(A)) Exposure class818ndash848 Low848ndash872 Moderately high872ndash899 High899ndash926 Very high926ndash953 Extremely high

neighbourhoodMarket Square and Taboo Line areas had thelowest and highest night-time noise exposure respectively(Table 4)

32 Distribution of Night-Time Noise Exposure in the UrbanNeighbourhoods Table 5 shows the classification scheme fornight-time noise exposure in the study area Religious noiseexposure up to 848 db(A) is regarded as low whereas expo-sure above 926 db(A) is considered extremely high

As observed in Figure 2 none of the communities waswithin the low noise exposure class A major part of NightMarket and small portions of Roman Down and Zongo Lakawere in the moderately high noise exposure class Every partof Jericho major parts of Market Square Zongo Laka andRoman Down and a small portion of Night Market werein the high noise exposure zone Every part of New TownChristian Village Taifa and Taboo Line and a small portionof Market Square were in the very high noise exposure classNone of the communitieswaswithin the extremely high noiseexposure class

4 Discussion

This study measured the levels of religious noise producedin the Ashaiman Municipality a rapidly growing urbanenvironment in Ghana constructed a night-time noise mapindicating the distribution of exposure in residential neigh-bourhoods of the Ashaiman Municipality and assessed therisk of religious noise-induced hearing loss to residents inthe exposed neighbourhoods In this municipality there areseveral worksites for artisanal metal workers in the informalsector These noise-intensity work environments deliver sig-nificant noise to this subset of the people (artisanal metalworkers) living in these neighbourhoods Night-time noiseadds to the daytime noise doseThe results showed that all thetwenty-three churches and six mosques sampled producednight-time noise levels far exceeding the EPArsquos guidelinesstandard of 48 dB(A) for night (2200ndash0600 h) The noisemaps generated also showed that most of the communitieswere exposed to high noise levels due to religious activitiesas most of them were within the extremely high very highand high noise exposure zones Just a few communitieswere within the moderately high zone but none of thecommunities was within the low noise exposure zone Thenight-time noise levels obtained in this study are comparableto the observations of Armah et al [9] in the Cape CoastMetropolis However the latter study did not control forbackground noise

Themagnitude of the figure for night-time noise exposureis striking particularly given that excessive night-time noiseexposure has the greatest detrimental effect on public healthIf the foregoing exposure levels were extrapolated for theentire Accra and Tema areas it quickly becomes obvious thatthemagnitude of the problem is considerableThe impact thatthese levels of exposure are having on individual health andthe quality of life as well as the economic impact in terms ofreduced productively of residents is likely to be considerablealso

Interestingly there was no statistically significant rela-tionship between neighbourhoods where religious noiseexposure was the highest and where noise annoyance wasthe highest This finding supports the results Armah et al [9]obtained in the Cape Coast Metropolis of Ghana The degreeof annoyance produced by noise may vary with the time ofday the unpleasant characteristics of the noise the durationand intensity of the noise the meaning associated with itand the nature of the activity that the noise interrupted [20]Annoyance may be influenced by a variety of nonacousticalfactors including individual sensitivity to noise [21] Theseinclude fear of the noise source conviction that noise couldbe reduced by third parties individual sensitivity the degreeto which an individual feels able to control the noise andwhether or not the noise originated from an important eco-nomic activity [20 22] Other less direct effects of annoyanceare disruption of onersquos peace of mind the enjoyment of onersquosproperty and the enjoyment of solitude

Seldom are populations exposed to a single source ofnoise pollutionUsually noise exposure is complex consistingof several simultaneous noise exposures (eg religious airtraffic etc) This means that the noise exposure estimatesin this study could be far less than the expected compositenoise levels In any case there is some level of risk of noise-induced hearing loss as shown in this study and the potentialeffects of exposure cannot be discounted In fact the effectsof noise exposure depend on several factors and the absenceof a clear dose-effect relationship is certainly due to thecomplex interactions of these factors including the noisecharacteristics the individual sensitivity and the context ofthe explored living environment [2] However the amplitudeof the subjective complaints about sleep disturbance seems tohave been increasing during recent yearsThis is supported bythe growing frequency of noise-related complaints receivedby the Ghana EPA in the last few years Unfortunately onlya few epidemiological studies have considered the possi-ble effect of noise exposure (considered globally) togetherwith other environmental factors on the health of exposedpopulations As noted by Fritschi et al [2] no large-scaleepidemiological study focusing on the effect of night-timenoise exposure on health has yet been undertakenThereforeit is necessary to answer some fundamental questions inorder to understand the detrimental effects on health andquality of life in the long-term for night-time noise-exposedpopulations

Continuous high level exposure can lead to aggressionin a hostile angry and helpless population It is often thepopulation with the least income that suffers the most fromnoise in general Future epidemiological noise research will

10 Scientifica

TaifaJericho

New Town

Zongo LakaRoman Down

Taboo Line

Market Square

Christian Village

CommunitiesChurchesMosquesLow

Moderately highHighVery highExtremely high

065 0 0650325

Night Market

(km) N

0∘199840040

998400998400W 0∘199840020

998400998400W0∘299840020

998400998400W 0∘29984000998400998400W 0

∘19984000998400998400W0

∘299840040

998400998400W 0∘099840040

998400998400W

0∘199840040

998400998400W 0∘199840020

998400998400W0∘299840020

998400998400W 0∘29984000998400998400W 0

∘19984000998400998400W0

∘299840040

998400998400W 0∘099840040

998400998400W5∘429984000998400998400N

5∘419984000998400998400N

5∘4199840040998400998400N

5∘4199840020998400998400N

5∘4299840020998400998400N

5∘429984000998400998400N

5∘419984000998400998400N

5∘4199840040998400998400N

5∘4199840020998400998400N

5∘4299840020998400998400N

Figure 2 Noise map for in situ night-time noise levels in churches and mosques

need to focus on vulnerable groups effectmodifiers sensitivehours of the night coping mechanisms differences betweennoise sources possible confounding with air pollution dif-ferences between objective (noise level) and subjective (noiseperception) exposure and multiple exposures (home workand leisure environments)

