ASSESSMENT OF NOISE POLLUTION LEVEL FROM VARIOUS SOURCES AND AT DIFFERENT LOCATIONS: THE CASE OF URBAN AREAS OF DIRE DAWA CITY ADMINISTRATION

Abstract

Noise generally is known as unwanted sound, which can adversely impact the quality of life in urban areas across the globe. In Dire Dawa, which is one among the major industrial cities in Ethiopia, there are several indicators that noise pollution is really a problem. The purpose of this thesis was to assess noise pollution level from various sources at 12 different purposely selected urban locations of Dire Dawa city. In this study, the continuous noise monitoring was carried out for 2-3 times per day during two consecutive days at each locations under four zones viz. Residential, Silent, Commercial and Industrial zone during winter season of 2020. Noise pollution indices viz. L10, L50, L90, noise climate (NC), equivalent continuous noise level (Leq), noise pollution level (LNP) and traffic noise index (TNI) were computed for all zone areas. Both descriptive and inferential statistics was used for the analysis of the data obtained through digital sound level meter and analyzed using a one way ANOVA. The results of the analysis revealed that in all selected locations under each zone, the recorded noise pollution level values were above the standard permissible limits 45, 55, 65 and 75 dB(A) near Silent, Residential, Commercial and Industrial zone, respectively as laid down by WHO. Moreover, comparison analysis indicated that there is statistically significant difference in noise pollution level among the four zones as well as within locations. The result further revealed that the noise level was higher at industrial and followed by commercial zones compared to residential and silent zones. The major sources of noise pollution in these zones were high volume traffic flow, workshop machinery activities, vehicle horn, commercial activities, use of loud speakers from religious centers. Based on the results of this study, it was recommended that the precautionary measures should be implemented by local government to prevent or abate the alarming condition of noise pollution in Dire Dawa city in order to save people from the health risk of noise pollution.