Investigation of environmental noise level status in Oshodi/ Isolo local government of Lagos State, Nigeria

Noise is a public nuisance which can result to adverse health effects. This work was carried out to investigate the environmental noise level status in Oshodi/Isolo Local Government of Lagos State, Nigeria. 10 different locations were selected in each of educational, industrial, traffic, commercial and residential areas which were coded EA – EJ, IA – IJ, TA – TJ, CA – CJ and RA – RJ respectively. All the chosen locations were coordinated using handheld Global Positioning System (GPS) for the purpose of universal identification. Noise level were measured in each of the selected locations using sound level meter (SLM) in the morning (7 – 9 a.m), afternoon (12 – 2 p.m) and evening (4 – 6 p.m). The results revealed that the noise level in educational areas ranged between 67.90 and 79.90 dB, between 50.70 and 72.30 dB and between 51.70 and 72.30 dB for morning, afternoon and evening respectively while the industrial areas varied between 70.20 and 77.40 dB, between 70.30 and 72.90 dB and between 70.20 and 76.40 dB for morning, afternoon and evening respectively. The noise level in traffic areas ranged between 70.80 and 90.30 dB, between 70.70 and 79.70 dB and between 67.50 and 77.90 dB for morning, afternoon and evening respectively while the commercial areas varied between 68.50 and 88.80 dB, between 73.20 and 78.90 dB and between 70.80 and 78.30 dB for morning, afternoon and evening respectively. The noise level for residential areas ranged between 68.77 and 77.20 dB, between 69.70 and 71.60 dB and between 68.20 and 72.20 dB for morning, afternoon and evening respectively. The threshold limits by National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) for noise level in educational, residential, commercial, industrial and traffic areas are 45, 50, 55, 70 and 80 dB respectively while Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA) threshold limits are 55, 70 and 90 dB for residential, commercial and industrial areas respectively. These indicated that the noise level in the investigated areas exceeded the NESREA and LASEPA standard limits for noise level. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed that at 5 percent significant level, there was no statistical difference in the mean noise level in all the investigated areas. It was concluded that Oshodi/Isolo Local Government of Lagos State was polluted and the relevant authorities need to be proactive and take urgent steps to minimize the level of noise pollution in Oshodi/Isolo Local Government of Lagos State.