Abstract:

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the aircraft noise exposure, annoyance reactions and health status of the residents living within the vicinity of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMA) in Lagos state, Nigeria. Aircraft noise monitoring was conducted in five locations within the vicinity (0-5Km) of MMA, and a sixth distant location (14km away). Levels of aircraft noise for all five locations within the vicinity of the airport exceeded the EPA Victoria threshold of 75 dB LAmax for the residential area (outdoor). A survey on annoyance induced by aircraft noise exposure and general health status was conducted on 450 local residents in the study locations using the International Commission on Biological Effect of Noise question and a single question that has been applied in Dutch national health care surveys since 1983 on self-reported general health status respectively. Percentage of residents within the vicinity of MMA that were highly annoyed (%HA) exceeded 15% guideline limit stipulated by Federal Interagency Committee on Urban Noise while 14.5% reported poor health status. There was a significant association between the annoyance reactions and aircraft noise levels in the study locations while the association between self-reported health status and aircraft noise levels was not significant. Taken together, the residents within the vicinity of the airport are exposed to aircraft noise levels above permissible limit which may be associated with high annoyance reaction but may not be associated with poor health rating. Evidence-based aircraft noise related policies by government are advocated.

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