Industrial noise pollution and its effects on the hearing capabilities of workers: a study from sawmills, printing presses and cornmills in Kumasi, Ghana
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Date
2002-11-29
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Abstract
The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of industrial noise exposure on workers’ hearing sensitivity. Specifically, three different industries in Kumasi were studied, namely: sawmills, corn mills and printing presses.
The procedure adopted included noise measurements, otoscopy, audiometric evaluation and analysis of the following parameters: age, duration of exposure, and assessment of individual medical history. Data were collected using sound-level meter, otoscope, pure- tone audiometer and structured interview questionnaire.
Workers in both the corn mills and sawmills were found to be exposed to hazardous noise. Printers were however, found to be exposed to permissible noise levels. It was also found that 20.5%, 23.0% and 7.9% of the workers in the sawmills, corn mills and the printing press respectively were found to have evidence of noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL). The proportion of workers with NIHL in both the sawmills and corn mills was significantly higher than that in the control group, but not in the printing press. Again, highly significant correlation was also found between noise exposure level, exposure time and the development of NIHL in both the saw millers and corn millers but not in printers. Hearing impairment was also observed at the speech frequencies among some of the workers exposed to hazardous noise.
These findings suggest that extended and be more specific intervention is required to protect workers exposed to such hazards at work places.
Description
A thesis submitted to the Board of Postgraduate Studies,
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in partial
fulfilment of the requirements for the award of Master of Science degree in Environmental Science, 2002