Global Health Journal 6 (2022) 19–29

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Global Health Journal

journal homepage: https://www.keaipublishing.com/en/journals/global-health-journal/

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Assessment of health impacts of noise pollution in the Tarkwa Mining

Community of Ghana using noise mapping techniques
Peter Ekow Baffoe a,∗, Alfred Allan Duker b, Efiba Vidda Senkyire-Kwarteng b
a
Department of Geomatic Engineering, Faculty of Mineral Resources and Technology, University of Mines and Technology, Tarkwa, Western Region, Ghana
b
Department of Geomatic Engineering, College of Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ashanti Region, Ghana

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t
Article history: Background: Noise pollution is increasing across the world due to the increase in human activities in the urban
Received 7 August 2021 areas. The main causes of noise pollution are man-made and environmental noise. However, long exposure to
Received in revised form 6 January 2022
noise pollution could lead to dire health consequences like cardiovascular diseases, hearing impairment, sleep
Accepted 17 January 2022
disturbances, and adverse social behavior etc., which is rarely documented in the study area.
Available online 19 January 2022
Objective: Communities in the developing countries such as Ghana have little knowledge of effects of noise
Keywords: pollution on human health, which is demonstrated by their attitude towards this menace. This study assessed the
Health impacts health impacts of noise pollution and its spatial distribution in the Tarkwa Mining Community (TMC) of Ghana.
Noise
Methods: To achieve the study objective, questionnaires were administered; as well as collation of health data from
Noise pollution
major health centers in the study area. Noise levels were measured and noise map produced using geographic
Noise mapping
information system (GIS) techniques. Overlay maps of some diseases were done using overlay techniques in
GIS. The noise exposure and corresponding noise doses for churches, working sites and social centers were also
calculated using the respective formulae.
Results: The noise levels were found to be high above the prescribed Ghana Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) standards, with traffic noise levels ranging from 65.00 dBA to 98 dBA, while that of churches ranged from
73.10 dBA to 107.00 dBA and that of working sites from 74.4 dBA to 115.2 dBA. The calculated noise exposure
and corresponding noise dose for churches ranged from 75.1 dBA to 104.6 dBA (i.e., 10%‒8 000%), while that
for workers’ sites were from 75.8 dBA to 115 dBA (i.e., 12%‒90 000%). Statistical regression and correlation
analyses were done for diseases such as hypertension, ear problems and sleep disturbances.
Conclusion: The study has therefore revealed that the noise levels in the study area are very high and correspond-
ing health impacts are prominent. Stakeholders and authorities should devise mitigating measures to combat
this rising menace. The results revealed a strong positive correlation between noise and corresponding health
impacts. Despite the positive correlation there are other causes and effects to the mentioned diseases.

1. Introduction and annoyance reactions.3 These aforementioned health impact asser-

Studies show that noise level of over 60 dBA can affect the physical
and psychological health of humans.1 Moreover, some studies also pre-
dict that noise levels in some areas, especially in the developing coun-
tries, could go as high as 90 dBA and even to 110 dBA.1-2 Therefore,
Health and Safety regulations are becoming more stringent worldwide
to prevent noise pollution and damage to health. This is because long
exposure to excessive noise influences the environment and the quality
of life or the health of human beings. The adverse health effects of exces-
sive noise include hearing impairment, sleep disturbances, interference
with spoken communication, cardiovascular problems, disturbances in
mental health, impaired work performance, negative social behavior,
tions have been confirmed by other scholars.1-5
Noise mapping is viewed as an important tool when assessing the
level of noise pollution for planning purposes, policy making and miti-
gating.6-8 Noise maps are generally used to locate areas of higher noise
levels and can be linked to population data to estimate the number of
people that are affected. These maps can also be used to produce noise
action plans to manage noise and reduce noise levels where appropriate
as well as graphically represent changes over time. Studies associated to
noise mapping have been conducted by several researchers in different
parts of the world.9-10
Some of the applications aimed at curbing the harmful effect of
this menace are technical planning, behavioral studies, and educational