5 Conclusion

This study shows that night-time exposure to religious noiseis a growing menace in urban residential areas in Ghana Asexpected noise dose for mosques and churches decreasedwith increasing distance from the noise source The magni-tude of the figure for night-time noise exposure is strikingparticularly given that excessive night-time noise exposurehas the greatest detrimental effect on public health Allneighbourhoods where churches are situated had at least onelocation with significant risk of noise-induced hearing lossHowever there was no statistically significant relationshipbetween neighbourhoods where religious noise exposure wasthe highest and where noise annoyance was the highestFurther research is required to focus on long-term effects of

night-time noise exposure of different populations In thiscontext the study of specific subgroups can be consideredto be ldquoat riskrdquo (eg children elderly people self-estimatedsensitive people insomniacs sleep disorder patients andnight worshippers)

Conflict of Interests

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interestsregarding the publication of this paper

Acknowledgments

The authors sincerely thank Mr Mark Kpalega Ghaaton andall respondents for their assistance

References

[1] L Goines and L Hagler ldquoNoise pollution a modern plaguerdquoSouthern Medical Journal vol 100 no 3 pp 287ndash294 2007

[2] L Fritschi L Brown R Kim D Schwela and S Keph-alopolous ldquoBurden of disease from environmental noise

Scientifica 11

quantification of healthy life years lost in Europerdquo 2011httpwwwwhointquantifying ehimpactspublicationse94888en

[3] BGriefahnAMarks and S Robens ldquoNoise emitted from roadrail and air traffic and their effects on sleeprdquo Journal of Soundand Vibration vol 295 no 1-2 pp 129ndash140 2006

[4] W Babisch ldquoNoise and healthrdquo Environmental Health Perspec-tives vol 113 no 1 pp A14ndashA15 2005

[5] J di Nisi A Muzet J Ehrhart and J P Libert ldquoComparison ofcardiovascular responses to noise during waking and sleepingin humansrdquo Sleep vol 13 no 2 pp 108ndash120 1990

[6] N L Carter ldquoTransportation noise sleep and possible after-effectsrdquo Environment International vol 22 no 1 pp 105ndash1161996

[7] E Ohrstrom A Skanberg H Svensson and A Gidlof-Gunnarsson ldquoEffects of road traffic noise and the benefit ofaccess to quietnessrdquo Journal of Sound and Vibration vol 295no 1 pp 40ndash59 2006

[8] A Muzet ldquoEnvironmental noise sleep and healthrdquo SleepMedicine Reviews vol 11 no 2 pp 135ndash142 2007

[9] F A Armah J OOdoi DO Yawson G T Yengoh E K Afrifaand A N Pappoe ldquoMapping of noise risk zones derived fromreligious activities and perceptions in residential neighbour-hoods in the Cape Coast metropolis Ghanardquo EnvironmentalHazards vol 9 no 4 pp 358ndash368 2010

[10] K Asamoah-Gyadu African Charismatics Current Develop-ments within Independent Indigenous Pentecostalism in GhanaBrill Leiden The Netherlands 2005

[11] J K Asamoah-Gyadu ldquoOf faith and visual alertness themessage of ldquomediatizedrdquo religion in an African PentecostalcontextrdquoMaterial Religion vol 1 no 3 pp 336ndash357 2005

[12] M De Witte ldquoAccrarsquos sounds and sacred spacesrdquo InternationalJournal of Urban and Regional Research vol 32 no 3 pp 690ndash709 2008

[13] R Van Dijk ldquoContesting silence the ban on drumming andthe musical politics of Pentecostalism in GhanardquoGhana StudiesReview vol 4 pp 31ndash64 2001

[14] S Knights ldquoSacred space and the city religious buildings andnoise pollutionrdquoHarvard International Law Journal Online vol49 pp 50ndash55 2008

[15] B Berglund T Lindvall and D H Schwela Eds Guidelinesfor Community Noise World Health Organization GenevaSwitzerland 1999

[16] Ashaiman Municipal Assembly (ASHMA) Annual ReportAshaiman Ghana 2011

[17] Australia Victoria Environmental Protection Agency A Guideto The Measurement and Analysis of Noise EPA Publi-cation 2013 httpwwwepavicgovausimmediaPublications280pdf

[18] M E Lutman ldquoWhat is the risk of noise-induced hearing lossat 80 85 90 dB(A) and aboverdquo Occupational Medicine vol 50no 4 pp 274ndash275 2000

[19] P Goovaerts Geostatistics for Natural Resources EvaluationOxford University Press Oxford UK 1997

[20] B Berglund and T Lindvall Eds Community Noise Centerfor Sensory Research Stockholm University and KarolinskaInstitute 1995

[21] R F J Soames ldquoNoise sensitivity as a factor influencing humanreaction to noiserdquoNoise andHealth vol 1 no 3 pp 57ndash68 1999

[22] S A Stansfeld and M P Matheson ldquoNoise pollution non-auditory effects on healthrdquo British Medical Bulletin vol 68 pp243ndash257 2003

[23] WHONight Noise Guidelines for Europe WHORegional Officefor Europe Copenhagen Denmark 2009 httpwwweurowhoint dataassetspdf file001743316E92845pdf

Submit your manuscripts athttpwwwhindawicom

Stem CellsInternational

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

MEDIATORSINFLAMMATION

of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Behavioural Neurology

EndocrinologyInternational Journal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Disease Markers

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

BioMed Research International

OncologyJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

PPAR Research

The Scientific World JournalHindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Immunology ResearchHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Journal of

ObesityJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Computational and Mathematical Methods in Medicine

OphthalmologyJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Diabetes ResearchJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Research and TreatmentAIDS

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Gastroenterology Research and Practice

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Parkinsonrsquos Disease

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Volume 2014Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom

8 Scientifica

Table4Night-timen

oise

expo

sure

levels

dose

forc

hurchesandris

kof

hearinglossin

neighb

ourhoo

ds

Neighbo

urho

odLo

catio

nNoise

dB(A

)lowastDose()

