Monitoring noise level in cities: A step towards urban environmental quality management in Nigeria

Noise as an undesirable sound within non-occupational settings is one of the several identified environmental problems across the world. It is an increasing common feature of urban areas attributable to road, rail, and air traffic sources as well as construction and industrial activities, commercial enterprise, and such familiar domestic sources as pets and radios/stereos from residential neighborhood. Noise is a major pollution which constitutes nuisances and health related consequences of significant negative impacts on the physical, social, physiological and psychological wellbeing of man or animals. It is notably evident that increased activities from industrialization and technological transfers/drifts are the bedrock of urban noise in majority of our rapid growing cities at present. At the instance of sufficient evidence that noise aggravates chronic illnesses like hypertension and other cardiopulmonary diseases, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Federal Environment Protection Agency (FEPA) (Nigeria) has strategically set standards and limits of allowable noise levels which unfortunately is not implemented and enforced in most cities, thereby leading to urban quality deterioration. Noise pollution occurs when it is observed that standards are exceeded, therefore concerted efforts in monitoring and regulating our environmental noise is recommended to avert the scourge of further debasement of environmental quality in our cities.