∗
Corresponding author: pebaffoe@umat.edu.gh.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.glohj.2022.01.005
2414-6447/Copyright © 2022 People’s Medical Publishing House Co. Ltd. Publishing service by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of KeAi Communications Co. Ltd. This is an
open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Baffoe PE, Duker AA and Senkyire-Kwarteng EV
strategies.11 The educational strategies are some of the most important
since they raise awareness of the citizenry to the effect and impacts of
noise pollution in the communities. It also helps to reduce noise emis-
sion in all circumstances in the society.
Health effects of noise pollution cannot be over-emphasized in ur-
ban communities; therefore, many researchers have worked studiously
on that. However, majority of the authors worked on the clinical point
of view and most of the time not connected to the mining communities
which have their own peculiar characteristics.1-5 , 12-14 Besides, the con-
trol of noise pollution and its impacts on mining communities, especially
areas similar to the study area, are fraught with insufficient knowledge
of noise levels and its health consequences. This study was carried out
to evaluate the ambient noise levels and its potential health impacts in
the Tarkwa Mining Community (TMC) of Ghana.
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Study area
TMC is an area on the south-western part of Ghana and is the ad-
ministrative stretch of Tarkwa Nsuaem Municipality. It is an old mining
town and is well noted for the mining of minerals such as gold and
manganese. There are prominent mining and allied companies in the
study area including Gold Fields Ghana Ltd., AngloGold Ashanti Ltd.
and Ghana Manganese Company Ltd. It is noteworthy that several small-
scale mining activities are carried out within the TMC. In terms of in-
frastructural development, Tarkwa in recent years has seen an increas-
ing trend in areas such as roads, health, education, industry, banking,
hospitality services and private business development.15
The location of TMC makes transportation of goods and services to
and fro within Tarkwa easily and encourages inter districts trade. The
features of the study location help boost economic activities which in
Fig. 1. Tarkwa Mining Community.
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Global Health Journal 6 (2022) 19–29
turn lead to an increase in per capita income of people in the munici-
pality. Fig. 1 shows a map of the TMC.
2.2. Materials
The materials used to quantify the ambient noise levels in the TMC
include a calibrated Larson Davis’ SoundTrack LxT Sound Level Meter, a
Garmin 60CSx handheld GPS receiver and a surveyor’s measuring tape.
Easy GPS software, was used to download field data from the handheld
GPS receiver and the DNRGarmin was also used for converting the data
into the local grid coordinates system. The ESRI’s ArcGIS 10.1 software
was used for the plotting of the data and mapping of the various posi-
tions and noise levels as determined in the research.
Digital map (vector data) of the study area was obtained from the
Remote Sensing and GIS Section of Geomatic Engineering Department of
University of Mines and Technology, Tarkwa, Ghana. The digital map
data was then validated using the handheld Garmin GPS. Population
census and population density data were obtained from the Statistical
Department (Takoradi, Western Region of Ghana) and the number of
vehicles in the community was obtained from the Drivers and Vehicle
Licensing Authority Section of the Tarkwa Nsuaem Municipal Assembly.
The average vehicles per hour were obtained by street counting and the
average speed was measured using vehicular speedometer.
2.3. Methods
2.3.1. Selection of churches and working sites
The study was carried out in suburbs uniformly distributed in the
TMC where the density of places of worship is high. The criteria of se-
lection were based on density of places of worship, human density and
distribution and location. The churches for example, were selected by
purposive sampling technique and it was based on three main criteria.
Firstly, the church should be either Orthodox, Pentecostal or Charis-
Baffoe PE, Duker AA and Senkyire-Kwarteng EV
matic; secondly, the physical structure should be standard and perma-
nent not temporal, this will help for future reference; and thirdly, should
be registered and be operating for more than five years.
The selection of the small-scale mining sites was of similar criteria.
The sites selected were based on the fact that they were legally registered
and have permanent working sites. Other factors include their locations,
distribution and total number of working in the sites.
2.3.2. Collection and processing of data
The spatial coordinates of all monitoring stations and selected fa-
cilities in the study area were measured using handheld Garmin GPS
receiver. The validation of the digital map (vector data) obtained for
this study, was done using the data captured with the handheld GPS.
Here, positions of features found on the map were then compared to the
ground truth data. A total of 23 ground truth locations were observed.
The measurements of the outdoor noise levels were done using the
calibrated Larson Davis’s SoundTrack LxT Sound Level Meter. Measure-
ments were taken at street level (at major street junctions, round-about,
and passenger loading stations). Workplaces such as small-scale min-
ing sites, sawmills, and workshops as well as social gatherings (e.g.,
churches, restaurants and bars) were selected for the noise monitoring.
The noise level measurements in this study were carried out in the morn-
ing (6:00 to 10:00 am), afternoon (12:00 to 2:00 pm) and evening (6:00
to 11:00 pm). The mapping of the noise levels was done using the uni-
versal krigging techniques as applied in ArcGIS.
Health and Safety Regulations (e.g., Environmental Protection Agency