8-ho

urequivalent

noise

expo

sure

Risk

ofno

ise-in

ducedhearingloss

Source

50m

100m

source

50m

100m

Tabo

oLine

Church

ofJesus

801

853

725

101

335

18

75Minim

alVo

iceo

fthe

Lord

EvangelicalCh

urch

89815

648

785

140

03

839

Some

Tribeo

fJud

ahMinistrie

sInternatio

nal

1017

785

743

14617

70

27

966

Sign

ificant

MarketS

quare

Apostolic

ChurchG

hana

863

805

765

422

111

44

812

Some

Musam

aDisc

oCh

risto

Church

1005

813

747

11088

133

29

954

Sign

ificant

StPeter

Metho

distCh

urch

837

697

617

232

09

01

786

Minim

alGrace

Assembly(A

ssem

blieso

fGod

)719

78741

15

62

25

668

Minim

al

Taifa

CentralAs

semblieso

fGod

948

743

739

2984

27

24

897

Sign

ificant

Uniqu

eChapelInternatio

nal

947

842

676

2916

260

06

896

Sign

ificant

New

town

Church

ofPentecost

995

833

705

8807

211

11

944

Sign

ificant

GlobalE

vangelicalC

hurch

985

869

707

6996

484

12

934

Sign

ificant

LibertyCentre

Ann

ex(A

ssem

blieso

fGod

)851

748

653

320

30

03

80Some

Chris

tianVillage

Presbyteria

nCh

urch

825

708

637

176

12

02

774

Minim

alCh

urch

ofPentecost

971

83725

5068

197

18

92Sign

ificant

Chris

tApo

stolic

Church

945

914

835

2785

1364

221

894

Sign

ificant

Evangelistic

Fire

Ministrie

sInternatio

nal

932

825

727

2065

176

18

881

Sign

ificant

ZongoLaka

Grace

ChapelInternational

873

725

625

531

18

02

822

Some

Roman

Dow

nCh

urch

ofPentecost

824

649

616

172

03

01

774

Minim

alStA

ugustin

eCatho

licCh

urch

809

739

64122

24

02

758

Minim

alCh

ristA

posto

licCh

urch

100

851

731

9882

320

20

949

Sign

ificant

Jeric

hoCh

urch

ofPentecost

857

712

637

367

13

02

806

Some

Church

ofCh

rist

823

752

648

168

243

03

772

Minim

alCh

ristA

posto

licCh

urch

943

839

744

266

209

270

892

Sign

ificant

Equivalent

noise

expo

sure

level

986

882

777

73278

63310

5210

lowast

Measurementtim

eper

locatio

nis30

minutes

andtotalexp

osuretim

eis115

hoursfor

thec

hurches

Scientifica 9

Table 5 Night-time exposure classes

Noise range (dB(A)) Exposure class818ndash848 Low848ndash872 Moderately high872ndash899 High899ndash926 Very high926ndash953 Extremely high

neighbourhoodMarket Square and Taboo Line areas had thelowest and highest night-time noise exposure respectively(Table 4)

32 Distribution of Night-Time Noise Exposure in the UrbanNeighbourhoods Table 5 shows the classification scheme fornight-time noise exposure in the study area Religious noiseexposure up to 848 db(A) is regarded as low whereas expo-sure above 926 db(A) is considered extremely high

As observed in Figure 2 none of the communities waswithin the low noise exposure class A major part of NightMarket and small portions of Roman Down and Zongo Lakawere in the moderately high noise exposure class Every partof Jericho major parts of Market Square Zongo Laka andRoman Down and a small portion of Night Market werein the high noise exposure zone Every part of New TownChristian Village Taifa and Taboo Line and a small portionof Market Square were in the very high noise exposure classNone of the communitieswaswithin the extremely high noiseexposure class

4 Discussion

This study measured the levels of religious noise producedin the Ashaiman Municipality a rapidly growing urbanenvironment in Ghana constructed a night-time noise mapindicating the distribution of exposure in residential neigh-bourhoods of the Ashaiman Municipality and assessed therisk of religious noise-induced hearing loss to residents inthe exposed neighbourhoods In this municipality there areseveral worksites for artisanal metal workers in the informalsector These noise-intensity work environments deliver sig-nificant noise to this subset of the people (artisanal metalworkers) living in these neighbourhoods Night-time noiseadds to the daytime noise doseThe results showed that all thetwenty-three churches and six mosques sampled producednight-time noise levels far exceeding the EPArsquos guidelinesstandard of 48 dB(A) for night (2200ndash0600 h) The noisemaps generated also showed that most of the communitieswere exposed to high noise levels due to religious activitiesas most of them were within the extremely high very highand high noise exposure zones Just a few communitieswere within the moderately high zone but none of thecommunities was within the low noise exposure zone Thenight-time noise levels obtained in this study are comparableto the observations of Armah et al [9] in the Cape CoastMetropolis However the latter study did not control forbackground noise

Themagnitude of the figure for night-time noise exposureis striking particularly given that excessive night-time noiseexposure has the greatest detrimental effect on public healthIf the foregoing exposure levels were extrapolated for theentire Accra and Tema areas it quickly becomes obvious thatthemagnitude of the problem is considerableThe impact thatthese levels of exposure are having on individual health andthe quality of life as well as the economic impact in terms ofreduced productively of residents is likely to be considerablealso

Interestingly there was no statistically significant rela-tionship between neighbourhoods where religious noiseexposure was the highest and where noise annoyance wasthe highest This finding supports the results Armah et al [9]obtained in the Cape Coast Metropolis of Ghana The degreeof annoyance produced by noise may vary with the time ofday the unpleasant characteristics of the noise the durationand intensity of the noise the meaning associated with itand the nature of the activity that the noise interrupted [20]Annoyance may be influenced by a variety of nonacousticalfactors including individual sensitivity to noise [21] Theseinclude fear of the noise source conviction that noise couldbe reduced by third parties individual sensitivity the degreeto which an individual feels able to control the noise andwhether or not the noise originated from an important eco-nomic activity [20 22] Other less direct effects of annoyanceare disruption of onersquos peace of mind the enjoyment of onersquosproperty and the enjoyment of solitude

Seldom are populations exposed to a single source ofnoise pollutionUsually noise exposure is complex consistingof several simultaneous noise exposures (eg religious airtraffic etc) This means that the noise exposure estimatesin this study could be far less than the expected compositenoise levels In any case there is some level of risk of noise-induced hearing loss as shown in this study and the potentialeffects of exposure cannot be discounted In fact the effectsof noise exposure depend on several factors and the absenceof a clear dose-effect relationship is certainly due to thecomplex interactions of these factors including the noisecharacteristics the individual sensitivity and the context ofthe explored living environment [2] However the amplitudeof the subjective complaints about sleep disturbance seems tohave been increasing during recent yearsThis is supported bythe growing frequency of noise-related complaints receivedby the Ghana EPA in the last few years Unfortunately onlya few epidemiological studies have considered the possi-ble effect of noise exposure (considered globally) togetherwith other environmental factors on the health of exposedpopulations As noted by Fritschi et al [2] no large-scaleepidemiological study focusing on the effect of night-timenoise exposure on health has yet been undertakenThereforeit is necessary to answer some fundamental questions inorder to understand the detrimental effects on health andquality of life in the long-term for night-time noise-exposedpopulations

