Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2017, 14(10), 1262; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14101262
Land Use Regression Modeling of Outdoor Noise Exposure in Informal Settlements in Western Cape, South Africa
Chloé Sieber 1,2, Martina S. Ragettli 1,2, Mark Brink 3
, Olaniyan Toyib 4, Roslyn Baatjies 5, Apolline Saucy 1,2, Nicole Probst-Hensch 1,2, Mohamed Aqiel Dalvie 4 and Martin Röösli 1,2,*
, Olaniyan Toyib 4, Roslyn Baatjies 5, Apolline Saucy 1,2, Nicole Probst-Hensch 1,2, Mohamed Aqiel Dalvie 4 and Martin Röösli 1,2,*
1
Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel 4002, Switzerland
2
University of Basel, Basel 4003, Switzerland
3
Federal Office for the Environment, CH-3003 Bern, Switzerland
4
Centre for Environmental and Occupational Health Research, School of Public Health and Family Medicine, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, Cape Town 7700, South Africa
5
Department of Environmental and Occupational Studies, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Cape Town 7700, South Africa
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 8 August 2017 / Revised: 9 October 2017 / Accepted: 16 October 2017 / Published: 20 October 2017
(This article belongs to the Section Environmental Science and Engineering)
Abstract
In low- and middle-income countries, noise exposure and its negative health effects have been little explored. The present study aimed to assess the noise exposure situation in adults living in informal settings in the Western Cape Province, South Africa. We conducted continuous one-week outdoor noise measurements at 134 homes in four different areas. These data were used to develop a land use regression (LUR) model to predict A-weighted day-evening-night equivalent sound levels (Lden) from geographic information system (GIS) variables. Mean noise exposure during day (6:00–18:00) was 60.0 A-weighted decibels (dB(A)) (interquartile range 56.9–62.9 dB(A)), during night (22:00–6:00) 52.9 dB(A) (49.3–55.8 dB(A)) and average Lden was 63.0 dB(A) (60.1–66.5 dB(A)). Main predictors of the LUR model were related to road traffic and household density. Model performance was low (adjusted R2 = 0.130) suggesting that other influences than those represented in the geographic predictors are relevant for noise exposure. This is one of the few studies on the noise exposure situation in low- and middle-income countries. It demonstrates that noise exposure levels are high in these settings. View Full-TextKeywords:
noise measurement; road traffic noise; neighborhood noise; land use regression, informal settlements; low- and middle- income country; South Africa
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Sieber, C.; Ragettli, M.S.; Brink, M.; Toyib, O.; Baatjies, R.; Saucy, A.; Probst-Hensch, N.; Dalvie, M.A.; Röösli, M. Land Use Regression Modeling of Outdoor Noise Exposure in Informal Settlements in Western Cape, South Africa. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2017, 14, 1262.
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