ACT, 1994 (ACT 490)), require that the noise exposure be reported for
all staff exposed to noise levels exceeding the standard noise level for
workers. Therefore, the noise exposure and noise dose were calculated
for the time of exposure and the dose associated with them using the
proceeding equations. The equivalent sound exposure level (Lex ) is the
energy-averaged noise exposure level over 8 h. It is closely related to the
equivalent continuous sound pressure level (Leq) which was measured
in the field.
Noise dose is another measure of noise exposure given in terms of
a value relative to unity or 100% of the noise exposure. It is another
single descriptor for noise exposure. However, noise exposure Lex , of
noise level of 85 dBA for 8 h is equal to 100% noise dose. The formulae
for calculating the noise exposure and noise dose are presented in the
Eqs. (1) to (4).16-17
2.3.3. Formulae for Leq , Lex , time and noise dose
( )
𝐷𝑜𝑠𝑒 = 100 × 𝑇 ∕8 × 10 𝐿𝑒𝑞 − 85 ∕10% (1)
𝐿𝑒𝑞 = 10log10 {(𝐷𝑜𝑠𝑒∕100) × (8∕𝑇 )} + 85𝑑𝐵𝐴 (2)
𝐿𝑒𝑥 = 10log10 {𝐷𝑜𝑠𝑒∕100} + 85𝑑𝐵𝐴
(3)
𝐿𝑒𝑥 = 10log10 {𝑇 ∕8} + 85𝑑𝐵𝐴 (4)
Where Dose is a noise exposure dose (in%, acquired in T hours); Leq
is A-weighted, sound level linearly energy averaged over T hours; Lex is
sound exposure level, A-weighted, sound level linearly energy averaged
over 8 hours; T is the sampling time (in hours, of the measurement).
In the UK and the USA, the standard noise level in a working en-
vironment is 85 dBA.18 If the noise limit is 85 dBA and a person is
exposed to a constant or equivalent sound pressure level of 85 dBA for
8 hours, then the result is a 100% noise dose. International Organization
for Standardization (ISO) uses an energy-based average for noise dose
calculation, basing on 3 dB exchange rate. This means that a noise level
of 88 dBA has twice energy as much as a level of 85 dBA. Therefore,
if 85 dBA = 100% dose for 8 hours’ exposure, then 88 dBA = 200%
dose exposure, so only a maximum of 4 hours is allowed per shift. This
principle was adopted in this study since there is none applied in the
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Global Health Journal 6 (2022) 19–29
working area. These brought about insights into health consequences of
excessive noise levels in the study area as well as its implications.
To understand the impacts of noise pollution, a study was con-
ducted into the main noise generation sources. This was done essen-
tially to bring up some suggestions to mitigate the adverse noise effects.
To achieve the said objective, questionnaires were administered in the
study area, to the members of the community, for which the respon-
dents were grouped from 1 to 7. That is, Groups 1‒3 were members
from the University of Mines and Technology community. These three
groups were from three different Halls of Residence located at different
parts of the community who are mostly youths. Group 4 were randomly
chosen people across the study area whereas Group 5 were gathered
from the health in the study area. Group 6 and Group 7 were members
of churches and selected working sites in the TMC. Respondents were
sub divided into two categories: males and females. The males were
further grouped into two: one group ranging from the ages of 18‒35
and the other ranging from 36 to 70. This was replicated for the female
group. The average participant in a group was 200 participants.
Different types of sampling techniques exist for data collection; how-
ever, the cluster sampling method was adopted for this research work.
This was done because the statistical distribution of the stations was
relatively heterogeneous in groupings. The typical inclusion criteria
adopted includes demography and geographical characteristics.
A geodatabase was created for storage and management of the data
from the major health facilities. The geodatabase created of medical
records of patients included patient ID, location, sex, age, principal di-
agnoses, date admitted, projected grid coordinates (northings and east-
ings). Since GIS allows interactive queries for extracting information
contained in the database, queries were performed. Queries performed
across the geodatabase accessing information on the clinical details of
patients were to obtain certain specific details. This helped in quan-
tifying all reported cases of diseases used for the analysis. The noise
pollution maps were created using ArcGIS software suite.
Correlation and regression analysis were also performed to estab-
lish statistical relationship between noise pollution and various health
related diseases reported at the health posts. For the regression, a poly-
nomial regression model was found to be the most plausible method to
fit the data adequately. The generic form of the polynomial regression
is expressed in Eq. (5).19
𝑌 = 𝜃0 + 𝜃1 𝑋 + 𝜃2 𝑋 2 + ... + 𝜃𝑚 𝑋 𝑚 (5)
Where Y is dependent variable; 𝜃0 is bias; 𝜃 1 is weight in the equation
of a polynomial regression; X is independent variable; m is degree of
polynomial.
The correlation is generally expressed in Eq. (6) 20 as:
∑∑
⎛ (𝑥 − 𝑥)(𝑦 − 𝑦) ⎞
1 ⎜ 𝑥 𝑦 ⎟
𝑟=
𝑛 − 1 ⎜⎜ ⎟ (6)
𝑠𝑥 𝑠𝑦 ⎟
⎝ ⎠
Where 𝑥 is mean of first variable; 𝑦 is mean of second variable; Sx is
standard deviation of the first variable; Sy is standard deviation of the
second variable; n is number of pairs of data;
Hypothesis testing was employed to further confirm the degree of
correlation between the noise levels and the diseases. Null Hypothesis:
statistical statement that shows no relationship between the noise level
and the related diseases. H0 : 𝜌 = 0. Alternative Hypothesis: statistical
statement that shows there is a relationship between the noise level and
the related diseases. H1√: 𝜌 ≠ 0. Significance level: 𝛼 = 0.05.
𝑟 𝑛−2
Test statistic: |𝑡| = √
1−𝑟2
Where r is correlation coefficient; n represents the number of obser-
vations. The decision rule is to reject H0 if |t| > t( 𝛼/2, n −2) .
Baffoe PE, Duker AA and Senkyire-Kwarteng EV Global Health Journal 6 (2022) 19–29