Continuous high level exposure can lead to aggressionin a hostile angry and helpless population It is often thepopulation with the least income that suffers the most fromnoise in general Future epidemiological noise research will

10 Scientifica

TaifaJericho

New Town

Zongo LakaRoman Down

Taboo Line

Market Square

Christian Village

CommunitiesChurchesMosquesLow

Moderately highHighVery highExtremely high

065 0 0650325

Night Market

(km) N

0∘199840040

998400998400W 0∘199840020

998400998400W0∘299840020

998400998400W 0∘29984000998400998400W 0

∘19984000998400998400W0

∘299840040

998400998400W 0∘099840040

998400998400W

0∘199840040

998400998400W 0∘199840020

998400998400W0∘299840020

998400998400W 0∘29984000998400998400W 0

∘19984000998400998400W0

∘299840040

998400998400W 0∘099840040

998400998400W5∘429984000998400998400N

5∘419984000998400998400N

5∘4199840040998400998400N

5∘4199840020998400998400N

5∘4299840020998400998400N

5∘429984000998400998400N

5∘419984000998400998400N

5∘4199840040998400998400N

5∘4199840020998400998400N

5∘4299840020998400998400N

Figure 2 Noise map for in situ night-time noise levels in churches and mosques

need to focus on vulnerable groups effectmodifiers sensitivehours of the night coping mechanisms differences betweennoise sources possible confounding with air pollution dif-ferences between objective (noise level) and subjective (noiseperception) exposure and multiple exposures (home workand leisure environments)

5 Conclusion

This study shows that night-time exposure to religious noiseis a growing menace in urban residential areas in Ghana Asexpected noise dose for mosques and churches decreasedwith increasing distance from the noise source The magni-tude of the figure for night-time noise exposure is strikingparticularly given that excessive night-time noise exposurehas the greatest detrimental effect on public health Allneighbourhoods where churches are situated had at least onelocation with significant risk of noise-induced hearing lossHowever there was no statistically significant relationshipbetween neighbourhoods where religious noise exposure wasthe highest and where noise annoyance was the highestFurther research is required to focus on long-term effects of

night-time noise exposure of different populations In thiscontext the study of specific subgroups can be consideredto be ldquoat riskrdquo (eg children elderly people self-estimatedsensitive people insomniacs sleep disorder patients andnight worshippers)

Conflict of Interests

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interestsregarding the publication of this paper

Acknowledgments

The authors sincerely thank Mr Mark Kpalega Ghaaton andall respondents for their assistance

References

[1] L Goines and L Hagler ldquoNoise pollution a modern plaguerdquoSouthern Medical Journal vol 100 no 3 pp 287ndash294 2007

[2] L Fritschi L Brown R Kim D Schwela and S Keph-alopolous ldquoBurden of disease from environmental noise

Scientifica 11

quantification of healthy life years lost in Europerdquo 2011httpwwwwhointquantifying ehimpactspublicationse94888en

[3] BGriefahnAMarks and S Robens ldquoNoise emitted from roadrail and air traffic and their effects on sleeprdquo Journal of Soundand Vibration vol 295 no 1-2 pp 129ndash140 2006

[4] W Babisch ldquoNoise and healthrdquo Environmental Health Perspec-tives vol 113 no 1 pp A14ndashA15 2005

[5] J di Nisi A Muzet J Ehrhart and J P Libert ldquoComparison ofcardiovascular responses to noise during waking and sleepingin humansrdquo Sleep vol 13 no 2 pp 108ndash120 1990

[6] N L Carter ldquoTransportation noise sleep and possible after-effectsrdquo Environment International vol 22 no 1 pp 105ndash1161996

[7] E Ohrstrom A Skanberg H Svensson and A Gidlof-Gunnarsson ldquoEffects of road traffic noise and the benefit ofaccess to quietnessrdquo Journal of Sound and Vibration vol 295no 1 pp 40ndash59 2006

[8] A Muzet ldquoEnvironmental noise sleep and healthrdquo SleepMedicine Reviews vol 11 no 2 pp 135ndash142 2007

[9] F A Armah J OOdoi DO Yawson G T Yengoh E K Afrifaand A N Pappoe ldquoMapping of noise risk zones derived fromreligious activities and perceptions in residential neighbour-hoods in the Cape Coast metropolis Ghanardquo EnvironmentalHazards vol 9 no 4 pp 358ndash368 2010

[10] K Asamoah-Gyadu African Charismatics Current Develop-ments within Independent Indigenous Pentecostalism in GhanaBrill Leiden The Netherlands 2005

[11] J K Asamoah-Gyadu ldquoOf faith and visual alertness themessage of ldquomediatizedrdquo religion in an African PentecostalcontextrdquoMaterial Religion vol 1 no 3 pp 336ndash357 2005

[12] M De Witte ldquoAccrarsquos sounds and sacred spacesrdquo InternationalJournal of Urban and Regional Research vol 32 no 3 pp 690ndash709 2008

[13] R Van Dijk ldquoContesting silence the ban on drumming andthe musical politics of Pentecostalism in GhanardquoGhana StudiesReview vol 4 pp 31ndash64 2001

[14] S Knights ldquoSacred space and the city religious buildings andnoise pollutionrdquoHarvard International Law Journal Online vol49 pp 50ndash55 2008

[15] B Berglund T Lindvall and D H Schwela Eds Guidelinesfor Community Noise World Health Organization GenevaSwitzerland 1999

[16] Ashaiman Municipal Assembly (ASHMA) Annual ReportAshaiman Ghana 2011

[17] Australia Victoria Environmental Protection Agency A Guideto The Measurement and Analysis of Noise EPA Publi-cation 2013 httpwwwepavicgovausimmediaPublications280pdf

