Accra, April 16, GNA - As Ghana marks the Fourth National Noise Awareness Day (NNAD) on Thursday, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says complaints about noise making constituted 40 per cent of all complaints it received last year.

"Noise complaints outnumbered all other complaints the EPA received

in 2008. For instance, in the Accra Metropolis alone, 41 out of a total of 103 complaints received were about noise making," a statement from the EPA said.

The statement was released in commemoration of the NNAD under the Theme; "Noise Control: Our Collective Responsibility." EPA called on Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies, traditional authorities and the law enforcement agencies to use their delegated authorities to stem noise making in their various jurisdictions.

The statement noted that, in Ghana, most noise complaints were from the major urban settlements and industrial areas, adding that it was the same in the rest of the world.

It noted that the main noise sources in Ghana included construction-related activities, sawmills, lorry parks, churches, mosques, honking of horns, loud music in residential communities, discotheques, bars and restaurants, record and cassette vendors. The statement said the World Health Organization (WHO) had indicated that "urban noise was one of life stressors" adding that when excessive, as it affected human health and interfered with peace, comfort and convenience of people. "Noise does not have to be at deafening levels to damage one's health," it said.

The statement said studies on people working in noisy environments showed an increased incidence of heart disease, accident at work, inefficiency, feeling of annoyance, irritation, work interference, sleep disturbance, cancer, headache, tension, digestive, respiratory and nervous problems, hearing impairments and psychological problems among other things.

"There is fairly consistent evidence that prolonged exposure to noise levels causes hearing impairment." EPA said another area of concern was the impact of noise on the concentration and learning among children, adding that medical research had also shown that it was more difficult for children to recover from hearing impairment caused by noise. The statement said the EPA was therefore urging the public to "inform your neighbours before carrying out any noisy activity and desist from playing loud music and using generators at night". The statement also urged individuals to do regular hearing test and to report noisy neighbours to the law enforcement agencies. 16 April 09