Table 1 Table 2
Noise exposure and noise dose of some churches in the TMC. Noise exposure and noise dose of some working sites
(daily).
Church Leq (dBA) Lex (dBA) Noise dose (%)
Working site Leq (dBA) Lex (dBA) Noise dose (%)
Church of Pentecost 1 95.2 92.2 500
Church of Christ 1 101.2 98.8 2 500 Sawmill 1 101.3 101.5 4 500
Anglican Church 82.2 79.2 25 Sawmill 2 102.2 102.5 5 500
Church of Pentecost 2 102.4 99.4 2 750 Sawmill 3 104.0 104.0 8 000
Methodist Church 1 99.5 96.8 1 490 Sawmill 4 106.4 106.0 14 000
Living Word Ministry 98.3 95.7 1 250 Corn mill 1 108.4 108.2 21 000
Church of Christ 2 83.7 81.0 80 Corn mill 2 110.3 110.4 34 000
Church of Pentecost 3 94.8 92.5 500 Corn mill 3 115.2 115.0 90 000
Winners Glory 90.5 87.8 190 Corn mill 4 109.5 109.5 28 000
Church of Christ 3 78.1 75.1 10 SSM 1 91.7 92.0 500
Church of Pentecost 4 87.2 84.5 90 SSM 2 79.3 79.3 30
Methodist Church 2 89.3 86.5 140 SSM 3 88.6 88.5 240
Seventh Day Adventist 78.1 76.1 14 SSM 4 89.1 89.2 260
Methodist Church 3 93.5 90.8 375 SSM 5 83.8 83.4 75
Catholic Church 75.3 72.8 6 SSM 6 84.5 85 100
Christ Within Church 91.4 88.5 225 SSM 7 85.3 85.4 150
Spring Word Church 96.9 94.4 780 SSM 8 81.4 81.7 45
Brotherhood Church 82.2 79.2 28 SSM 9 86.9 86.8 156
Christian Faith Church 94.2 91.5 425 Workshop 1 82.2 82.5 55
Christian Divine Church 98.5 94.5 900 Workshop 2 84.2 84.3 85
Divine Healers Church 107.6 104.6 8 000 Workshop 3 78.5 78.4 26
Presbyterian Church 98.6 91.6 1 200 Workshop 4 77.0 75.8 12
Church of Pentecost 5 104.4 101.5 4 200 Workshop 5 78.6 78.5 25
Workshop 6 74.4 77.9 19
Ghana Environmental Protection Agency standard noise level for
entertainment centers and churches is 65 dBA. TMC: Tarkwa Mining Ghana Environmental Protection Agency standard noise
Community; Leq : equivalent continuous sound pressure level; Lex : level for working sites (i.e., corn mill, small scale min-
equivalent sound exposure level. ing, mechanical workshops and other industrial environ-
ments) is 70 dBA. Leq : equivalent continuous sound pres-
sure level; Lex : equivalent sound exposure level. SSM:
3. Results small scale mining.