[18] M E Lutman ldquoWhat is the risk of noise-induced hearing lossat 80 85 90 dB(A) and aboverdquo Occupational Medicine vol 50no 4 pp 274ndash275 2000

[19] P Goovaerts Geostatistics for Natural Resources EvaluationOxford University Press Oxford UK 1997

[20] B Berglund and T Lindvall Eds Community Noise Centerfor Sensory Research Stockholm University and KarolinskaInstitute 1995

[21] R F J Soames ldquoNoise sensitivity as a factor influencing humanreaction to noiserdquoNoise andHealth vol 1 no 3 pp 57ndash68 1999

[22] S A Stansfeld and M P Matheson ldquoNoise pollution non-auditory effects on healthrdquo British Medical Bulletin vol 68 pp243ndash257 2003

[23] WHONight Noise Guidelines for Europe WHORegional Officefor Europe Copenhagen Denmark 2009 httpwwweurowhoint dataassetspdf file001743316E92845pdf

Submit your manuscripts athttpwwwhindawicom

Stem CellsInternational

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

MEDIATORSINFLAMMATION

of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Behavioural Neurology

EndocrinologyInternational Journal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Disease Markers

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

BioMed Research International

OncologyJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

PPAR Research

The Scientific World JournalHindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Immunology ResearchHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Journal of

ObesityJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Computational and Mathematical Methods in Medicine

OphthalmologyJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Diabetes ResearchJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Research and TreatmentAIDS

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Gastroenterology Research and Practice

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Parkinsonrsquos Disease

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Volume 2014Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom

Scientifica 9

Table 5 Night-time exposure classes

Noise range (dB(A)) Exposure class818ndash848 Low848ndash872 Moderately high872ndash899 High899ndash926 Very high926ndash953 Extremely high

neighbourhoodMarket Square and Taboo Line areas had thelowest and highest night-time noise exposure respectively(Table 4)

32 Distribution of Night-Time Noise Exposure in the UrbanNeighbourhoods Table 5 shows the classification scheme fornight-time noise exposure in the study area Religious noiseexposure up to 848 db(A) is regarded as low whereas expo-sure above 926 db(A) is considered extremely high

As observed in Figure 2 none of the communities waswithin the low noise exposure class A major part of NightMarket and small portions of Roman Down and Zongo Lakawere in the moderately high noise exposure class Every partof Jericho major parts of Market Square Zongo Laka andRoman Down and a small portion of Night Market werein the high noise exposure zone Every part of New TownChristian Village Taifa and Taboo Line and a small portionof Market Square were in the very high noise exposure classNone of the communitieswaswithin the extremely high noiseexposure class

4 Discussion

This study measured the levels of religious noise producedin the Ashaiman Municipality a rapidly growing urbanenvironment in Ghana constructed a night-time noise mapindicating the distribution of exposure in residential neigh-bourhoods of the Ashaiman Municipality and assessed therisk of religious noise-induced hearing loss to residents inthe exposed neighbourhoods In this municipality there areseveral worksites for artisanal metal workers in the informalsector These noise-intensity work environments deliver sig-nificant noise to this subset of the people (artisanal metalworkers) living in these neighbourhoods Night-time noiseadds to the daytime noise doseThe results showed that all thetwenty-three churches and six mosques sampled producednight-time noise levels far exceeding the EPArsquos guidelinesstandard of 48 dB(A) for night (2200ndash0600 h) The noisemaps generated also showed that most of the communitieswere exposed to high noise levels due to religious activitiesas most of them were within the extremely high very highand high noise exposure zones Just a few communitieswere within the moderately high zone but none of thecommunities was within the low noise exposure zone Thenight-time noise levels obtained in this study are comparableto the observations of Armah et al [9] in the Cape CoastMetropolis However the latter study did not control forbackground noise

Themagnitude of the figure for night-time noise exposureis striking particularly given that excessive night-time noiseexposure has the greatest detrimental effect on public healthIf the foregoing exposure levels were extrapolated for theentire Accra and Tema areas it quickly becomes obvious thatthemagnitude of the problem is considerableThe impact thatthese levels of exposure are having on individual health andthe quality of life as well as the economic impact in terms ofreduced productively of residents is likely to be considerablealso

Interestingly there was no statistically significant rela-tionship between neighbourhoods where religious noiseexposure was the highest and where noise annoyance wasthe highest This finding supports the results Armah et al [9]obtained in the Cape Coast Metropolis of Ghana The degreeof annoyance produced by noise may vary with the time ofday the unpleasant characteristics of the noise the durationand intensity of the noise the meaning associated with itand the nature of the activity that the noise interrupted [20]Annoyance may be influenced by a variety of nonacousticalfactors including individual sensitivity to noise [21] Theseinclude fear of the noise source conviction that noise couldbe reduced by third parties individual sensitivity the degreeto which an individual feels able to control the noise andwhether or not the noise originated from an important eco-nomic activity [20 22] Other less direct effects of annoyanceare disruption of onersquos peace of mind the enjoyment of onersquosproperty and the enjoyment of solitude

Seldom are populations exposed to a single source ofnoise pollutionUsually noise exposure is complex consistingof several simultaneous noise exposures (eg religious airtraffic etc) This means that the noise exposure estimatesin this study could be far less than the expected compositenoise levels In any case there is some level of risk of noise-induced hearing loss as shown in this study and the potentialeffects of exposure cannot be discounted In fact the effectsof noise exposure depend on several factors and the absenceof a clear dose-effect relationship is certainly due to thecomplex interactions of these factors including the noisecharacteristics the individual sensitivity and the context ofthe explored living environment [2] However the amplitudeof the subjective complaints about sleep disturbance seems tohave been increasing during recent yearsThis is supported bythe growing frequency of noise-related complaints receivedby the Ghana EPA in the last few years Unfortunately onlya few epidemiological studies have considered the possi-ble effect of noise exposure (considered globally) togetherwith other environmental factors on the health of exposedpopulations As noted by Fritschi et al [2] no large-scaleepidemiological study focusing on the effect of night-timenoise exposure on health has yet been undertakenThereforeit is necessary to answer some fundamental questions inorder to understand the detrimental effects on health andquality of life in the long-term for night-time noise-exposedpopulations

Continuous high level exposure can lead to aggressionin a hostile angry and helpless population It is often thepopulation with the least income that suffers the most fromnoise in general Future epidemiological noise research will

