Health implications of timber processing plant noise on workers and the environment in Ikot Ekpene metropolis, Akwa Ibom State, Southern Nigeria

Veronica Mkpouto Akpan¹ , Aniefiok Otu Akpan² , Nsikak Edet Ekpenyong³

1. Dept. of Physics, Akwa Ibom State University, Mkpat Enin, Nigeria.
2. Dept. of Physics, Akwa Ibom State University, Mkpat Enin, Nigeria.
3. Dept. of Physics, Akwa Ibom State University, Mkpat Enin, Nigeria.

Section:Research Paper, Product Type: Journal-Paper
Vol.11 , Issue.1 , pp.77-85, Jan-2025

Online published on Jan 31, 2025

Copyright © Veronica Mkpouto Akpan, Aniefiok Otu Akpan, Nsikak Edet Ekpenyong . This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
 

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Abstract :
This research was designed to examine the health implications of noise produced by timber processing plants on workers and environment in Ikot Ekpene metropolis, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. The study locations were Ibiakpan, Uruk Uso, Urua Aran, and Utu and at each of them, three samples of table saw, surface planer, carving machine, and curving machine were surveyed. Noise levels were measured under unloading and loading conditions using sound level meter at distances ranging from 1m to 10m from each of the wood processing plants. Also, validated questionnaires were administered alongside semi-structured interviews granted to the workers and plant managers for the purpose of acquiring qualitative data on the health implications resulting from exposure to the noise. The data obtained from the study were analyzed and interpreted. It was found that higher noise levels were possibly generated by the plants under loading condition compared to no-load situation and the noise-distance relationships typified an exponential decay. The results generally revealed that, even at a distance of 10m from the surface planer and carving machine under loading condition of operation, 70 dB recommended as maximum noise level for exposure by humans was exceeded but at least 8m could be safe in other cases of the equipment applications and for both operational situations. More so, the identified noise-induced health challenges and their highest occurrences were hearing loss (39.1%), sleep disturbance (67.9%), increased stress (76.2%), and concentration loss (66.7%). These findings suggest the need for improved noise management strategies in the timber processing facilities

Key-Words / Index Term :
GPS Coordinates, Hearing loss, Noise level, Relative humidity, Sound level meter

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