3.1. Measured noise level results

Table 3
The equivalent noise levels measured at some of the churches in the Equivalent noise levels for some social gatherings.
TMC of different religious bodies are presented in Table 1 including
noise levels of locations at 50 meters from the source. In Table 1, the Leq at source Leq at 50 m from source
Social Gathering
(dBA) (dBA)
EPA Ghana Standard noise level for entertainment centers and churches
are also presented for comparison. Rash City Restaurant 85.6 57.1
Blues Lodge 83.3 65.6
The impact of noise pollution on the health of people in churches,
Chandis Bar 99.3 73.4
restaurants, entertainment centers, working sites and other areas (where Golden Restaurant 95.1 77.6
people are exposed to higher noise levels for long times) are of great Royal Base Restaurant 87.5 68.4
concern. This is because the ill effect of noise pollution depends on the Efuanta Bar 78.9 63.2
exposure (length of time in the noise area) and dose (measure of noise
Ghana Environmental Protection Agency standard noise level for entertain-
exposure) of the noise pollution to which the people are exposed to. Us- ment centers and churches is 65 dBA. Leq : equivalent continuous sound pres-
ing Leq measured in the field and the Nomograph, the noise exposure sure level.
and the noise doses were calculated for churches, working sites and en-
tertainment centers.
The measured Lex and the doses (%) of noise pollution to which
workers are exposed to, are presented in the Table 1 and Table 2.
3.3. Impacts of noise pollution on the TMC
The equivalent noise levels measured from other social activities
such as some entertainment centers and some restaurants are also pre-
The results of the impacts of noise pollution in the TMC are pre-
sented in Table 3. The measurements shown in Table 3 were taken when
sented in this section. Table 4 shows results obtained by administering
activities were on-going.
the questionnaires to the various groups.
From Table 4 it infers that 78% (172/220) of members in Group
3.2. Noise maps for the study area 1 asserted that sources of noise pollution in the study area are from
traffic; 83% from religious activities, 86% (192/220) from loud speak-
The spatial distribution of the measured noise levels in the study area ers, 63% (138/220) from other social activities etc. The same applies
are presented in Fig. 2. Detailed noise maps presented in a larger scale of to members of Group 2, where 65% (208/320) believe that source of
certain selected locations of the study area, showing spatial distribution noise pollution is from road traffic, 83% (264/320) from religious ac-
of Leq , are also presented in Fig. 3 and Fig. 4. tivities, 85% (272/320) from loud speakers, 65% (208/320) from other
The detailed spatial distribution of noise levels in the communities, social activities, 55% (176/320) from neighbors and 61% (195/320)
from the noise generation source, relative to the surrounding residential form the industry. The same pattern runs through to Group 7. The re-
buildings as extracted from the general noise map are presented for two spondents were sub divided into two categories: males and females. The
social centers and a church in Fig. 3 and Fig. 4. In addition, the extracts males were further grouped into two: one group ranging from the ages
of noise maps showing spatial distribution of Leq of the churches and of 18‒35 and the other ranging from 36 to 70. This was replicated for
the other social gatherings are also presented (Fig. 3 and Fig. 4). the female group.

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Baffoe PE, Duker AA and Senkyire-Kwarteng EV Global Health Journal 6 (2022) 19–29

Fig. 2. Noise map for the study area.

Table 4
Sources of noise pollution [n (%)].

Group n Road traffic Religious activities Loud speakers Other social activities Neighbours Industry

Group 1 220 172 (78) 182 (83) 192 (86) 138 (63) 99 (45) 119 (54)
Group 2 320 208 (65) 264 (83) 272 (85) 208 (65) 176 (55) 195 (61)
Group 3 250 163 (65) 163 (78) 218 (87) 155 (62) 132 (5) 157 (63)
Group 4 212 163 (77) 180 (85) 180 (85) 127 (60) 129 (61) 123 (58)
Group 5 201 144 (72) 152 (76) 152 (76) 126 (63) 120 (60) 112 (56)
Group 6 205 143 (70) 161 (79) 180 (88) 131 (64) 127 (62) 123 (60)
Group 7 202 151 (75) 161 (80) 165 (82) 131 (65) 127 (63) 153 (76)

Groups 1‒3 are members of the university community residing in three different halls of residence located at three
different separate sites in the study area; Group 4 are people residing within the study area selected randomly; Group
5 shows information gathered from health posts in the study area; Group 6 and Group 7 shows information gathered
from selected churches and working sites in the study area respectively.

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Baffoe PE, Duker AA and Senkyire-Kwarteng EV Global Health Journal 6 (2022) 19–29

Fig. 3. Noise map at royal base restaurant, Tarkwa.

Fig. 4. Noise map at Chandis bar, Tarkwa.

3.3.1. The health effects of noise pollution
Some of the results from the questionnaires illustrated the opinions
of some of the members of the TMC regarding health effects of noise
pollution. These results were analyzed and presented in Table 5.
From Table 5, it infers that 73% (160/220) of members in Group 1
believe that one of the health effects of noise pollution in the study area
is annoyance; 58% (127/220) is effects on mental stress, 62% (136/220)
is effect on sleep, 84% (184/220) is effect of hearing, 76% (167/220) is
lack of concentration, and 79% (173/220) is related to cardiovascular
effects. The pattern runs through to Group 7.
The result from (Table 4 and Table 5) were further analyzed based on
gender and reported in Table 6. From Table 6, it could be observed that
the youth in the category (i.e., male, 18‒35 years of age) asserted to the
fact that, 62% (93/150) of effect of noise pollution is from annoyance;

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Baffoe PE, Duker AA and Senkyire-Kwarteng EV Global Health Journal 6 (2022) 19–29

Table 5
Health effects of noise pollution on the community [n (%)].