10 Scientifica

TaifaJericho

New Town

Zongo LakaRoman Down

Taboo Line

Market Square

Christian Village

CommunitiesChurchesMosquesLow

Moderately highHighVery highExtremely high

065 0 0650325

Night Market

(km) N

0∘199840040

998400998400W 0∘199840020

998400998400W0∘299840020

998400998400W 0∘29984000998400998400W 0

∘19984000998400998400W0

∘299840040

998400998400W 0∘099840040

998400998400W

0∘199840040

998400998400W 0∘199840020

998400998400W0∘299840020

998400998400W 0∘29984000998400998400W 0

∘19984000998400998400W0

∘299840040

998400998400W 0∘099840040

998400998400W5∘429984000998400998400N

5∘419984000998400998400N

5∘4199840040998400998400N

5∘4199840020998400998400N

5∘4299840020998400998400N

5∘429984000998400998400N

5∘419984000998400998400N

5∘4199840040998400998400N

5∘4199840020998400998400N

5∘4299840020998400998400N

Figure 2 Noise map for in situ night-time noise levels in churches and mosques

need to focus on vulnerable groups effectmodifiers sensitivehours of the night coping mechanisms differences betweennoise sources possible confounding with air pollution dif-ferences between objective (noise level) and subjective (noiseperception) exposure and multiple exposures (home workand leisure environments)

5 Conclusion

This study shows that night-time exposure to religious noiseis a growing menace in urban residential areas in Ghana Asexpected noise dose for mosques and churches decreasedwith increasing distance from the noise source The magni-tude of the figure for night-time noise exposure is strikingparticularly given that excessive night-time noise exposurehas the greatest detrimental effect on public health Allneighbourhoods where churches are situated had at least onelocation with significant risk of noise-induced hearing lossHowever there was no statistically significant relationshipbetween neighbourhoods where religious noise exposure wasthe highest and where noise annoyance was the highestFurther research is required to focus on long-term effects of

night-time noise exposure of different populations In thiscontext the study of specific subgroups can be consideredto be ldquoat riskrdquo (eg children elderly people self-estimatedsensitive people insomniacs sleep disorder patients andnight worshippers)

Conflict of Interests

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interestsregarding the publication of this paper

Acknowledgments

The authors sincerely thank Mr Mark Kpalega Ghaaton andall respondents for their assistance

References

[1] L Goines and L Hagler ldquoNoise pollution a modern plaguerdquoSouthern Medical Journal vol 100 no 3 pp 287ndash294 2007

[2] L Fritschi L Brown R Kim D Schwela and S Keph-alopolous ldquoBurden of disease from environmental noise

Scientifica 11

quantification of healthy life years lost in Europerdquo 2011httpwwwwhointquantifying ehimpactspublicationse94888en

[3] BGriefahnAMarks and S Robens ldquoNoise emitted from roadrail and air traffic and their effects on sleeprdquo Journal of Soundand Vibration vol 295 no 1-2 pp 129ndash140 2006

[4] W Babisch ldquoNoise and healthrdquo Environmental Health Perspec-tives vol 113 no 1 pp A14ndashA15 2005

[5] J di Nisi A Muzet J Ehrhart and J P Libert ldquoComparison ofcardiovascular responses to noise during waking and sleepingin humansrdquo Sleep vol 13 no 2 pp 108ndash120 1990

[6] N L Carter ldquoTransportation noise sleep and possible after-effectsrdquo Environment International vol 22 no 1 pp 105ndash1161996

[7] E Ohrstrom A Skanberg H Svensson and A Gidlof-Gunnarsson ldquoEffects of road traffic noise and the benefit ofaccess to quietnessrdquo Journal of Sound and Vibration vol 295no 1 pp 40ndash59 2006

[8] A Muzet ldquoEnvironmental noise sleep and healthrdquo SleepMedicine Reviews vol 11 no 2 pp 135ndash142 2007

[9] F A Armah J OOdoi DO Yawson G T Yengoh E K Afrifaand A N Pappoe ldquoMapping of noise risk zones derived fromreligious activities and perceptions in residential neighbour-hoods in the Cape Coast metropolis Ghanardquo EnvironmentalHazards vol 9 no 4 pp 358ndash368 2010

[10] K Asamoah-Gyadu African Charismatics Current Develop-ments within Independent Indigenous Pentecostalism in GhanaBrill Leiden The Netherlands 2005

[11] J K Asamoah-Gyadu ldquoOf faith and visual alertness themessage of ldquomediatizedrdquo religion in an African PentecostalcontextrdquoMaterial Religion vol 1 no 3 pp 336ndash357 2005

[12] M De Witte ldquoAccrarsquos sounds and sacred spacesrdquo InternationalJournal of Urban and Regional Research vol 32 no 3 pp 690ndash709 2008

[13] R Van Dijk ldquoContesting silence the ban on drumming andthe musical politics of Pentecostalism in GhanardquoGhana StudiesReview vol 4 pp 31ndash64 2001

[14] S Knights ldquoSacred space and the city religious buildings andnoise pollutionrdquoHarvard International Law Journal Online vol49 pp 50ndash55 2008

[15] B Berglund T Lindvall and D H Schwela Eds Guidelinesfor Community Noise World Health Organization GenevaSwitzerland 1999

[16] Ashaiman Municipal Assembly (ASHMA) Annual ReportAshaiman Ghana 2011

[17] Australia Victoria Environmental Protection Agency A Guideto The Measurement and Analysis of Noise EPA Publi-cation 2013 httpwwwepavicgovausimmediaPublications280pdf

[18] M E Lutman ldquoWhat is the risk of noise-induced hearing lossat 80 85 90 dB(A) and aboverdquo Occupational Medicine vol 50no 4 pp 274ndash275 2000

[19] P Goovaerts Geostatistics for Natural Resources EvaluationOxford University Press Oxford UK 1997

[20] B Berglund and T Lindvall Eds Community Noise Centerfor Sensory Research Stockholm University and KarolinskaInstitute 1995

[21] R F J Soames ldquoNoise sensitivity as a factor influencing humanreaction to noiserdquoNoise andHealth vol 1 no 3 pp 57ndash68 1999

