Checking Noise Pollution

As it has been the case since 2007, Saturday, March 3, 2018 was celebrated the world over as the World Hearing Day. Formerly known as International Ear Care Day, the day is held to raise awareness on how to prevent deafness and hearing loss, among others.
The theme of this year’s celebration was: “Hear The Future.”
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), up from 360 million people five years ago, the world currently has 466 million people who suffer from disabling hearing loss. And the global body projects that an estimated 900 million could suffer from the condition by 2050 if nothing is done to stem the tide.
Among others, the WHO identified exposure to loud sounds through personal audio devices, entertainment venues and work places as causes of hearing loss, adding that it costs countries about 750 billion United States dollars annually in direct health costs and loss of productivity. The global health body, therefore, called on governments and their collaborators to take steps to check the unwholesome trend.
Perhaps, it is in line with this that the Rivers State Government through the Ministry of Environment set up a Special Committee on Noise Pollution to intervene and mitigate noise from personal, commercial and industrial sources.
Inaugurating the Committee, the State Commissioner for Environment, Prof. Roseline Konya, charged it to ensure that all residents in the State conform to an acceptable level of sound emitted from loud speakers, public address system and other devices employed in public or mass communication, as well as sound generated through industrial activities.
The Tide commends and encourages this latest move of the State government to control noise pollution in the State, even as we acknowledge the existence of a law promulgated by the then Police Commissioner, Fidelis Oyakhilome’s military administration on the subject matter.
Noise pollution, like any other kind of pollution, poses a veritable threat to the health and general well-being of individuals. In fact, cumulative effects of noise pollution can be felt in our homes, social event venues, places of work, schools and other learning environment and other areas of public gathering.
Studies have shown that consequences of regular exposure to consistent heightened sound levels in the work place or the environment include high blood pressure, sleep disturbances, annoyance, stress-related illness, speech interference, loss of concentration, hearing impairment and loss of productivity.
The WHO says that disabling hearing loss alone could affect “a person’s ability to communicate, socialise, learn, work and enjoy life, as it contributes to poverty, social isolation and feeling of loneliness”.
It is against this background that we appreciate the concern of the Rivers State Ministry of Environment and the task of the special committee to control noise pollution. The committee must approach and undertake its duty with all the seriousness that it deserves.
In doing this, the committee must embark on massive sensitisation of the public and creation of awareness on the dangers of noise pollution. The campaign must be taken, not only to markets, motor parks and other public places, but also to other places where there are considerable noise pollution.
To take the message to all the nooks and crannies of the State and to ensure success in this venture, the committee must synergise and form workable partnerships with the media, NGOs, security agencies, civil society groups, government agencies like the National Orientation Agency (NOA), among others.
More than anything else, government must muster the will to bring the law to bear on offenders whether groups, organisations or individuals. It is only in strict and impartial enforcement of extant laws, rules and regulations that sanity can be achieved and our people protected from the hazards of noise pollution.