Group n Annoyance Effect on mental stress Effect on sleep Effect on hearing Lack of concentration Cardiovascular effects

Group 1 220 160 (73) 127 (58) 136 (62) 184 (84) 167 (76) 173 (79)
Group 2 320 230 (72) 201 (63) 204 (64) 275 (86) 233 (73) 265 (83)
Group 3 250 170 (68) 150 (60) 162 (65) 202 (81) 180 (72) 205 (82)
Group 4 212 127 (60) 133 (63) 161 (76) 137 (65) 131 (62) 112 (53)
Group 5 201 148 (74) 157 (78) 150 (75) 156 (78) 138 (69) 176 (88)
Group 6 205 123 (60) 127 (62) 143 (70) 125 (61) 127 (62) 114 (56)
Group 7 202 131 (65) 133 (66) 125 (62) 117 (58) 111 (55) 109 (54)

Groups 1‒3 are members of the university community residing in three different halls of residence located at three different separate sites
in the study area; Group 4 are people residing within the study area selected randomly; Group 5 shows information gathered from health
posts in the study area; Group 6 and Group 7 shows information gathered from selected churches and working sites in the study area
respectively.

Table 6
Health effects of noise pollution on male and female respondents [n (%)].

Gender n Annoyance Effect on mental stress Effect on sleep Effect on hearing Lack of concentration Cardiovascular effects

Male
18‒35 (years) 150 93 (62) 79 (53) 114 (76) 100 (67) 103 (69) 54 (36)
36‒70 (years) 150 114 (76) 132 (88) 67 (45) 124 (83) 139 (93) 58 (39)
Female
18‒35 (years) 150 75 (50) 63 (42) 90 (60) 76 (51) 78 (52) 39 (26)
36‒70 (years) 150 97 (65) 99 (66) 48 (32) 102 (68) 112 (75) 48 (32)

Table 7
Noise associated diseases cases and their locations in the TMC.

Ear Sleep
Location Cardiovascular Hypertension
problems disturbances

Akoon 10 293 285 23

Bankyim 17 261 5 32
Boboobo 13 145 256 30
Cyanide 21 352 230 46
Efuanta 15 203 180 21
Low Cost 21 28 125 34
Tamso 32 380 310 55
Kamponase 16 233 50 20
Nzema Line 22 60 71 32
New Atuabo 32 116 339 14
Brofoyedur 22 85 78 11
Samanhu 17 320 201 14
Aboso 87 445 390 19
Damang 29 50 45 22
Layout 27 10 9 13
Fig. 5. Negative health impacts of noise pollution.
Nsuta 12 12 26 24

TMC: Tarkwa Mining Community.

53% (79/150) from mental stress, 76% (114/150) from effect on sleep,
67% (100/150) from effect on hearing, 69% (103/150) from lack of
concentration and 36% (54/150) from cardiovascular effects. On the
other hand, the female group of the same age category, had different
opinion which are far lower than the male group. About 50% (75/150)
think the effect is annoyance, whiles 42% (63/150) is mental stress, 60%
(90/150) is effects on sleep, 51% (76/150) is effect on hearing, 52%
(78/150) lack of concentration, and 26% (39/150) on cardiovascular
effects. Similar trend is observed in the pattern for older respondents
who were aged between 36 and 70.
3.3.2. Awareness of the health hazard caused by impacts of noise pollution
Part of the questionnaire and the interviews were designed to ascer-
tain the awareness of members of the community on the health impli-
cations of noise levels in the TMC. The response of the interviewees to
the awareness of negative health impacts of noise pollution is shown
in Fig. 5. 63% (1 007/1 610) of respondents agreed that they were not
aware of any negative health hazards caused by the impacts of noise pol-
lution, whiles 22% (361/1 610) claimed they were aware of the negative
impacts. The remaining 15% (242/1 610) of respondents felt indifferent
about any noise pollution in the communities.
3.4. Noise pollution and associated diseases
From the noise maps (Figs. 2–4), it could be observed that the noise
levels in most parts of the study area are very high when compared with
the prescribed noise levels provided by EPA (Tables 1–3). Besides, it is
highlighted in the literature,1-5 that higher noise levels are associated
with some diseases including cardiovascular diseases, hearing impair-
ment, sleep disturbances, and adverse social behavior among others.
Therefore, data of patients with similar diseases mentioned above were
acquired from some of the major health facilities within the study area.
The data obtained from the health facilities were processed and the re-
sults presented in Table 7.
Using the data presented in Table 7, locations of the areas with the
corresponding diseases in the study area were plotted. The locations of
patients and the health records collected were processed and imported
into ArcGIS environment for analysis. Of all the diseases associated with
noise pollution, an overlay health impact map was plotted for hyperten-
sion cases in the study area and this is shown in Fig. 6.

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Baffoe PE, Duker AA and Senkyire-Kwarteng EV Global Health Journal 6 (2022) 19–29

Fig. 6. Overlay map of hypertension cases in the study area.

3.5. Statistical correlation between noise pollution and health indicators Table 8
Correlation analysis results of noise level and associated diseases.
When the datasets were analysed with correlation and linear regres- Item R2 r
sion, it was noticed that the relationship between the independent vari-
Cardiovascular against Noise level 0.3696 0.6079
able (health conditions) and dependent variable (noise level) could be
Ear problem against Noise level 0.8074 0.8986
modelled as an mth degree polynomial than the usual linear regres- Sleep disturbances against Noise level 0.4538 0.6736
sion. Hence, the polynomial regression was used as the most plausible Hypertension against Noise level 0.1254 0.3541
method to fit the data (Figs. 7–9). It is important to admit that health
R2 : coefficient of determination; r: correlation coefficient.
outcomes vary largely from different situations like age, gender, occupa-
tion, lifestyles among others which might bias the association between Table 9
noise and outcomes. However, there is also the need to assess in holistic Computed t-test values for correlation coefficients of noise level and associated
terms to know the extent at which noise could contribute to the health diseases.
status of a person living in an exposed environment. Hence performing Item |t|
such correlation analysis is a key determinant to understand the associ-
Cardiovascular against Noise level 3.4765
ation of noise to the diseases under study. Table 8 shows the reported
Ear problem against Noise level 7.3841
correlation coefficients and coefficient of determination from the regres- Sleep disturbances against Noise level 3.2860
sion analysis. Hypertension against Noise level 1.3651

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Baffoe PE, Duker AA and Senkyire-Kwarteng EV Global Health Journal 6 (2022) 19–29

Fig. 7. Correlation graph of noise level and hypertension.

Fig. 8. Correlation graph of noise level and ear problem.

Fig. 9. Correlation graph of noise level and sleep disturbance.

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Baffoe PE, Duker AA and Senkyire-Kwarteng EV
3.6. Correlation confirmatory test
To further confirm the degree of correlation existing between noise
and cardiovascular, ear problem, sleep disturbances and hypertension,
a test of hypotheses (t-test statistic) at 5% significance level was con-
ducted on the correlation coefficients determined. From the student
t-distribution tables, t(0.025, 13) = 2.160, being the critical value. The
computed t-test |t| values for correlation coefficients are presented in
Table 9.
3.7. Discussion
Results of the assessment of noise pollution levels, spatial distribu-
tion of noise levels, and the impacts of noise pollution on the health of
the people of TMC are discussed in the following subsections.
3.7.1. Noise pollution and health effects
It is confirmed in literature that excessive noise brings about some
health problems to the members of the community such as cardiovascu-
lar, hypertension, ear problems, sleep disorders among others.1-5
In their epidemiological studies to prove (the hypothesis) that noise
pollution is a threat to the public health, Passchier-Vermeer and Pass-
chier published a table in the year 2000 in which observation thresholds
for hypertension and ischemic heart diseases were considered.5 It was
observed that noise pollution levels above the prescribed thresholds are
sufficient enough to cause hearing impairment, hypertension, ischemic
heart diseases, sleep disturbance and others. It was also observed that
noise pollution levels above the prescribed thresholds are not enough to
cause biochemical effects, immune effects, impact birth weight, psychi-
atric disorders, absentee rate at work and school, and others.
In the light of this, data collected from some of the major health fa-
cilities in the TMC were analysed to confirm the results or otherwise of
the effect of noise pollution on public health as reported in literature.
Table 7 shows reported cases of some of the related diseases in the study
area. Although it is clear from the study that excessive noise levels bring
about risk on public health, there are other factors that ought to be con-
sidered as well. However, there is bound to be a relationship with it. For
example, someone in an industrial environment exposed to eight-hour
occupational noise could come home to face heavy noise pollution in the
area of residence in the night. Such a person is bound to be adversely
impacted in relation to health.
Further review of the results showed that the cases of sleep distur-
bances, adverse behavior, cardiovascular diseases and others were very
low in TMC. The geodatabase created helped in the analyses of the data
from the health posts, since queries performed from it were used to sort
out and analyze the data.
The spatial distribution of some of the noise pollution related dis-
eases were also developed in ArcGIS environment. Some areas have
large distribution of certain diseases than others. For example, major-
ity of the members of the southern part of the study area were very
much annoyed by noise pollution since they see it as a threat yet could
do nothing to abate its effect. This assertion confirms a research work
conducted by,21 where the results of the study hinted that urban noise
was found to increase by 6.7 dB with 10-fold increase in street traffic
and thus those living along these streets increased risk of annoyance by
40%. The results showed that the risk of annoyance is on the increase
with increase in population density in urban areas. Seto et al. estimated
that 17% of urban population were at risk of high annoyance from noise
pollution.21
Thematic maps of reported cases like hypertension and ear prob-
lems were also produced for the community. These were prepared by
the overlay techniques in ArcGIS and the results of disease distribution
are shown in Fig. 6. As seen in Fig. 6, hypertension cases are predom-
inant in areas like Aboso, Samanhu, Cyanide, and Tamso. These towns
are found in the Northern part (the two bigger circles), middle part and
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Global Health Journal 6 (2022) 19–29
the Southern part of the study area, respectively. These are mostly areas
involved in small scale mining and where churches are spreading spo-
radically. The trend shows similar pattern for cases of ear problems for
the same areas. A careful study of Fig. 6 shows that areas with low noise
exposures as well as high noise exposures have hypertension reported
cases. This may be attributed to the variability of health outcomes based
on different situations like age, gender, occupation, lifestyles among oth-
ers. Besides, the pattern displayed on the thematic maps may not reflect
on the persons domiciling in the area. This is because someone might be
living at a low exposure zone as shown on the map but may be working
far away from home and receiving the long exposure of noise dosage at
workplace.
3.7.2. Statistical analysis of noise pollution and health
The values of coefficient of determination (R2 , Table 8) helped to
interpret the relationships existing between the dependent (noise level)
and independent (cardiovascular, ear problem, sleep disturbances and
hypertension) variables in terms of variations. From the Table 8, the
R2 values indicate that noise exposure could account for 36.96% of
the variability in cardiovascular reported cases. In addition, 80.74%,
45.38% and 12.54% of noise exposure could account for the changes
in ear problem, sleep disturbances and hypertension, respectively. It is
however revealed from the R2 results that there is little effect of noise
on the causes of hypertension and cardiovascular as compared to ear
problem and sleep disturbances.
The correlation coefficient (r) was used as a criterion to determine
the strength and nature of the linear relationship existing between noise
level against cardiovascular, ear problem, sleep disturbances and hyper-
tension. The results in Table 8 revealed a very high positive correlation
(𝑟 = 0.8986) between noise level and ear problem. It was also noticed
that the strength of the relationship of the noise level against cardio-
vascular and sleep disturbances in the polynomial regression analysis
carried out were stronger than that of hypertension.
The computed |𝑡| values (Table 9) have further confirmed that the
relationship existing between noise and the variables (cardiovascular,
ear problem, and sleep disturbance) are statistically significant. It was
also observed that in the case of noise and hypertension there is no re-
lationship existing between them. This assertion was made based on the
computed |𝑡| value (1.3651) being less than the critical value (2.160).
4. Conclusion
The study has evaluated the influence of noise levels on four dif-
ferent diseases (cardiovascular, hypertension, ear problem, and sleep
disturbance) in the TMC. The noise pollution levels were positively cor-
related with cardiovascular, ear problem, and sleep disturbance. Pro-
cessed data from the major health facilities in the area confirmed the
hypothesis that cardiovascular, ear problem, and sleep disturbance are
statistically significant and positively correlated with noise. This con-
firms that excessive exposure to noise could be one of the major causal
factors of most of the diseases considered in the study area. Furthermore,
the statistical results revealed that noise pollution has very little impact
on hypertension in the study area. This was known from the correlation
confirmatory test, where the relationship between noise and hyperten-
sion was statistically insignificant. The limited number of causal factors
considered in this study is the limitation of this study of which future
studies will consider.
CRediT author statement
Peter Ekow Baffoea: Conceptualization, Data curation, Writ-
ing—Original draft; Alfred Allan Dukerb: Supervision, Writ-
ing—Review & Editing; Efiba Vidda Senkyire-Kwarteng: Methodol-
ogy, Formal analysis.
Baffoe PE, Duker AA and Senkyire-Kwarteng EV
Consent for publication
All authors provide consent for the final accepted version of the
manuscript to be considered for publication in Global Health Journal.
Competing interests
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
the work reported in this paper.
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