[22] S A Stansfeld and M P Matheson ldquoNoise pollution non-auditory effects on healthrdquo British Medical Bulletin vol 68 pp243ndash257 2003

[23] WHONight Noise Guidelines for Europe WHORegional Officefor Europe Copenhagen Denmark 2009 httpwwweurowhoint dataassetspdf file001743316E92845pdf

Submit your manuscripts athttpwwwhindawicom

Stem CellsInternational

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

MEDIATORSINFLAMMATION

of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Behavioural Neurology

EndocrinologyInternational Journal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Disease Markers

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

BioMed Research International

OncologyJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

PPAR Research

The Scientific World JournalHindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Immunology ResearchHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Journal of

ObesityJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Computational and Mathematical Methods in Medicine

OphthalmologyJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Diabetes ResearchJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Research and TreatmentAIDS

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Gastroenterology Research and Practice

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Parkinsonrsquos Disease

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Volume 2014Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom

10 Scientifica

TaifaJericho

New Town

Zongo LakaRoman Down

Taboo Line

Market Square

Christian Village

CommunitiesChurchesMosquesLow

Moderately highHighVery highExtremely high

065 0 0650325

Night Market

(km) N

0∘199840040

998400998400W 0∘199840020

998400998400W0∘299840020

998400998400W 0∘29984000998400998400W 0

∘19984000998400998400W0

∘299840040

998400998400W 0∘099840040

998400998400W

0∘199840040

998400998400W 0∘199840020

998400998400W0∘299840020

998400998400W 0∘29984000998400998400W 0

∘19984000998400998400W0

∘299840040

998400998400W 0∘099840040

998400998400W5∘429984000998400998400N

5∘419984000998400998400N

5∘4199840040998400998400N

5∘4199840020998400998400N

5∘4299840020998400998400N

5∘429984000998400998400N

5∘419984000998400998400N

5∘4199840040998400998400N

5∘4199840020998400998400N

5∘4299840020998400998400N

Figure 2 Noise map for in situ night-time noise levels in churches and mosques

need to focus on vulnerable groups effectmodifiers sensitivehours of the night coping mechanisms differences betweennoise sources possible confounding with air pollution dif-ferences between objective (noise level) and subjective (noiseperception) exposure and multiple exposures (home workand leisure environments)

5 Conclusion

This study shows that night-time exposure to religious noiseis a growing menace in urban residential areas in Ghana Asexpected noise dose for mosques and churches decreasedwith increasing distance from the noise source The magni-tude of the figure for night-time noise exposure is strikingparticularly given that excessive night-time noise exposurehas the greatest detrimental effect on public health Allneighbourhoods where churches are situated had at least onelocation with significant risk of noise-induced hearing lossHowever there was no statistically significant relationshipbetween neighbourhoods where religious noise exposure wasthe highest and where noise annoyance was the highestFurther research is required to focus on long-term effects of

night-time noise exposure of different populations In thiscontext the study of specific subgroups can be consideredto be ldquoat riskrdquo (eg children elderly people self-estimatedsensitive people insomniacs sleep disorder patients andnight worshippers)

Conflict of Interests

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interestsregarding the publication of this paper

Acknowledgments

The authors sincerely thank Mr Mark Kpalega Ghaaton andall respondents for their assistance

References

[1] L Goines and L Hagler ldquoNoise pollution a modern plaguerdquoSouthern Medical Journal vol 100 no 3 pp 287ndash294 2007

[2] L Fritschi L Brown R Kim D Schwela and S Keph-alopolous ldquoBurden of disease from environmental noise

Scientifica 11

quantification of healthy life years lost in Europerdquo 2011httpwwwwhointquantifying ehimpactspublicationse94888en

[3] BGriefahnAMarks and S Robens ldquoNoise emitted from roadrail and air traffic and their effects on sleeprdquo Journal of Soundand Vibration vol 295 no 1-2 pp 129ndash140 2006

[4] W Babisch ldquoNoise and healthrdquo Environmental Health Perspec-tives vol 113 no 1 pp A14ndashA15 2005

[5] J di Nisi A Muzet J Ehrhart and J P Libert ldquoComparison ofcardiovascular responses to noise during waking and sleepingin humansrdquo Sleep vol 13 no 2 pp 108ndash120 1990

[6] N L Carter ldquoTransportation noise sleep and possible after-effectsrdquo Environment International vol 22 no 1 pp 105ndash1161996

[7] E Ohrstrom A Skanberg H Svensson and A Gidlof-Gunnarsson ldquoEffects of road traffic noise and the benefit ofaccess to quietnessrdquo Journal of Sound and Vibration vol 295no 1 pp 40ndash59 2006

[8] A Muzet ldquoEnvironmental noise sleep and healthrdquo SleepMedicine Reviews vol 11 no 2 pp 135ndash142 2007

[9] F A Armah J OOdoi DO Yawson G T Yengoh E K Afrifaand A N Pappoe ldquoMapping of noise risk zones derived fromreligious activities and perceptions in residential neighbour-hoods in the Cape Coast metropolis Ghanardquo EnvironmentalHazards vol 9 no 4 pp 358ndash368 2010

[10] K Asamoah-Gyadu African Charismatics Current Develop-ments within Independent Indigenous Pentecostalism in GhanaBrill Leiden The Netherlands 2005

[11] J K Asamoah-Gyadu ldquoOf faith and visual alertness themessage of ldquomediatizedrdquo religion in an African PentecostalcontextrdquoMaterial Religion vol 1 no 3 pp 336ndash357 2005

[12] M De Witte ldquoAccrarsquos sounds and sacred spacesrdquo InternationalJournal of Urban and Regional Research vol 32 no 3 pp 690ndash709 2008

[13] R Van Dijk ldquoContesting silence the ban on drumming andthe musical politics of Pentecostalism in GhanardquoGhana StudiesReview vol 4 pp 31ndash64 2001

[14] S Knights ldquoSacred space and the city religious buildings andnoise pollutionrdquoHarvard International Law Journal Online vol49 pp 50ndash55 2008

[15] B Berglund T Lindvall and D H Schwela Eds Guidelinesfor Community Noise World Health Organization GenevaSwitzerland 1999

[16] Ashaiman Municipal Assembly (ASHMA) Annual ReportAshaiman Ghana 2011

[17] Australia Victoria Environmental Protection Agency A Guideto The Measurement and Analysis of Noise EPA Publi-cation 2013 httpwwwepavicgovausimmediaPublications280pdf

[18] M E Lutman ldquoWhat is the risk of noise-induced hearing lossat 80 85 90 dB(A) and aboverdquo Occupational Medicine vol 50no 4 pp 274ndash275 2000

[19] P Goovaerts Geostatistics for Natural Resources EvaluationOxford University Press Oxford UK 1997

[20] B Berglund and T Lindvall Eds Community Noise Centerfor Sensory Research Stockholm University and KarolinskaInstitute 1995

[21] R F J Soames ldquoNoise sensitivity as a factor influencing humanreaction to noiserdquoNoise andHealth vol 1 no 3 pp 57ndash68 1999

[22] S A Stansfeld and M P Matheson ldquoNoise pollution non-auditory effects on healthrdquo British Medical Bulletin vol 68 pp243ndash257 2003

[23] WHONight Noise Guidelines for Europe WHORegional Officefor Europe Copenhagen Denmark 2009 httpwwweurowhoint dataassetspdf file001743316E92845pdf

Submit your manuscripts athttpwwwhindawicom

Stem CellsInternational

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

MEDIATORSINFLAMMATION

of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Behavioural Neurology

EndocrinologyInternational Journal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Disease Markers

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

BioMed Research International

OncologyJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

PPAR Research

The Scientific World JournalHindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Immunology ResearchHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Journal of

ObesityJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Computational and Mathematical Methods in Medicine

OphthalmologyJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Diabetes ResearchJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Research and TreatmentAIDS

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Gastroenterology Research and Practice

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Parkinsonrsquos Disease

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Volume 2014Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom

Scientifica 11

quantification of healthy life years lost in Europerdquo 2011httpwwwwhointquantifying ehimpactspublicationse94888en

[3] BGriefahnAMarks and S Robens ldquoNoise emitted from roadrail and air traffic and their effects on sleeprdquo Journal of Soundand Vibration vol 295 no 1-2 pp 129ndash140 2006

[4] W Babisch ldquoNoise and healthrdquo Environmental Health Perspec-tives vol 113 no 1 pp A14ndashA15 2005

[5] J di Nisi A Muzet J Ehrhart and J P Libert ldquoComparison ofcardiovascular responses to noise during waking and sleepingin humansrdquo Sleep vol 13 no 2 pp 108ndash120 1990

[6] N L Carter ldquoTransportation noise sleep and possible after-effectsrdquo Environment International vol 22 no 1 pp 105ndash1161996

[7] E Ohrstrom A Skanberg H Svensson and A Gidlof-Gunnarsson ldquoEffects of road traffic noise and the benefit ofaccess to quietnessrdquo Journal of Sound and Vibration vol 295no 1 pp 40ndash59 2006

[8] A Muzet ldquoEnvironmental noise sleep and healthrdquo SleepMedicine Reviews vol 11 no 2 pp 135ndash142 2007

[9] F A Armah J OOdoi DO Yawson G T Yengoh E K Afrifaand A N Pappoe ldquoMapping of noise risk zones derived fromreligious activities and perceptions in residential neighbour-hoods in the Cape Coast metropolis Ghanardquo EnvironmentalHazards vol 9 no 4 pp 358ndash368 2010

[10] K Asamoah-Gyadu African Charismatics Current Develop-ments within Independent Indigenous Pentecostalism in GhanaBrill Leiden The Netherlands 2005

[11] J K Asamoah-Gyadu ldquoOf faith and visual alertness themessage of ldquomediatizedrdquo religion in an African PentecostalcontextrdquoMaterial Religion vol 1 no 3 pp 336ndash357 2005

[12] M De Witte ldquoAccrarsquos sounds and sacred spacesrdquo InternationalJournal of Urban and Regional Research vol 32 no 3 pp 690ndash709 2008

[13] R Van Dijk ldquoContesting silence the ban on drumming andthe musical politics of Pentecostalism in GhanardquoGhana StudiesReview vol 4 pp 31ndash64 2001

[14] S Knights ldquoSacred space and the city religious buildings andnoise pollutionrdquoHarvard International Law Journal Online vol49 pp 50ndash55 2008

[15] B Berglund T Lindvall and D H Schwela Eds Guidelinesfor Community Noise World Health Organization GenevaSwitzerland 1999

[16] Ashaiman Municipal Assembly (ASHMA) Annual ReportAshaiman Ghana 2011

[17] Australia Victoria Environmental Protection Agency A Guideto The Measurement and Analysis of Noise EPA Publi-cation 2013 httpwwwepavicgovausimmediaPublications280pdf

[18] M E Lutman ldquoWhat is the risk of noise-induced hearing lossat 80 85 90 dB(A) and aboverdquo Occupational Medicine vol 50no 4 pp 274ndash275 2000

[19] P Goovaerts Geostatistics for Natural Resources EvaluationOxford University Press Oxford UK 1997

[20] B Berglund and T Lindvall Eds Community Noise Centerfor Sensory Research Stockholm University and KarolinskaInstitute 1995

[21] R F J Soames ldquoNoise sensitivity as a factor influencing humanreaction to noiserdquoNoise andHealth vol 1 no 3 pp 57ndash68 1999

[22] S A Stansfeld and M P Matheson ldquoNoise pollution non-auditory effects on healthrdquo British Medical Bulletin vol 68 pp243ndash257 2003

[23] WHONight Noise Guidelines for Europe WHORegional Officefor Europe Copenhagen Denmark 2009 httpwwweurowhoint dataassetspdf file001743316E92845pdf

Submit your manuscripts athttpwwwhindawicom

Stem CellsInternational

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

MEDIATORSINFLAMMATION

of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Behavioural Neurology

EndocrinologyInternational Journal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Disease Markers

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

BioMed Research International

OncologyJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

PPAR Research

The Scientific World JournalHindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Immunology ResearchHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Journal of

ObesityJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Computational and Mathematical Methods in Medicine

OphthalmologyJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Diabetes ResearchJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Research and TreatmentAIDS

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Gastroenterology Research and Practice

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Parkinsonrsquos Disease

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Volume 2014Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom

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Research and TreatmentAIDS

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Gastroenterology Research and Practice

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Parkinsonrsquos Disease

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Volume 2014Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom