An Assessment of Noise Level Mapping in Plateau State University Bokkos.

An Assessment of Noise Level Mapping in Plateau State University Bokkos. | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article An Assessment of Noise Level Mapping in Plateau State University Bokkos. Dr Solomon Wuyep Zitta, Ogbole Alexandra Simi This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-5725709/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Noise pollution is an increasing environmental issue impacting urban areas, especially educational institutions where the academic performance, health, and well-being of individuals can be affected significantly. This study identified the main sources of noise, measured noise levels, and mapped the spatial distribution of noise pollution within Plateau State University, Bokkos, Nigeria. Using geo-mapping software and sound level meter, a total of 15 monitoring locations within the University were selected based on the land use. Three readings obtained at an interval of one hour; in the morning, at noon and in the evening for a period of one week were recorded. ArcGIS 10.5 was used to perform inverse Distance Weighted (IDW) Interpolation of the Spatial distribution of noise level in the study area. Findings were compared with the World Health Organization and the National Environmental Regulatory agency standard for noise levels. Results showed that students and traffic constitute the major sources of noise in the study environment. High noise levels were recorded at all the selected points, especially the classroom areas where the level is above the standard limit of 50 dB for educational area. The study recommends that in order to manage and control noise pollution, the University should reassign incompatible land uses, build sound proof walls, plant trees, within and around the Campus. In such ways, noise pollution would be minimized, this will hinder the interference of noise with academic activities within the Campus. Environmental Policy Noise Level Mapping Noise pollution Plateau State University Bokkos Figures Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 1. INTRODUCTION A noise is an unwanted and/or harmful sound (James, 2016 ; Latha, Ganesan, & MadhanKumar, 2022 ). Noise pollution, is refers to the presence of excessive or harmful levels of noise in the environment that disrupts the normal acoustic balance and adversely affects human health and well-being (Basner et al. 2014; World Health Organization (WHO), 2018). Noise has been rated third, after gas and water, as pollution affecting human overall wellbeing (Paulo et al., 2013 ). World Health Organization ( 2018 ) revealed seven categories of adverse health effects of noise pollutions in humans. These include hearing impairment, interference with verbal communications, sleep disturbances, cardiovascular disturbances, disturbances of mental health impaired task performance, negative social and annoyance reactions. Noise pollution remains a nuisance which impacts negatively on the physical, social and psychological wellbeing of man (El-Sharkawy & Alsubaie 2014 ; Ibekwe et al. 2016 ). Long-term exposure to noise can cause a variety of health effects including annoyance, sleep disturbance, negative effects on the cardiovascular and metabolic system, as well as cognitive impairment in children therefore, contribute to adverse health effects (Najmaldin, 2024 ). It is estimate that environmental noise contributes to 48,000 new cases of chemical heart disease a year as well as 12,000 premature deaths. In addition, it is estimated that 22 million people suffer chronic high annoyance and 6.5 million people suffer chronic high sleep disturbance. The WHO report emphasizes that understanding these impacts is essential for developing effective public health strategies and mitigating the negative effects of noise pollution on populations (WHO, 2018). Noise can constitute pollution as an unpleasant sound that is created by people or machines. Sources of noise pollution include outdoor sources, such as road traffic, garbage trucks, construction equipment, manufacturing processes, lawn mowers, and indoor sources such as heating and air conditioning unit, and metal chairs scrapping on floors ((Mahajan, 2016 ). Learning is difficult where noise is present (Ogbodo, 2020 ). The negative relationship between learning performance and noise levels in educational centers has been established with noise pollution found to reduce learning capabilities (Haines et al. 2001 ; Ozer et al. 2013 ; Gilavand & Jamshidnezhad, 2016 ; Akintunde, Julius, Bayei & Akintunde, 2020). Classroom background noise can arise from several possible sources, including external noise such as traffic noise; internal noise such as students running in corridors; and room noise, such as students talking (Smaldino et al. 2008 ). Gilavand & Jamshidnezhad ( 2016 ) noted that understanding environmental factors affecting the educational process and considering them in planning increases mental health of students and reduces their stress, resulting in enhanced educational performance. The high noise level in Nigeria’s institutions of higher learning has become a growing concern. Despite the institutions' position as citadels of knowledge and intellectual discourse. Schools, hospitals and government reserved areas are designated as noise control zones, whereby the noise levels must not exceed that stipulated in Nigeria’s National Environmental Noise Standards and Control Regulations, 2009 (NESREA, 2009). Educational institutions such as universities are learning, research and personal development centers sensitive to high noise levels. The rising levels of noise within the campus, mainly from social gatherings, vehicular traffic, and construction activities, have led to concerns about its impact on academic performance, health and general campus life. Noise pollution in Plateau State University (PLASU) campus, Bokkos can be seen as a growing problem just as recently numerous development and construction activities are taking place within the environment. The student population is equally growing, creating opportunities for larger social interactions and gatherings. These result into noise of different levels depending on the nature of the interaction and intensity of activities taking place. Uncontrolled noise in such environment can interfere with communication, decrease concentration, disrupt academic activities, reduce productivity and academic performance, and even impact the mental and physical health of the students. High noise level result into distractions for staff at work or students during study periods in the classroom, library, laboratories, and even in the dormitories. Strategies aim to raise awareness and implement effective mitigation efforts, but limited empirical evidence in existence in Nigerian universities, further research to improve the quality of life and academic performance is required. This study identifies the main sources of noise pollution, measures noise levels across the campus, and maps the spatial distribution of noise pollution in Plateau State University, Bokkos. It aims to measure and map the spatial distribution of noise pollution levels within the academic institution. The research focused on the students of Plateau State University. Findings could aid in creating a conducive learning environment and offer practical recommendations to improve the quality of the campus environment. 2. MATERIALS AND METHODS 2.1 Study area Plateau State University is a State-owned university of the Plateau State Government located in Bokkos, Plateau State, Nigeria. It lies between latitudes 9.18’00’’N and 9000’000E of the Equator, and longitudes 8.9568° and 8059’ 40.81’’East of the Greenwich meridian (Fig. 1 ). The institution was established in 2005, it was granted recognition by the National Universities Commission (NUC) on April 29, 2005, as the 66th university and the 24th state-owned university in Nigeria. The university is located in Diram Village along the Butura-Tarangol axis in Bokkos Local Government Area, about 70 kilometers away from Jos, the Plateau State capital, and it’s about 10 km to Bokkos town, the headquarters of Bokkos Local Government Area. The Campus has an area size of 296.167 km² with only about one-quarter of the campus occupied by buildings and structures. In terms of structures, the campus buildings include libraries, lecture halls, hostels, research facilities, students' centers, staff offices and dining halls all of which provides pleasant environment for the protection, comfort, education and productivity of students, and staff. As at May 2018 to July 2023, the University had four faculties and seventeen departments and by September 2023 the three newly added faculties make up twenty-three (23) departments. 2.2 Data collection Data were collected using Global Positioning System (GPS) to have coordinate of selected sites in PLASU campus. Map of the campus and standardized measures of noise levels were measured using Sound level meter (SLM). 2.2.1. Sampling method The study adopted a stratified sampling technique. First, the university campus was stratified into broad land use categories; Educational, Residential, Health, Commercial, and Recreational. Secondly, under each category, at least two or three sites/locations were purposively selected based on their importance to the objectives of the university, e.g. the Gossip Centre, is known for contributing high noise levels on campus. For educational category, the Library and Classroom areas were selected; the Students’ Hostel were selected in the residential category; the students’ Centre and Cafeteria was selected for commercial category; the university clinic area was chosen for health; and, the mini stadium, Gossip Centre and Simon Bako Lalong Park and Garden were selected under recreational category. In total, fifteen (15) sites were selected for data collection Table 1 . Table 1 Selected sites in the Campus Land use category Selected sites Educational Library Social Science faculty Management faculty Faculty of Natural/Applied Sci. LCT Block Classrooms (CLR) Block UA (University Auditorium) Lecture theater classroom Residential Male hostel Female hostel Health University clinic/ Health science Administrative Senate building Commercial/relaxation Student center/ Cafeteria Recreational Gossip center Relaxation Mini stadium Lalong garden and park 2.2.2. Locational/Geographic Coordinate Information The Global Positioning System (GPS) hand held device was used to measure/collect locational coordinate information of the selected sites. Caution was taken to ensure that the GPS device displayed at least five (5) satellites in its display view to minimize errors in measurements. Technically, four satellites in view are enough to produce an accurate location information since the instrument (GPS device) uses trilateration to generate locational information. Care was taken to select and identify the spot on which locational information was collected, to ensure the noise level measurements were taken. 2.2.3. Noise Level Data The Sound Level Meter (SLM) was used to collect data on noise levels. Readings were obtained using sound level meter within an hour period for all the sites: in the morning (9: 00am-10am), in the afternoon (12pm-1pm), and in the evening (4:00pm-5:00pm) from Monday to Sunday. Noise measurements were carried out using calibrated SLM with fast responses mode, keeping in view the changing nature of noise levels. A weight is applied for measuring the sound level as it replicates the response of human ear to noise. The measuring unit is denoted as dB(A) (Mahajan, 2016 ; Akintunde, Bayei, & Akintunde, 2022 ). The sound level meter measures average readings during a period of time t, in decibel (dB). The run time (t) is displayed at the bottom of the screen, the peak dB© and maximum dB(A) are displayed too. 2.3 Data Processing ArcGIS 10.5 was used to display the location of the selected sites on campus and visualize the noise level data collected. First, an area covering PLASU campus was identified and downloaded from Google Earth, converted to the shapefile of the area and the image then georeferenced. Secondly, the noise level data was added into ArcMap, the coordinate converted, exported as point shape file, and used to produce the map of the selected sites. 2.4. Analysis of data The objective method was used in the evaluation of noise levels in the selected locations. This involves the qualification of noise by defining noise calculation methods, developing data set specifications, producing data sets noise level calculations and a post processing analysis. The values obtained from the sound level meter were also used to compute various noise parameters which include the following equations: $$\:\text{L}\text{e}\text{q}\:\text{T}=10\text{l}\text{o}\text{g}\:[\:\frac{1}{\text{n}}\:{\sum\:}_{\text{i}=1}^{9}10\:\frac{\text{L}\text{i}}{10}]$$ 1 Where, Leq = noise levels observed in time interval T and n th duration of measurement (Joshi et al., 2015). Average noise level (LP) is given as: $$\:\text{L}\text{P}=20\text{L}\text{o}\text{g}\:\frac{1}{\text{n}}{\sum\:}_{\text{j}=1}^{\text{n}}10\:[\frac{\text{L}\text{i}}{20}]$$ 2 Where n = number of SPL readings taken Lj = jth SPL, for j = 1,2,3n (Arenu et al., 2015 ) LNP = Leq x 2.566 Where, LNP Noise pollution level Leq = equivalent noise level and ∂ = standard deviation (Joshi et al., 2015). $$\:\text{L}\text{N}\text{P}=\text{L}\text{A}\text{e}\text{q}.\:+\left(\text{L}10-\text{L}90\right)\:\text{o}\text{r}\:\text{L}\text{N}\text{P}=\text{L}\text{A}\text{e}\text{q}+\text{K}\text{S}$$ Where K = 2.56 and” S” is the standard deviation of the A – weighted instantaneous noise level (Owojori, 2017 ). An online conversion tool for converting dB to dBA was employed using a frequency of 6000 for the Sound Level Meter used in data collection. This is to determine if the average noise level on campus differed significantly with the average standards for permissible Threshold Limit Values for school environment set by World Health Organization (WHO) and Nigerian Environmental Regulatory agency (NESREA). The noise level was measured with Db to compare against International Standards Organization (ISO) (1999) standards for schools. Also, Microsoft Excel was used to process the noise levels data which includes several descriptive statistics such as mean, and standard deviation. Graphs were also used to display the information and t-test used to determine the significant difference in the average noise levels of the selected sites. Similarly, using the Inverse Distance Weighted (IDW) interpolation method in the ArcMap, the noise levels of the sites and entire campus was mapped. Thus, the noise pollution map of PLASU was produced. Furthermore, the IDW layer was imported into ArcScene where it is produced in three dimensions (3-D) for effect. The IDW noise layer was vertically extruded with minimal exaggeration to show the levels of noise produced at each site. The higher the extrusion or elevation the greater the noise level generated at the site. Both noise levels maps in 2D and 3D were displayed. 3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 3.1 General Noise Levels on Campus Table 2 Noise Levels in Locations at Plateau State University Campus, Bokkos S/n Location Longitude Latitude Altitude (m) Morning (dB) Afternoon (dB) Evening (dB) Mean Male 1 Hostel 8.959540 9.373560 1379 70 59 72 67 Student 2 Center 8.957710 9.373780 1376 71 63 77 70 Female 3 Hostel 8.957410 9.373630 1376 61 55 66 61 4 Health Science 8.955940 9.373010 1389 58 58 51 56 5 Library 8.955540 9.371750 1378 60 67 55 61 6 Natural Applied Science 8.957460 9.371240 1390 61 76 70 69 7 Lecture-Class Theatre 8.956970 9.370600 1375 78 77 80 78 8 Management Science 8.955520 9.370370 1377 72 81 77 77 9 Social Science 8.954770 9.370080 1376 72 81 71 75 10 Classroom Block 8.955540 9.368890 1376 78 65 70 71 11 Mini Stadium 8.954890 9.368250 1386 70 61 71 67 12 Senate 8.955370 9.366260 1398 68 66 40 58 13 Lalong Park 8.957680 9.365960 1400 52 62 69 61 14 Auditorium 8.956892 9.371568 1386 77 78 77 77 15 Gossip Centre 8.957306 9.371255 1385 71 76 70 72 Mean 67.93 68.33 67.73 68.00 Table 2 shows the various noise readings obtained at the various study locations in PLASU Campus. The Table shows locations with high mean noise levels of 70dB and above throughout the day. These include Students center, Social Science faculty building, Management Science faculty building, Gossip Centre, Auditorium, and the LCT. These are places of high activities throughout the day. The University Auditorium and LCT lecture center are venues for lectures for many departments in the day time. This is because the lecture centers can take a large number of students at a time. Consequently, except for the actual lecture periods, excessive noise is generated by the large number of students waiting for lectures or have interchanges where one lecture succeeds another. Similarly, Social Sciences and Management Sciences faculty buildings are noisy because the faculties have the largest numbers of students on campus. All through the day, lectures are ongoing in the buildings with a large number of students going in and out of the buildings. The Gossip center is an interesting name for a general relaxation spot. At almost all times of the day, students are seen at the center talking to one another, while they wait for their classes or for their friends to come out of lectures. It is a general relaxation spot close to the classes’ area whereby it becomes a famous rendezvous for appointments by students. Table 2 also show that the health center/Health science, Library, Senate building, the Female Hostel (Girls’ Chalet) and Lalong Park have two noise levels throughout the day. This is expected of the health science and Library where noises are not allowed because of the nature of their functions. The Senate building is the administrative headquarters of the school and it’s expected to be quiet as well. Moreover, it is located far from the class areas where most students are usually found, therefore, there is less noise in the area. The Lalong Park is still a new development in the school since it was launched in 2023. It is still under development and therefore has not attracted the amount of traffic it is expected to when it comes into full operation. As students become use to it and engage the park more, it is expected the noise level may also increase. Other locations have time periods when noise levels are high and at other time periods, they may be low (Table 2 ). This includes the Male hostel, the Mini stadium, Classroom building (CLR) and the Students Centre and Cafeteria. The morning and evening periods are noisy while the afternoon periods are quiet. This is because the centers are more engaged in the mornings and evenings but afternoons are less engaged because the students are away for classes. In the morning, they are noisy because the students are getting ready for classes and in the evening, they returned from classes. The Natural and Applied Sciences faculty building shows quieter mornings and noisier afternoons and evenings. This may be as a result of its academic schedule, where general lectures are held in other buildings in the morning while departmental courses are taught in the faculty building in the afternoons and evenings. The latter time periods therefore command larger traffic of students moving into and out of the building thereby generating noise. Different time periods have different noise landscapes based on academic schedules and other factors. 3.2 Distribution of Morning Noise Levels on Campus The areas covering the classroom blocks (CLR), the Social Science and Management Science faculty buildings, Lecture Class Theatre, University Auditorium and Gossip center all had high noise levels. The Student Centre as well recorded high noise levels. The highest average noise level recording of morning for the period of 1 week was 78 dB at CLR block and Lecture Theater Class (Fig. 2 ). Except for the Gossip and Students’ Centre, all the other locations are important lecture areas. In the morning period, therefore, they are a beehive of activities as students go for lectures or wait for their lecture time. Being morning period, it is also time to catch up on stories of the day and night before, and the expectations of the new day, which as expected usually generate exciting noises. Debnath, Nath, & Barthakur ( 2012 ) found that students were 40% responsible for high noise levels in campus. There are also high noise levels from vehicles coming in the time period for classes. These are largely vehicles of staff who have classes in the morning or have administrative duties to attend to. Most of these vehicles come up to the buildings where the parking spaces are allocated for them. They therefore generate high noise levels as well. According to Debnath, Nath, & Barthakur, ( 2012 ), vehicular traffic generates about 45% of noise levels on Campus, which this study concurs with. Lawn mowers are another source of high noise levels in this area. At the time of data collection, the lawns are being attended to and hand-held lawn mowing machines are being used. These generate high noise levels. In addition, areas of high noise levels are in the western section of the Campus and extends into the middle section in an upward, north-eastern thrust. There is a clear trajectory to the direction, which is West and Southwest to Northeast. There is a break in noise between the University Auditorium in the middle of the Campus to the Students Centre at the extreme North, tending towards east. The Student Centre is a confluence point in the morning especially for breakfast and purchases of commodities. It is between the male and female hostels and generate a lot of noises for transactions in the morning period. The Health Science building, Library and Lalong Park are the quietest, being the areas with least activities in the morning. The Natural and Applied Science faculty building and female hostels are areas with low noise levels as well. The lowest noise level recorded for the morning for the period of 1 week was 52 dB at Lalong Park and Garden, within which is the highest point elevation within the campus area, with a good number of tree population, which absorb noise from nearby surrounding (Fig. 2 and Table 2 ). Savale ( 2014 ) noted that vegetation attenuates sound through scattering (e.g. by stems and branches) and absorption (e.g. by foliage). Coupled with a general lack of activity in the morning, the Lalong Park has the least noise levels in the morning. The noise level at the CLR block, University Auditorium, Gossip Centre, Social Sciences and Management Sciences faculty buildings and Lecture Theatre Class is not acceptable because it is above the standard noise level limit for educational area. Debnath, Nath, & Barthakur, ( 2012 ), documented that noise level should be in the range of 40dB (A) to 50dB (A) in and around an educational institution. In fact, the general noise level on campus in the morning is unacceptable because it is above the average noise levels acceptable for an educational institution. The least noise level was 52Db, 77db at university auditorium, while 72 db at Management Science and Social Science faculties (Fig. 2 and Table 2 ). These are above WHO recommend standard as well. According to WHO, noise level range of 40dB to 50dB should be the acceptable noise level for an educational area. The major cause of high noise levels values in these locations was the close proximity of these locations to the parking space, which is centrally located within these areas and these locations within the study area is fed by a main street on campus. Gossip center, along with Student Centre and Male hostels have the least morning noise levels among those that had high noise levels. The Gossip center also is surrounded by trees, which may have created a buffer for it from the proximity to the lecture halls and traffic that pass through besides it to the faculty buildings which are close by. The male hostel and student center are far from the areas of activity in the morning, which are the class areas. 3.3 Distribution of Afternoon Noise Levels on Campus In the afternoon, the Health Science, Mini Stadium, Lalong Park and Male and Female hostels all had lowest noise levels (Fig. 3 ). Except for the Lalong Park at the middle of the Campus, the remaining locations are at the periphery, farther away from centers of academic activities, which would be in full swing in the afternoon periods. Interestingly, the noise level at the classroom block (CLR) has also reduced. However, the University Auditorium, Lecture Theatre Class, the Faculty buildings for Social, and Management sciences and Gossip Centre maintained their high noise level status. As expected, the Natural and Applied Science faculty building area also joined the high nose levels areas as the student’s center drops out. As shown on Table 2 , the highest mean noise level value for noon within the study area throughout the time of study recorded 81 dB at Management Science Faculty and Social faculty buildings. The lowest average noise level for noon was recorded at the Female hostel. The areas of moderate noise levels that had covered the center of Campus have taken on a brown hue that suggest the general area has having higher noise levels in the afternoon than in the morning (Fig. 2 and Table 2 ). Much of the moderate noise levels areas have been pushed further north and east from the center, away from the high noise areas in the middle part of Campus. Only the Lalong Park in the center of Campus has some areas of moderate noise levels around it, and the CLR block farther west of Campus. The implication is that the general area of academic activities on campus have become much noisier in the afternoons than in the morning period. The cartographic representation of spatial distribution for noon equivalent noise level for the period of 1 week within Plateau State University Bokkos is shown in Fig. 3 . Findings showed that the equivalent noise levels that range from 74 dB to 98 dB is a risky noise level for educational institution environment (Arenu, Aremu, & Olukanni, 2015 ; Akintunde et al., 2022 ). As shown in Table 2 , the highest average noise for the period of 1 week was 80 dB at Lecture Theatre Class (LTC) followed by University Auditorium, Management Science block and Student Centre where noise were generated by students during extra-curricular activities (Student union activities), and extra tutorial classes around the lecture areas. Other sources of noise are the generators, sound speakers and music players. The Student Center serve as commercial and recreational area where leisure and commercial activities take place. Based on findings results showed that some locations such as Health Center/Health Science, Senate building recorded relatively low noise levels. These locations are relatively distant away from the classes. The locations have a lot of trees around them which could contribute to reducing the noise pollution in the environment. This was confirmed by Debnath, Nath, & Barthakur ( 2012 ) who stated that educational institution should be aware of planting trees and vegetation buffer zone because trees and vegetation can absorb 4 dB to 6 dB noise intensity depending on their characteristics. Savale ( 2014 ) also confirmed this finding in his work in India where he stated that the green belt development can attenuate the sound levels. The degree of attenuation varies with species of green belt. 3.4 Distribution of Evening Noise Levels on Campus The cartographic representation of spatial distribution of evening equivalent of noise level for Plateau State University is shown in Fig. 4 . In the evenings, locations within the study area displayed higher noise level values ranging from 70 to 94 dB. This implies that the evening noise level was relatively high. Noise level values were however low around some areas such as Health center/Health Science and Senate building. The distribution of noise level in the evening shows that the center of the campus is taken over completely by higher noise levels Fig. 4 . The low and moderate noise areas are found at the peripheral areas of northwest and south west. Areas that were relatively quiet in the morning and afternoon such as Lalong Park had higher noise levels relative to others. The Senate building, Health center and Library still maintained lower noise levels. The University Auditorium, Lecture classes and Management Science building still maintained their relatively high noise levels. Gossip center, CLR, Natural and Applied Science and Social Science faculty buildings had lower noise level in the evening periods. These probably had to do with the fact that smaller number of classes are held in the evening. By this time many students had already left the campus for the hostels or homes. This may also explain why the student center which had lower noise levels in the afternoon now had high noise level. On a general note, however, it can be observed that there is a transition in noise levels from morning to evening. The morning period had a larger amount of continuous area of high noise levels. This decreased slightly in the afternoon, with concentration around the Centre of the campus. The evening had even much smaller area of high noise intensity. This trend appears to coincide well with campus activities, which are usually livelier in the mornings and afternoons than the evenings, by which time most of the on-campus activities would have been rounded up and students and staff vacated the campus center for homes and hostels. 3.5 Distribution of Average Noise Levels on Campus The average noise levels for all three time periods were computed for all the locations to provide a birds-eye view of average noise levels on the campus Fig. 5 . On average, a much smaller area of campus has high noise levels. The most important noise areas are the Social Science and Management Science faculty buildings, the lecture class theatre and the University Auditorium. These locations, have the largest concentration of students for lectures and other activities at all times of the day on campus. This area extends from the west towards the center of campus. The student center also has relatively high noise levels. In the hostel areas, it is probably the busiest location because it is both a commercial and recreational center for students. Most of the area on campus however have only moderate noise levels. Low noise areas are found around the Lalong Park, Senate building, Library, Health science and Female hostel areas. In summary, afternoon period has the highest average values with 68.33 dB. This implies that more noise is produced in the afternoon than in any other period in the campus. For the period of one week, the morning period of the day records an average of 67.93 dB making it the second highest noise level value after the afternoon noise level values. The evening period on the other hand recorded for the period of one week an average noise level value of 67.73 dB. These averages paint a picture of a steady stream of moderate noise levels throughout the campus. Table 3 Noise Quality Levels Noise (dBA) Recommendation 0–30 Excellent 31–40 Very Good 41–60 Good 61–75 Satisfactory 76–90 Unsatisfactory 90–100 Hazardous > 111 Not Allowed Source: Kanu, Targema, Isa & Nyusamia (2022). Kanu et al. ( 2022 ) also presented data from several sources that showed standards established by the World Health Organization (WHO),1999) Table 3 . WHO (1999) has established that the daily noise exposure in schools should not exceed 72dB and that during lectures and learning hours, the noise level should not exceed 35dB (Seetha, et al., 2008 ). The Threshold Limit Value (TLV) of noise for schools should be 55dBA (Tiesler, Machner and Brokmann, 2015 ). Noise levels above this will cause a lot of stress to students, distract them from effective learning and would hardly comprehend the lectures or lesson being taught (International Standard Organization, ISO, 1999; Chijioke, Mathias, Ifeanyi, & George, 2019 ). National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), ( 2009 ) under the (Establishment Act) 2007 set a permissible maximum limit of 45 dBA by day and 35 dBA at night as standards for “any building used as hospital, convalescence home, home for the aged, sanatorium and institutes of higher learning, conference rooms, public library, environmental or recreational sites. These standards are essential to examining the implications of the noise levels recorded on campus on students (Table 3 ). Also, the WHO and Nigeria’s permissible limits for schools are compared against the data obtained for the campus locations. Table 4 shows that on average, the noise levels “Good” in only two (2) locations (Health Science and Senate Building) and “Unsatisfactory” in three (3) locations (Lecture Class Theatre, Management Science faculty building and University Auditorium). The remaining 10 locations were deemed “Satisfactory. Table 4 Campus Noise Quality Location Morning dB Quality Noon dB Quality Evening dB Quality Mean dB Quality Male Hostel 70 Satisfactory 59 Good 72 Satisfactory 67 Satisfactory Student Center 71 Satisfactory 63 Satisfactory 77 Unsatisfactory 70 Satisfactory Female Hostel 61 Satisfactory 55 Good 66 Satisfactory 61 Satisfactory Health Science 58 Good 58 Good 51 Good 56 Good Library 60 Good 67 Satisfactory 55 Good 61 Satisfactory Natural and Applied Science 61 Satisfactory 76 Unsatisfactory 70 Satisfactory 69 Satisfactory Lecture-Class Theatre 78 Unsatisfactory 77 Unsatisfactory 80 Unsatisfactory 78 Unsatisfactory Management Science 72 Satisfactory 81 Unsatisfactory 77 Unsatisfactory 77 Unsatisfactory Social Science 72 Satisfactory 81 Unsatisfactory 71 Satisfactory 75 Satisfactory Classroom Block 78 Unsatisfactory 65 Satisfactory 70 Satisfactory 71 Satisfactory Mini Stadium 70 Satisfactory 61 Satisfactory 71 Satisfactory 67 Satisfactory Senate 68 Satisfactory 66 Satisfactory 40 Good 58 Good Lalong Park 52 Good 62 Satisfactory 69 Satisfactory 61 Satisfactory Auditorium 77 Unsatisfactory 78 Unsatisfactory 77 Unsatisfactory 77 Unsatisfactory Gossip Centre 71 Satisfactory 76 Unsatisfactory 70 Satisfactory 72 Satisfactory Mean 67.93 Satisfactory 68.33 Satisfactory 67.73 Satisfactory 68.00 Satisfactory The morning and evening periods have three (3) “Good” quality locations. The Health Science and Library locations were good for both periods, while the Lalong Park was “Good” in the morning and the Senate Building was “Good” for the evening period. Whereas the morning period had three (3) “Unsatisfactory” locations (Lecture Class Theatre, Classroom block, and Auditorium), the evening period had four (Student Center, Lecture Class Theatre, Management Science and University Auditorium) (Table 4 ). The afternoon period had the worst record. It has three (3) “Good” locations (Male and Female hostels and Health Science) and six (6) “Unsatisfactory” locations (Student center, Lecture Class Theatre, Management Science, Male hostel, Gossip Centre and University Auditorium). The Health Science location is the only one with a “Good” quality recommendation throughout the day. The University Auditorium and Lecture-Class Theatre have “Unsatisfactory” quality recommendations. They are actually the two biggest lecture halls on campus and attend to almost all the students especially very large classes where hundreds of students take lectures at the same time. This is common with “General Courses” offered by most or all departments or fresh year students. Based on WHO (1999) standards for noise level exposure of not more than 72dB in schools, only seven (7) of the 15 locations meet the threshold throughout the day Table 4 . These are Lalong Park, Library, Senate Building, Health Science, Male and Female hostels, and the Mini Stadium. Except for the Health Science, the remaining locations are non-academic structures. It is therefore understandable why the noise levels are consistently low. In spite of this, they still fail the WHO (1999) threshold of 35dB only permissible noise exposure for a school during lectures and learning. There is no record in any location that falls below the 35dB noise level. The closest to it was the 40dB recorded for the Senate building in the evening after close of work. All locations, therefore fail this test. This means that noise level generated on the campus of Plateau State University, Bokkos is greater than the permissible limit for both exposures to noise for students. The average noise level (68dB) across campus, however, is “Satisfactory” and is below the exposure level. Nevertheless, it is still far greater than that allowed for teaching and learning purposes. This is an important implication of noise level Table 4 . A higher institution of education is an important place for learning. Lectures are held, laboratory work is done, researches are conducted and students are expected to have an intensive and extensive learning experience. The expectation is also that there are few distractions that will derail the intensity of focus and attention to learning by students. It is in this light that there are many standards set up to ensure that the conducive environment is produced for maximum learning and teaching in the school environment. WHO (1999) has cautioned that noise levels above 35dB is not conducive for a learning environment. Unfortunately, the noise level in Plateau State University campus far exceeds this limit. The Threshold Limit Value (TLV) for schools is another standard commonly accepted by researchers (Tiesler, Machner, & Brokmann, 2015 ). This limit is 55dBA. The average noise level on campus throughout the study period was 68dBA, with a standard deviation of 7dBA. This average noise level is also greater than the TLV permissible limit. It also exceeds the 45dBA permissible limit set by the NER (2009) for higher institutions of learning in Nigeria. According to the ISO (1999) and Obot, & Ibanga ( 2013 ) noise levels above this 55dBA limit will cause stress to students and distract them from effective learning. Stress could be a starting point for several other health issues including insomnia, migraine, and possibly depression, all of which are distracting and render teaching and learning ineffective. High noise levels can also cause hostile behavior, sensitivity to pains a high blood pressure, among other serious health implications (Moudou, 2009; Chijioke, Mathias, Ifeanyi, & George, 2019 ). Kanu et al. ( 2022 ) pointed out that noise levels above the permissible levels could cause annoyance, interference with communication between lecturers and students and between students also, inhibition of information acquisition, difficulty in reading and comprehension, information dissemination and even socialization. To test if the average noise level on PLASU campus exceeds the permissible TLV noise level such as to cause disruption for studies, a t-test for averages was conducted. The average noise level on PLASU Campus, Bokkos is significantly higher than that of the TLV so it can disrupt teaching and learning, and cause students stress in their learning. It is therefore not conducive for a higher institution of education. It is important to state here that this finding supports research findings in several universities in Nigeria and other parts of the world. Otutu ( 2011 ) found that the noise level at Delta State University, Abraka was higher than permissible limits and could therefore distract students from effective learning. Also, Obot & Ibanga ( 2013 ), and Chijioke, Mathias, Ifeanyi & George ( 2019 ) found that noise levels for University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, and University of Technology, Owerri, Imo State, respective breached the permissible limits for tertiary institutions. Akintunde, Bayei, & Akintunde, ( 2022 ) also found that noise levels in the University of Jos, Nigeria were above the standard limits permitted for tertiary institutions. This study’s finding at the Plateau State University Campus, Bokkos, affirms these earlier studies. 4. CONCLUSION Noise pollution adversely affects both mental and physical health thus affecting academic performance of students. The study showed that noise levels in many locations on PLASU Campus are much greater than the permissible limits. The noise level values recorded throughout the study area for the period of 1 week ranged from 51–81 dB. This was higher than the recommended indoor noise level limit of 35 dB for educational institutions. These occur in places where lectures and learning take place, particularly the lecture hall areas. Below the threshold for exposure acceptable, the average noise level on campus exceeds the permissible limits by both WHO and Nigeria Environmental (Standards and Control) Regulatory agency (NER) for effective study in schools. 5. RECOMMENDATIONS It is therefore recommended that regulations should be apply to control speed limits for vehicles within the University campus by security units, the University should integrate advanced sound insulation materials such as acoustic panels, foams, and composites designed to absorb and block sound effectively, this will offer enhanced sound attenuation properties. Public awareness and strict laws concerning noise pollution within the University campus should be implemented, the University should engage in planting of trees and vegetation buffer zones because trees can absorb 4–6 dB noise intensity depending on their characteristics and eliminating and isolating noisy activities (the use of generators and mowing of lawns) and equipment from the University premises where possible, during school sessions and when such activities are mandatory, they should be carried out at weekends when educational activities are low. Public awareness campaigns should be encouraged among students to know the health risks associated with noise pollution and encouraging behavioral changes among students. This would go a long way, not only to improve the academic performance of students but also enhance staff output in PLASU. References Akintunde EA, Bayei JY, Akintunde JA (2022) Noise level mapping in University of Jos. Nigeria Geoj, 1–13 Arenu AS, Aremu AO, Olukanni DO (2015) Assessment of noise pollution from sawmill activities in Ilorin, Nigeria. Nigerian J Technol 34(1):72–79 Basner M, McGuire S (2018) WHO environmental noise guidelines for the European region: a systematic review on environmental noise and effects on sleep. Int J Environ Res Public Health 15(3):519–534 Chijioke AM, Mathias UU, Ifeanyi NV, George IC (2019) Noise in a Nigerian University. J Environ Pollution Hum Health 7(2):53–61 Debnath D, Nath SK, Barthakur NK (2012) Environmental noise pollution in educational institutes of Nagaon town, Assam, India. Global J Sci Frontier Res Environ Earth Sci 12(1):1–5 El-Sharkawy MF, Alsubaie A (2014) Study of environmental noise pollution in the university of Dammam campus. Saudi J Med Med Sci 2:178–184 Gilavand A, Jamshidnezhad A (2016) The effect of noise in educational institutions on learning and academic achievement of elementary students in Ahvaz, South-West of Iran. Int J Pediatr 4(3):14–19 Haines MM, Stansfeld SA, Job RS, Berglund B, Head J (2001) Chronic aircraft noise exposure, stress responses, mental health and cognitive performance in school children. Psychological medicine, 31(2), 265–277. Ibekwe TS, Folorunsho DO, Dahilo EA, Gbujie IO, Nwegbu MM, Nwaorgu OG (2016) Evaluation of mobile smartphones app as a screening tool for environmental noise monitoring. J Occup Environ Hyg 13(2):31–36 International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) (1999) Acoustic estimation of Noise Induced Hearing Loss ( https://www.iso.org James A (2016) Assessment of noise pollution level at 5 commercial area of Allahabad city, India. The Ecosean. Int Q J Environ Sci 10(1):169–171 Kanu MO, Targema TV, Isa J, Nyusamiya J (2022) Assessment of Noise Pollution in a Hospital and a Tertiary Institution in Taraba State, Nigeria. J Mater Environ Sci 13(10):1137–1154 Latha A, Ganesan R, MadhanKumar M (2022) Analysis of Noise Pollution for an Educational Institution. Electrochem Soc Trans 107(1):12609–12624 Mahajan MA (2016) Assessment, mapping and management of noise pollution in Nashik city. Int J Sci Res 7(6):2319–7064 Moudon AV (2009) Real Noise from the Urban Environment: How Ambient Community Noise Affects Health and what can be done about it. Am J Prev Med 37:167–171 Najmaldin E, Hassan (2024) Noise Pollution and its Effects on Human Health: A Review. Int J Multidisciplinary Res 10(11):24–37 National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) (2009) Official Gazette, National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (Establishment) Act, 2007, National Environmental (Noise Standards and Control) Regulations 2009, 67, 96 Abuja. Federal Government Printer, Lagos, Nigeria Obot OW, Ibanga SM (2013) Investigation of Noise Pollution in The University International J Eng Res Technol, 2 (1375–1385) Ogbodo C, A. A (2020) Noise Pollution in Nigeria’s Institutions of Higher Learning: A Review. J Eng Res Rep 18(1):8–21 Otutu OJ (2011) Investigation of Environmental Noise within Campus 2, Delta State University, Abraka, Nigeria. Int J Res Reviews Appl Sci 6:223–229 ) Owojori AA (2017) Assessment of noise level and its effects on teaching and learning process in primary and secondary schools in Zaria metropolis, Nigeria. M. Sc. Dissertation, Ahmadu Bello University Ozer S, Zengin M, Yilmaz H (2013) Determination of the noise pollution on university (education) campuses: A case study of Ataturk University. Ekoloji 23(90):49–54 Paulo H, Trombetta Z, Vinicius L, Gama M, Laaconi da C, Eduardo FD, Marcello BH, Bianchi A, Luiz Senko da, Guilherme H, Tiago BG, Victor LP, Pinto AJ, Sant DQ (2013) A. Noise mapping of an educational environment. Canadian Acoustics , 40(1) , 27–35 Savale PA (2014) Effects of noise pollution on human being: Its prevention and control. J Environ Res Dev 8(4):1026–1036 Seetha P, Karmegam K, Ismail MY, Sapuan SM, Ismail N, Moli LT (2008) Effects to teaching environment of noise level in school classrooms. J Sci Ind Res, 67 , 659–664 Smaldino JJ, Crandell CC, Kreisman BM, John AB, Kreisman NV (2008) Room acoustics for listeners with normal hearing and hearing impairment. In: Valente M, HosfordDunn H, Roesner R (eds) Audiology treatment. Thieme, New York Tiesler G, Machner R, Brokmann H (2015) Acoustics and Impact on Health and Social Behavior. Energy Procedia 78:3108–3113 World Health Organization (1999) Guidelines for community World Health Organization (2018) Environmental noise guidelines for the European region Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-5725709","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":395255087,"identity":"fd6da576-4b67-4769-9fc3-1aa6c4aa602b","order_by":0,"name":"Dr Solomon Wuyep Zitta","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAw0lEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBADGX4GBjbStPBINpCsxeAAsVoMbuQYPi74Y8NjfCP52YMPFQzy/GIHCGoxNp7ZlsZjdiPN3HDGGQbDmbMT8Gsxu5FjJs3bcBioJQHIaGNIMLhNWIv5b54/h3mMZ6R/I1qLGTMP22EeA4kcIm2xP/OsWBrkF4kzb8okZ5yRIOwXyfbkjZ+BISbH356+TeJDhY08vzQBLQwMHAbMYFoArFKCkHIQYH8A0cJ/gBjVo2AUjIJRMBIBALEEPzu2S6AmAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"Department of Geography, Plateau State University Bokkos, Nigeria","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"Dr","firstName":"Solomon","middleName":"Wuyep","lastName":"Zitta","suffix":""},{"id":395255088,"identity":"024787bc-a5ef-48ff-93c7-c289c24ab3cf","order_by":1,"name":"Ogbole Alexandra Simi","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Department of Geography, Plateau State University Bokkos, Nigeria","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Ogbole","middleName":"Alexandra","lastName":"Simi","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2024-12-28 10:35:19","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":{"humanSubjects":true,"vertebrateSubjects":true,"conflictsOfInterestStatement":false,"humanSubjectEthicalGuidelines":true,"humanSubjectConsent":true,"humanSubjectClinicalTrial":false,"humanSubjectCaseReport":false,"vertebrateSubjectEthicalGuidelines":true},"doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-5725709/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-5725709/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":72682565,"identity":"ce1a91c9-ccf0-461e-a104-f9ba32e8981f","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-12-31 07:35:23","extension":"png","order_by":1,"title":"Figure 1","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":92227,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eThe study area, Plateau State University, Bokkos\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"image1.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-5725709/v1/fc3441cdac59d0ede4bd631f.png"},{"id":72682566,"identity":"f90e843c-fd79-404c-aee9-857c885b537a","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-12-31 07:35:24","extension":"png","order_by":2,"title":"Figure 2","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":217486,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eNoise Level in the Morning at Plateau State University\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"image2.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-5725709/v1/7d403c1f2411e3d5f734c4b7.png"},{"id":72682570,"identity":"8d9fbd1f-c1d6-45f7-bf76-102ae4119b6c","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-12-31 07:35:24","extension":"png","order_by":3,"title":"Figure 3","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":225270,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eNoise Level in the Afternoon at Plateau State University\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"image3.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-5725709/v1/a37909b92492353865f85d0a.png"},{"id":72682567,"identity":"48d205a1-398c-4c86-8d59-2e237cb957ca","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-12-31 07:35:24","extension":"png","order_by":4,"title":"Figure 4","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":130940,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eNoise Level in the Evening Plateau State University\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"image4.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-5725709/v1/67218f7421252c9c34c1aa28.png"},{"id":72682578,"identity":"16872d85-b038-4d7b-a355-f4d60c732048","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-12-31 07:35:24","extension":"png","order_by":5,"title":"Figure 5","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":124322,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eAverage Noise Level in the Plateau State University\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"image5.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-5725709/v1/15eb25311c412d441e8c5fbe.png"},{"id":72684440,"identity":"edebf137-fed8-4aaa-8583-cef56cc89d6e","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-12-31 07:59:25","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1380233,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-5725709/v1/eaf27ef4-05be-48d6-bb55-3d92b6e8f68b.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"The authors declare no competing interests.","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAn Assessment of Noise Level Mapping in Plateau State University Bokkos.\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[{"header":"1. INTRODUCTION","content":"\u003cp\u003eA noise is an unwanted and/or harmful sound (James, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR11\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2016\u003c/span\u003e; Latha, Ganesan, \u0026amp; MadhanKumar, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e). Noise pollution, is refers to the presence of excessive or harmful levels of noise in the environment that disrupts the normal acoustic balance and adversely affects human health and well-being (Basner et al. 2014; World Health Organization (WHO), 2018). Noise has been rated third, after gas and water, as pollution affecting human overall wellbeing (Paulo et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR24\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2013\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWorld Health Organization (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR31\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e) revealed seven categories of adverse health effects of noise pollutions in humans. These include hearing impairment, interference with verbal communications, sleep disturbances, cardiovascular disturbances, disturbances of mental health impaired task performance, negative social and annoyance reactions. Noise pollution remains a nuisance which impacts negatively on the physical, social and psychological wellbeing of man (El-Sharkawy \u0026amp; Alsubaie \u003cspan citationid=\"CR6\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2014\u003c/span\u003e; Ibekwe et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2016\u003c/span\u003e). Long-term exposure to noise can cause a variety of health effects including annoyance, sleep disturbance, negative effects on the cardiovascular and metabolic system, as well as cognitive impairment in children therefore, contribute to adverse health effects (Najmaldin, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR16\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIt is estimate that environmental noise contributes to 48,000 new cases of chemical heart disease a year as well as 12,000 premature deaths. In addition, it is estimated that 22\u0026nbsp;million people suffer chronic high annoyance and 6.5\u0026nbsp;million people suffer chronic high sleep disturbance. The WHO report emphasizes that understanding these impacts is essential for developing effective public health strategies and mitigating the negative effects of noise pollution on populations (WHO, 2018).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eNoise can constitute pollution as an unpleasant sound that is created by people or machines. Sources of noise pollution include outdoor sources, such as road traffic, garbage trucks, construction equipment, manufacturing processes, lawn mowers, and indoor sources such as heating and air conditioning unit, and metal chairs scrapping on floors ((Mahajan, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR14\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2016\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eLearning is difficult where noise is present (Ogbodo, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e). The negative relationship between learning performance and noise levels in educational centers has been established with noise pollution found to reduce learning capabilities (Haines et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2001\u003c/span\u003e; Ozer et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2013\u003c/span\u003e; Gilavand \u0026amp; Jamshidnezhad, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2016\u003c/span\u003e; Akintunde, Julius, Bayei \u0026amp; Akintunde, 2020). Classroom background noise can arise from several possible sources, including external noise such as traffic noise; internal noise such as students running in corridors; and room noise, such as students talking (Smaldino et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR28\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2008\u003c/span\u003e). Gilavand \u0026amp; Jamshidnezhad (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2016\u003c/span\u003e) noted that understanding environmental factors affecting the educational process and considering them in planning increases mental health of students and reduces their stress, resulting in enhanced educational performance.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe high noise level in Nigeria\u0026rsquo;s institutions of higher learning has become a growing concern. Despite the institutions' position as citadels of knowledge and intellectual discourse. Schools, hospitals and government reserved areas are designated as noise control zones, whereby the noise levels must not exceed that stipulated in Nigeria\u0026rsquo;s National Environmental Noise Standards and Control Regulations, 2009 (NESREA, 2009).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eEducational institutions such as universities are learning, research and personal development centers sensitive to high noise levels. The rising levels of noise within the campus, mainly from social gatherings, vehicular traffic, and construction activities, have led to concerns about its impact on academic performance, health and general campus life. Noise pollution in Plateau State University (PLASU) campus, Bokkos can be seen as a growing problem just as recently numerous development and construction activities are taking place within the environment. The student population is equally growing, creating opportunities for larger social interactions and gatherings. These result into noise of different levels depending on the nature of the interaction and intensity of activities taking place. Uncontrolled noise in such environment can interfere with communication, decrease concentration, disrupt academic activities, reduce productivity and academic performance, and even impact the mental and physical health of the students.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eHigh noise level result into distractions for staff at work or students during study periods in the classroom, library, laboratories, and even in the dormitories. Strategies aim to raise awareness and implement effective mitigation efforts, but limited empirical evidence in existence in Nigerian universities, further research to improve the quality of life and academic performance is required. This study identifies the main sources of noise pollution, measures noise levels across the campus, and maps the spatial distribution of noise pollution in Plateau State University, Bokkos. It aims to measure and map the spatial distribution of noise pollution levels within the academic institution. The research focused on the students of Plateau State University. Findings could aid in creating a conducive learning environment and offer practical recommendations to improve the quality of the campus environment.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"2. MATERIALS AND METHODS","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec3\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.1 Study area\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003ePlateau State University is a State-owned university of the Plateau State Government located in Bokkos, Plateau State, Nigeria. It lies between latitudes 9.18\u0026rsquo;00\u0026rsquo;\u0026rsquo;N and 9000\u0026rsquo;000E of the Equator, and longitudes 8.9568\u0026deg; and 8059\u0026rsquo; 40.81\u0026rsquo;\u0026rsquo;East of the Greenwich meridian (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e). The institution was established in 2005, it was granted recognition by the National Universities Commission (NUC) on April 29, 2005, as the 66th university and the 24th state-owned university in Nigeria. The university is located in Diram Village along the Butura-Tarangol axis in Bokkos Local Government Area, about 70 kilometers away from Jos, the Plateau State capital, and it\u0026rsquo;s about 10 km to Bokkos town, the headquarters of Bokkos Local Government Area.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Campus has an area size of 296.167 km\u0026sup2; with only about one-quarter of the campus occupied by buildings and structures. In terms of structures, the campus buildings include libraries, lecture halls, hostels, research facilities, students' centers, staff offices and dining halls all of which provides pleasant environment for the protection, comfort, education and productivity of students, and staff. As at May 2018 to July 2023, the University had four faculties and seventeen departments and by September 2023 the three newly added faculties make up twenty-three (23) departments.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec4\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.2 Data collection\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eData were collected using Global Positioning System (GPS) to have coordinate of selected sites in PLASU campus. Map of the campus and standardized measures of noise levels were measured using Sound level meter (SLM).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec5\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.2.1. Sampling method\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe study adopted a stratified sampling technique. First, the university campus was stratified into broad land use categories; Educational, Residential, Health, Commercial, and Recreational. Secondly, under each category, at least two or three sites/locations were purposively selected based on their importance to the objectives of the university, e.g. the Gossip Centre, is known for contributing high noise levels on campus. For educational category, the Library and Classroom areas were selected; the Students\u0026rsquo; Hostel were selected in the residential category; the students\u0026rsquo; Centre and Cafeteria was selected for commercial category; the university clinic area was chosen for health; and, the mini stadium, Gossip Centre and Simon Bako Lalong Park and Garden were selected under recreational category. In total, fifteen (15) sites were selected for data collection Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab1\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 1\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSelected sites in the Campus\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"2\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLand use category\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSelected sites\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEducational\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLibrary\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSocial Science faculty\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eManagement faculty\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFaculty of Natural/Applied Sci. LCT Block\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eClassrooms (CLR) Block\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eUA (University Auditorium)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLecture theater classroom\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eResidential\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMale hostel\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFemale hostel\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHealth\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eUniversity clinic/ Health science\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAdministrative\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSenate building\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCommercial/relaxation\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eStudent center/ Cafeteria\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eRecreational\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGossip center\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eRelaxation\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMini stadium\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLalong garden and park\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec6\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.2.2. Locational/Geographic Coordinate Information\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Global Positioning System (GPS) hand held device was used to measure/collect locational coordinate information of the selected sites. Caution was taken to ensure that the GPS device displayed at least five (5) satellites in its display view to minimize errors in measurements. Technically, four satellites in view are enough to produce an accurate location information since the instrument (GPS device) uses trilateration to generate locational information. Care was taken to select and identify the spot on which locational information was collected, to ensure the noise level measurements were taken.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec7\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.2.3. Noise Level Data\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Sound Level Meter (SLM) was used to collect data on noise levels. Readings were obtained using sound level meter within an hour period for all the sites: in the morning (9: 00am-10am), in the afternoon (12pm-1pm), and in the evening (4:00pm-5:00pm) from Monday to Sunday. Noise measurements were carried out using calibrated SLM with fast responses mode, keeping in view the changing nature of noise levels. A weight is applied for measuring the sound level as it replicates the response of human ear to noise. The measuring unit is denoted as dB(A) (Mahajan, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR14\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2016\u003c/span\u003e; Akintunde, Bayei, \u0026amp; Akintunde, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e). The sound level meter measures average readings during a period of time t, in decibel (dB). The run time (t) is displayed at the bottom of the screen, the peak dB\u0026copy; and maximum dB(A) are displayed too.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec8\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.3 Data Processing\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eArcGIS 10.5 was used to display the location of the selected sites on campus and visualize the noise level data collected. First, an area covering PLASU campus was identified and downloaded from Google Earth, converted to the shapefile of the area and the image then georeferenced. Secondly, the noise level data was added into ArcMap, the coordinate converted, exported as point shape file, and used to produce the map of the selected sites.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec9\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.4. Analysis of data\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe objective method was used in the evaluation of noise levels in the selected locations. This involves the qualification of noise by defining noise calculation methods, developing data set specifications, producing data sets noise level calculations and a post processing analysis. The values obtained from the sound level meter were also used to compute various noise parameters which include the following equations:\u003cdiv id=\"Equ1\" class=\"Equation\"\u003e\u003cdiv format=\"TEX\" class=\"mathdisplay\" id=\"FileID_Equ1\" name=\"EquationSource\"\u003e\n$$\\:\\text{L}\\text{e}\\text{q}\\:\\text{T}=10\\text{l}\\text{o}\\text{g}\\:[\\:\\frac{1}{\\text{n}}\\:{\\sum\\:}_{\\text{i}=1}^{9}10\\:\\frac{\\text{L}\\text{i}}{10}]$$\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"EquationNumber\"\u003e1\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWhere, Leq\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;noise levels observed in time interval T and n\u003csup\u003eth\u003c/sup\u003e duration of measurement (Joshi et al., 2015).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAverage noise level (LP) is given as:\u003cdiv id=\"Equ2\" class=\"Equation\"\u003e\u003cdiv format=\"TEX\" class=\"mathdisplay\" id=\"FileID_Equ2\" name=\"EquationSource\"\u003e\n$$\\:\\text{L}\\text{P}=20\\text{L}\\text{o}\\text{g}\\:\\frac{1}{\\text{n}}{\\sum\\:}_{\\text{j}=1}^{\\text{n}}10\\:[\\frac{\\text{L}\\text{i}}{20}]$$\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"EquationNumber\"\u003e2\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWhere n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;number of SPL readings taken\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eLj\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;jth SPL, for j\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;1,2,3n (Arenu et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e)\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eLNP\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;Leq x 2.566\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWhere, LNP Noise pollution level Leq\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;equivalent noise level and \u0026part; = standard deviation (Joshi et al., 2015).\u003cdiv id=\"Equa\" class=\"Equation\"\u003e\u003cdiv format=\"TEX\" class=\"mathdisplay\" id=\"FileID_Equa\" name=\"EquationSource\"\u003e\n$$\\:\\text{L}\\text{N}\\text{P}=\\text{L}\\text{A}\\text{e}\\text{q}.\\:+\\left(\\text{L}10-\\text{L}90\\right)\\:\\text{o}\\text{r}\\:\\text{L}\\text{N}\\text{P}=\\text{L}\\text{A}\\text{e}\\text{q}+\\text{K}\\text{S}$$\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWhere K\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;2.56 and\u0026rdquo; S\u0026rdquo; is the standard deviation of the A \u0026ndash; weighted instantaneous noise level (Owojori, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR22\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAn online conversion tool for converting dB to dBA was employed using a frequency of 6000 for the Sound Level Meter used in data collection. This is to determine if the average noise level on campus differed significantly with the average standards for permissible Threshold Limit Values for school environment set by World Health Organization (WHO) and Nigerian Environmental Regulatory agency (NESREA). The noise level was measured with Db to compare against International Standards Organization (ISO) (1999) standards for schools. Also, Microsoft Excel was used to process the noise levels data which includes several descriptive statistics such as mean, and standard deviation. Graphs were also used to display the information and t-test used to determine the significant difference in the average noise levels of the selected sites. Similarly, using the Inverse Distance Weighted (IDW) interpolation method in the ArcMap, the noise levels of the sites and entire campus was mapped. Thus, the noise pollution map of PLASU was produced. Furthermore, the IDW layer was imported into ArcScene where it is produced in three dimensions (3-D) for effect. The IDW noise layer was vertically extruded with minimal exaggeration to show the levels of noise produced at each site. The higher the extrusion or elevation the greater the noise level generated at the site. Both noise levels maps in 2D and 3D were displayed.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec11\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e3.1 General Noise Levels on Campus\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab2\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 2\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNoise Levels in Locations at Plateau State University Campus, Bokkos\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"9\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c8\" colnum=\"8\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c9\" colnum=\"9\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eS/n\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLocation\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLongitude\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLatitude\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAltitude (m)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMorning\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e(dB)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAfternoon\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e(dB)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEvening\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e(dB)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMean\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMale\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHostel\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.959540\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.373560\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1379\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e70\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e59\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e72\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e67\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eStudent\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCenter\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.957710\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.373780\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1376\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e71\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e63\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e77\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e70\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFemale\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHostel\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.957410\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.373630\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1376\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e61\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e55\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e66\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e61\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHealth Science\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.955940\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.373010\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1389\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e58\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e58\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e51\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e56\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLibrary\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.955540\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.371750\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1378\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e60\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e67\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e55\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e61\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNatural Applied Science\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.957460\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.371240\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1390\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e61\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e76\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e70\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e69\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLecture-Class Theatre\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.956970\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.370600\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1375\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e78\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e77\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e80\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e78\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eManagement Science\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.955520\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.370370\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1377\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e72\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e81\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e77\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e77\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSocial Science\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.954770\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.370080\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1376\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e72\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e81\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e71\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e75\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eClassroom Block\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.955540\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.368890\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1376\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e78\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e65\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e70\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e71\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMini Stadium\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.954890\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.368250\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1386\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e70\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e61\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e71\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e67\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e12\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSenate\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.955370\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.366260\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1398\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e68\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e66\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e40\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e58\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e13\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLalong Park\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.957680\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.365960\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1400\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e52\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e62\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e69\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e61\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e14\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAuditorium\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.956892\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.371568\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1386\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e77\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e78\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e77\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e77\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e15\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGossip Centre\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.957306\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.371255\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1385\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e71\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e76\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e70\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e72\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMean\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e67.93\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e68.33\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e67.73\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e68.00\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTable\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e shows the various noise readings obtained at the various study locations in PLASU Campus. The Table shows locations with high mean noise levels of 70dB and above throughout the day. These include Students center, Social Science faculty building, Management Science faculty building, Gossip Centre, Auditorium, and the LCT. These are places of high activities throughout the day. The University Auditorium and LCT lecture center are venues for lectures for many departments in the day time. This is because the lecture centers can take a large number of students at a time. Consequently, except for the actual lecture periods, excessive noise is generated by the large number of students waiting for lectures or have interchanges where one lecture succeeds another.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSimilarly, Social Sciences and Management Sciences faculty buildings are noisy because the faculties have the largest numbers of students on campus. All through the day, lectures are ongoing in the buildings with a large number of students going in and out of the buildings. The Gossip center is an interesting name for a general relaxation spot. At almost all times of the day, students are seen at the center talking to one another, while they wait for their classes or for their friends to come out of lectures. It is a general relaxation spot close to the classes\u0026rsquo; area whereby it becomes a famous rendezvous for appointments by students.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTable\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e also show that the health center/Health science, Library, Senate building, the Female Hostel (Girls\u0026rsquo; Chalet) and Lalong Park have two noise levels throughout the day. This is expected of the health science and Library where noises are not allowed because of the nature of their functions. The Senate building is the administrative headquarters of the school and it\u0026rsquo;s expected to be quiet as well. Moreover, it is located far from the class areas where most students are usually found, therefore, there is less noise in the area. The Lalong Park is still a new development in the school since it was launched in 2023. It is still under development and therefore has not attracted the amount of traffic it is expected to when it comes into full operation. As students become use to it and engage the park more, it is expected the noise level may also increase.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOther locations have time periods when noise levels are high and at other time periods, they may be low (Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e). This includes the Male hostel, the Mini stadium, Classroom building (CLR) and the Students Centre and Cafeteria. The morning and evening periods are noisy while the afternoon periods are quiet. This is because the centers are more engaged in the mornings and evenings but afternoons are less engaged because the students are away for classes. In the morning, they are noisy because the students are getting ready for classes and in the evening, they returned from classes. The Natural and Applied Sciences faculty building shows quieter mornings and noisier afternoons and evenings. This may be as a result of its academic schedule, where general lectures are held in other buildings in the morning while departmental courses are taught in the faculty building in the afternoons and evenings. The latter time periods therefore command larger traffic of students moving into and out of the building thereby generating noise. Different time periods have different noise landscapes based on academic schedules and other factors.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec12\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e3.2 Distribution of Morning Noise Levels on Campus\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe areas covering the classroom blocks (CLR), the Social Science and Management Science faculty buildings, Lecture Class Theatre, University Auditorium and Gossip center all had high noise levels. The Student Centre as well recorded high noise levels. The highest average noise level recording of morning for the period of 1 week was 78 dB at CLR block and Lecture Theater\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eClass (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e). Except for the Gossip and Students\u0026rsquo; Centre, all the other locations are important lecture areas. In the morning period, therefore, they are a beehive of activities as students go for lectures or wait for their lecture time. Being morning period, it is also time to catch up on stories of the day and night before, and the expectations of the new day, which as expected usually generate exciting noises. Debnath, Nath, \u0026amp; Barthakur (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2012\u003c/span\u003e) found that students were 40% responsible for high noise levels in campus.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThere are also high noise levels from vehicles coming in the time period for classes. These are largely vehicles of staff who have classes in the morning or have administrative duties to attend to. Most of these vehicles come up to the buildings where the parking spaces are allocated for them. They therefore generate high noise levels as well. According to Debnath, Nath, \u0026amp; Barthakur, (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2012\u003c/span\u003e), vehicular traffic generates about 45% of noise levels on Campus, which this study concurs with.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eLawn mowers are another source of high noise levels in this area. At the time of data collection, the lawns are being attended to and hand-held lawn mowing machines are being used. These generate high noise levels. In addition, areas of high noise levels are in the western section of the Campus and extends into the middle section in an upward, north-eastern thrust. There is a clear trajectory to the direction, which is West and Southwest to Northeast. There is a break in noise between the University Auditorium in the middle of the Campus to the Students Centre at the extreme North, tending towards east. The Student Centre is a confluence point in the morning especially for breakfast and purchases of commodities. It is between the male and female hostels and generate a lot of noises for transactions in the morning period. The Health Science building, Library and Lalong Park are the quietest, being the areas with least activities in the morning. The Natural and Applied Science faculty building and female hostels are areas with low noise levels as well.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe lowest noise level recorded for the morning for the period of 1 week was 52 dB at Lalong Park and Garden, within which is the highest point elevation within the campus area, with a good number of tree population, which absorb noise from nearby surrounding (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e and Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e). Savale (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR25\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2014\u003c/span\u003e) noted that vegetation attenuates sound through scattering (e.g. by stems and branches) and absorption (e.g. by foliage). Coupled with a general lack of activity in the morning, the Lalong Park has the least noise levels in the morning.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe noise level at the CLR block, University Auditorium, Gossip Centre, Social Sciences and Management Sciences faculty buildings and Lecture Theatre Class is not acceptable because it is\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eabove the standard noise level limit for educational area. Debnath, Nath, \u0026amp; Barthakur, (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2012\u003c/span\u003e), documented that noise level should be in the range of 40dB (A) to 50dB (A) in and around an educational institution. In fact, the general noise level on campus in the morning is unacceptable because it is above the average noise levels acceptable for an educational institution. The least noise level was 52Db, 77db at university auditorium, while 72 db at Management Science and Social Science faculties (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e and Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e). These are above WHO recommend standard as well. According to WHO, noise level range of 40dB to 50dB should be the acceptable noise level for an educational area.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe major cause of high noise levels values in these locations was the close proximity of these locations to the parking space, which is centrally located within these areas and these locations within the study area is fed by a main street on campus. Gossip center, along with Student Centre and Male hostels have the least morning noise levels among those that had high noise levels. The Gossip center also is surrounded by trees, which may have created a buffer for it from the proximity to the lecture halls and traffic that pass through besides it to the faculty buildings which are close by. The male hostel and student center are far from the areas of activity in the morning, which are the class areas.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec13\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e3.3 Distribution of Afternoon Noise Levels on Campus\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn the afternoon, the Health Science, Mini Stadium, Lalong Park and Male and Female hostels all had lowest noise levels (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e). Except for the Lalong Park at the middle of the Campus, the remaining locations are at the periphery, farther away from centers of academic activities, which\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ewould be in full swing in the afternoon periods. Interestingly, the noise level at the classroom block (CLR) has also reduced. However, the University Auditorium, Lecture Theatre Class, the Faculty buildings for Social, and Management sciences and Gossip Centre maintained their high noise level status. As expected, the Natural and Applied Science faculty building area also joined the high nose levels areas as the student\u0026rsquo;s center drops out.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAs shown on Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e, the highest mean noise level value for noon within the study area throughout the time of study recorded 81 dB at Management Science Faculty and Social faculty buildings. The lowest average noise level for noon was recorded at the Female hostel. The areas of moderate\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003enoise levels that had covered the center of Campus have taken on a brown hue that suggest the general area has having higher noise levels in the afternoon than in the morning (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e and Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e). Much of the moderate noise levels areas have been pushed further north and east from the center, away from the high noise areas in the middle part of Campus. Only the Lalong Park in the center of Campus has some areas of moderate noise levels around it, and the CLR block farther west of Campus. The implication is that the general area of academic activities on campus have become much noisier in the afternoons than in the morning period. The cartographic representation of spatial distribution for noon equivalent noise level for the period of 1 week within Plateau State University Bokkos is shown in Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e. Findings showed that the equivalent noise levels that range from 74 dB to 98 dB is a risky noise level for educational institution environment (Arenu, Aremu, \u0026amp; Olukanni, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e; Akintunde et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAs shown in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e, the highest average noise for the period of 1 week was 80 dB at Lecture Theatre Class (LTC) followed by University Auditorium, Management Science block and Student Centre where noise were generated by students during extra-curricular activities (Student union activities), and extra tutorial classes around the lecture areas. Other sources of noise are the generators, sound speakers and music players. The Student Center serve as commercial and recreational area where leisure and commercial activities take place.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eBased on findings results showed that some locations such as Health Center/Health Science, Senate building recorded relatively low noise levels. These locations are relatively distant away from the classes. The locations have a lot of trees around them which could contribute to reducing the noise pollution in the environment. This was confirmed by Debnath, Nath, \u0026amp; Barthakur (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2012\u003c/span\u003e) who stated that educational institution should be aware of planting trees and vegetation buffer zone because trees and vegetation can absorb 4 dB to 6 dB noise intensity depending on their characteristics. Savale (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR25\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2014\u003c/span\u003e) also confirmed this finding in his work in India where he stated that the green belt development can attenuate the sound levels. The degree of attenuation varies with species of green belt.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec14\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e3.4 Distribution of Evening Noise Levels on Campus\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe cartographic representation of spatial distribution of evening equivalent of noise level for Plateau State University is shown in Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e. In the evenings, locations within the study area displayed higher noise level values ranging from 70 to 94 dB. This implies that the evening noise level was relatively high. Noise level values were however low around some areas such as Health center/Health Science and Senate building.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe distribution of noise level in the evening shows that the center of the campus is taken over completely by higher noise levels Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e. The low and moderate noise areas are found at the peripheral areas of northwest and south west. Areas that were relatively quiet in the morning and afternoon such as Lalong Park had higher noise levels relative to others. The Senate building, Health center and Library still maintained lower noise levels. The University Auditorium, Lecture classes and Management Science building still maintained their relatively high noise levels. Gossip center, CLR, Natural and Applied Science and Social Science faculty buildings had lower noise level in the evening periods. These probably had to do with the fact that smaller number of classes are held in the evening. By this time many students had already left the campus for the hostels or homes. This may also explain why the student center which had lower noise levels in the afternoon now had high noise level.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOn a general note, however, it can be observed that there is a transition in noise levels from morning to evening. The morning period had a larger amount of continuous area of high noise levels. This decreased slightly in the afternoon, with concentration around the Centre of the campus. The evening had even much smaller area of high noise intensity. This trend appears to coincide well with campus activities, which are usually livelier in the mornings and afternoons than the evenings, by which time most of the on-campus activities would have been rounded up and students and staff vacated the campus center for homes and hostels.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec15\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e3.5 Distribution of Average Noise Levels on Campus\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe average noise levels for all three time periods were computed for all the locations to provide a birds-eye view of average noise levels on the campus Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig5\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e. On average, a much smaller area of campus has high noise levels. The most important noise areas are the Social Science and Management Science faculty buildings, the lecture class theatre and the University Auditorium. These locations, have the largest concentration of students for lectures and other activities at all times of the day on campus. This area extends from the west towards the center of campus. The student center also has relatively high noise levels. In the hostel areas, it is probably the busiest location because it is both a commercial and recreational center for students.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMost of the area on campus however have only moderate noise levels. Low noise areas are found around the Lalong Park, Senate building, Library, Health science and Female hostel areas. In summary, afternoon period has the highest average values with 68.33 dB. This implies that more noise is produced in the afternoon than in any other period in the campus. For the period of one\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eweek, the morning period of the day records an average of 67.93 dB making it the second highest noise level value after the afternoon noise level values. The evening period on the other hand recorded for the period of one week an average noise level value of 67.73 dB. These averages paint a picture of a steady stream of moderate noise levels throughout the campus.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab3\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 3\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNoise Quality Levels\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"2\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNoise (dBA)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eRecommendation\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u0026ndash;30\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eExcellent\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e31\u0026ndash;40\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eVery Good\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e41\u0026ndash;60\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGood\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e61\u0026ndash;75\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSatisfactory\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e76\u0026ndash;90\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eUnsatisfactory\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e90\u0026ndash;100\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHazardous\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;111\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNot Allowed\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSource: Kanu, Targema, Isa \u0026amp; Nyusamia (2022).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eKanu et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR12\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e) also presented data from several sources that showed standards established by the World Health Organization (WHO),1999) Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e. WHO (1999) has established that the daily noise exposure in schools should not exceed 72dB and that during lectures and learning hours, the noise level should not exceed 35dB (Seetha, et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR26\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2008\u003c/span\u003e). The Threshold Limit Value (TLV) of noise for schools should be 55dBA (Tiesler, Machner and Brokmann, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR29\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e). Noise levels above this will cause a lot of stress to students, distract them from effective learning and would hardly comprehend the lectures or lesson being taught (International Standard Organization, ISO, 1999; Chijioke, Mathias, Ifeanyi, \u0026amp; George, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e). National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2009\u003c/span\u003e) under the (Establishment Act) 2007 set a permissible maximum limit of 45 dBA by day and 35 dBA at night as standards for \u0026ldquo;any building used as hospital, convalescence home, home for the aged, sanatorium and institutes of higher learning, conference rooms, public library, environmental or recreational sites. These standards are essential to examining the implications of the noise levels recorded on campus on students (Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e). Also, the WHO and Nigeria\u0026rsquo;s permissible limits for schools are compared against the data obtained for the campus locations.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTable\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e shows that on average, the noise levels \u0026ldquo;Good\u0026rdquo; in only two (2) locations (Health Science and Senate Building) and \u0026ldquo;Unsatisfactory\u0026rdquo; in three (3) locations (Lecture Class Theatre, Management Science faculty building and University Auditorium). The remaining 10 locations were deemed \u0026ldquo;Satisfactory.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab4\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 4\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCampus Noise Quality\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"9\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c8\" colnum=\"8\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c9\" colnum=\"9\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLocation\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMorning\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003edB\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eQuality\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNoon\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003edB\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eQuality\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEvening\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003edB\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eQuality\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMean\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003edB\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eQuality\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMale Hostel\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e70\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSatisfactory\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e59\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGood\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e72\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSatisfactory\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e67\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSatisfactory\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eStudent Center\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e71\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSatisfactory\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e63\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSatisfactory\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e77\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eUnsatisfactory\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e70\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSatisfactory\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFemale Hostel\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e61\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSatisfactory\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e55\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGood\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e66\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSatisfactory\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e61\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSatisfactory\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHealth Science\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e58\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGood\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e58\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGood\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e51\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGood\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e56\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGood\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLibrary\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e60\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGood\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e67\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSatisfactory\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e55\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGood\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e61\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSatisfactory\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNatural and Applied Science\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e61\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSatisfactory\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e76\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eUnsatisfactory\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e70\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSatisfactory\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e69\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSatisfactory\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLecture-Class Theatre\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e78\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eUnsatisfactory\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e77\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eUnsatisfactory\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e80\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eUnsatisfactory\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e78\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eUnsatisfactory\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eManagement Science\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e72\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSatisfactory\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e81\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eUnsatisfactory\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e77\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eUnsatisfactory\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e77\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eUnsatisfactory\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSocial Science\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e72\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSatisfactory\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e81\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eUnsatisfactory\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e71\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSatisfactory\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e75\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSatisfactory\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eClassroom Block\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e78\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eUnsatisfactory\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e65\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSatisfactory\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e70\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSatisfactory\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e71\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSatisfactory\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMini Stadium\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e70\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSatisfactory\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e61\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSatisfactory\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e71\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSatisfactory\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e67\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSatisfactory\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSenate\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e68\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSatisfactory\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e66\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSatisfactory\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e40\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGood\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e58\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGood\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLalong Park\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e52\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGood\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e62\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSatisfactory\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e69\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSatisfactory\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e61\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSatisfactory\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAuditorium\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e77\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eUnsatisfactory\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e78\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eUnsatisfactory\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e77\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eUnsatisfactory\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e77\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eUnsatisfactory\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGossip Centre\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e71\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSatisfactory\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e76\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eUnsatisfactory\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e70\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSatisfactory\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e72\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSatisfactory\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMean\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e67.93\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSatisfactory\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e68.33\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSatisfactory\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e67.73\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSatisfactory\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e68.00\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSatisfactory\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe morning and evening periods have three (3) \u0026ldquo;Good\u0026rdquo; quality locations. The Health Science and Library locations were good for both periods, while the Lalong Park was \u0026ldquo;Good\u0026rdquo; in the morning and the Senate Building was \u0026ldquo;Good\u0026rdquo; for the evening period. Whereas the morning period had three (3) \u0026ldquo;Unsatisfactory\u0026rdquo; locations (Lecture Class Theatre, Classroom block, and Auditorium), the evening period had four (Student Center, Lecture Class Theatre, Management Science and University Auditorium) (Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe afternoon period had the worst record. It has three (3) \u0026ldquo;Good\u0026rdquo; locations (Male and Female hostels and Health Science) and six (6) \u0026ldquo;Unsatisfactory\u0026rdquo; locations (Student center, Lecture Class Theatre, Management Science, Male hostel, Gossip Centre and University Auditorium). The Health Science location is the only one with a \u0026ldquo;Good\u0026rdquo; quality recommendation throughout the day. The University Auditorium and Lecture-Class Theatre have \u0026ldquo;Unsatisfactory\u0026rdquo; quality recommendations. They are actually the two biggest lecture halls on campus and attend to almost all the students especially very large classes where hundreds of students take lectures at the same time. This is common with \u0026ldquo;General Courses\u0026rdquo; offered by most or all departments or fresh year students. Based on WHO (1999) standards for noise level exposure of not more than 72dB in schools, only seven (7) of the 15 locations meet the threshold throughout the day Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e. These are Lalong Park, Library, Senate Building, Health Science, Male and Female hostels, and the Mini Stadium. Except for the Health Science, the remaining locations are non-academic structures. It is therefore understandable why the noise levels are consistently low. In spite of this, they still fail the WHO (1999) threshold of 35dB only permissible noise exposure for a school during lectures and learning. There is no record in any location that falls below the 35dB noise level. The closest to it was the 40dB recorded for the Senate building in the evening after close of work. All locations, therefore fail this test. This means that noise level generated on the campus of Plateau State University, Bokkos is greater than the permissible limit for both exposures to noise for students. The average noise level (68dB) across campus, however, is \u0026ldquo;Satisfactory\u0026rdquo; and is below the exposure level. Nevertheless, it is still far greater than that allowed for teaching and learning purposes. This is an important implication of noise level Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eA higher institution of education is an important place for learning. Lectures are held, laboratory work is done, researches are conducted and students are expected to have an intensive and extensive learning experience. The expectation is also that there are few distractions that will derail the intensity of focus and attention to learning by students. It is in this light that there are many standards set up to ensure that the conducive environment is produced for maximum learning and teaching in the school environment. WHO (1999) has cautioned that noise levels above 35dB is not conducive for a learning environment. Unfortunately, the noise level in Plateau State University campus far exceeds this limit.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Threshold Limit Value (TLV) for schools is another standard commonly accepted by researchers (Tiesler, Machner, \u0026amp; Brokmann, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR29\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e). This limit is 55dBA. The average noise level on campus throughout the study period was 68dBA, with a standard deviation of 7dBA. This average noise level is also greater than the TLV permissible limit. It also exceeds the 45dBA permissible limit set by the NER (2009) for higher institutions of learning in Nigeria. According to the ISO (1999) and Obot, \u0026amp; Ibanga (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR18\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2013\u003c/span\u003e) noise levels above this 55dBA limit will cause stress to students and distract them from effective learning. Stress could be a starting point for several other health issues including insomnia, migraine, and possibly depression, all of which are distracting and render teaching and learning ineffective. High noise levels can also cause hostile behavior, sensitivity to pains a high blood pressure, among other serious health implications (Moudou, 2009; Chijioke, Mathias, Ifeanyi, \u0026amp; George, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eKanu et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR12\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e) pointed out that noise levels above the permissible levels could cause annoyance, interference with communication between lecturers and students and between students also, inhibition of information acquisition, difficulty in reading and comprehension, information dissemination and even socialization.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTo test if the average noise level on PLASU campus exceeds the permissible TLV noise level such as to cause disruption for studies, a t-test for averages was conducted. The average noise level on PLASU Campus, Bokkos is significantly higher than that of the TLV so it can disrupt teaching and learning, and cause students stress in their learning. It is therefore not conducive for a higher institution of education. It is important to state here that this finding supports research findings in several universities in Nigeria and other parts of the world. Otutu (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR21\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2011\u003c/span\u003e) found that the noise level at Delta State University, Abraka was higher than permissible limits and could therefore distract students from effective learning. Also, Obot \u0026amp; Ibanga (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR18\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2013\u003c/span\u003e), and Chijioke, Mathias, Ifeanyi \u0026amp; George (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e) found that noise levels for University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, and University of Technology, Owerri, Imo State, respective breached the permissible limits for tertiary institutions. Akintunde, Bayei, \u0026amp; Akintunde, (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e) also found that noise levels in the University of Jos, Nigeria were above the standard limits permitted for tertiary institutions. This study\u0026rsquo;s finding at the Plateau State University Campus, Bokkos, affirms these earlier studies.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"4. CONCLUSION","content":"\u003cp\u003eNoise pollution adversely affects both mental and physical health thus affecting academic performance of students. The study showed that noise levels in many locations on PLASU Campus are much greater than the permissible limits. The noise level values recorded throughout the study area for the period of 1 week ranged from 51\u0026ndash;81 dB. This was higher than the recommended indoor noise level limit of 35 dB for educational institutions. These occur in places where lectures and learning take place, particularly the lecture hall areas. Below the threshold for exposure acceptable, the average noise level on campus exceeds the permissible limits by both WHO and Nigeria Environmental (Standards and Control) Regulatory agency (NER) for effective study in schools.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"5. RECOMMENDATIONS","content":"\u003cp\u003eIt is therefore recommended that regulations should be apply to control speed limits for vehicles within the University campus by security units, the University should integrate advanced sound insulation materials such as acoustic panels, foams, and composites designed to absorb and block sound effectively, this will offer enhanced sound attenuation properties. Public awareness and strict laws concerning noise pollution within the University campus should be implemented, the University should engage in planting of trees and vegetation buffer zones because trees can absorb 4\u0026ndash;6 dB noise intensity depending on their characteristics and eliminating and isolating noisy activities (the use of generators and mowing of lawns) and equipment from the University premises where possible, during school sessions and when such activities are mandatory, they should be carried out at weekends when educational activities are low. Public awareness campaigns should be encouraged among students to know the health risks associated with noise pollution and encouraging behavioral changes among students. This would go a long way, not only to improve the academic performance of students but also enhance staff output in PLASU.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAkintunde EA, Bayei JY, Akintunde JA (2022) Noise level mapping in University of Jos. Nigeria Geoj, 1\u0026ndash;13\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eArenu AS, Aremu AO, Olukanni DO (2015) Assessment of noise pollution from sawmill activities in Ilorin, Nigeria. Nigerian J Technol 34(1):72\u0026ndash;79\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBasner M, McGuire S (2018) WHO environmental noise guidelines for the European region: a systematic review on environmental noise and effects on sleep. Int J Environ Res Public Health 15(3):519\u0026ndash;534\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eChijioke AM, Mathias UU, Ifeanyi NV, George IC (2019) Noise in a Nigerian University. J Environ Pollution Hum Health 7(2):53\u0026ndash;61\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDebnath D, Nath SK, Barthakur NK (2012) Environmental noise pollution in educational institutes of Nagaon town, Assam, India. Global J Sci Frontier Res Environ Earth Sci 12(1):1\u0026ndash;5\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eEl-Sharkawy MF, Alsubaie A (2014) Study of environmental noise pollution in the university of Dammam campus. Saudi J Med Med Sci 2:178\u0026ndash;184\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eGilavand A, Jamshidnezhad A (2016) The effect of noise in educational institutions on learning and academic achievement of elementary students in Ahvaz, South-West of Iran. Int J Pediatr 4(3):14\u0026ndash;19\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHaines MM, Stansfeld SA, Job RS, Berglund B, Head J (2001) Chronic aircraft noise exposure, stress responses, mental health and cognitive performance in school children. \u003cem\u003ePsychological medicine, 31(2), 265\u0026ndash;277.\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIbekwe TS, Folorunsho DO, Dahilo EA, Gbujie IO, Nwegbu MM, Nwaorgu OG (2016) Evaluation of mobile smartphones app as a screening tool for environmental noise monitoring. J Occup Environ Hyg 13(2):31\u0026ndash;36\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eInternational Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) (1999) Acoustic estimation of Noise Induced Hearing Loss (\u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://www.iso.org\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"https://www.iso.org\" targettype=\"URL\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eJames A (2016) Assessment of noise pollution level at 5 commercial area of Allahabad city, India. The Ecosean. Int Q J Environ Sci 10(1):169\u0026ndash;171\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eKanu MO, Targema TV, Isa J, Nyusamiya J (2022) Assessment of Noise Pollution in a Hospital and a Tertiary Institution in Taraba State, Nigeria. J Mater Environ Sci 13(10):1137\u0026ndash;1154\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLatha A, Ganesan R, MadhanKumar M (2022) Analysis of Noise Pollution for an Educational Institution. Electrochem Soc Trans 107(1):12609\u0026ndash;12624\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMahajan MA (2016) Assessment, mapping and management of noise pollution in Nashik city. Int J Sci Res 7(6):2319\u0026ndash;7064\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMoudon AV (2009) Real Noise from the Urban Environment: How Ambient Community Noise Affects Health and what can be done about it. Am J Prev Med 37:167\u0026ndash;171\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNajmaldin E, Hassan (2024) Noise Pollution and its Effects on Human Health: A Review. Int J Multidisciplinary Res 10(11):24\u0026ndash;37\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNational Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) (2009) Official Gazette, National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (Establishment) Act, 2007, National Environmental (Noise Standards and Control) Regulations 2009, 67, 96 Abuja. Federal Government Printer, Lagos, Nigeria\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eObot OW, Ibanga SM (2013) Investigation of Noise Pollution in The University\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eInternational J Eng Res Technol, 2 (1375\u0026ndash;1385)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eOgbodo C, A. A (2020) Noise Pollution in Nigeria\u0026rsquo;s Institutions of Higher Learning: A Review. J Eng Res Rep 18(1):8\u0026ndash;21\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eOtutu OJ (2011) Investigation of Environmental Noise within Campus 2, Delta State University, Abraka, Nigeria. Int J Res Reviews Appl Sci 6:223\u0026ndash;229\u003cem\u003e)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eOwojori AA (2017) Assessment of noise level and its effects on teaching and learning process in primary and secondary schools in Zaria metropolis, Nigeria. M. Sc. Dissertation, Ahmadu Bello University\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eOzer S, Zengin M, Yilmaz H (2013) Determination of the noise pollution on university (education) campuses: A case study of Ataturk University. Ekoloji 23(90):49\u0026ndash;54\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePaulo H, Trombetta Z, Vinicius L, Gama M, Laaconi da C, Eduardo FD, Marcello BH, Bianchi A, Luiz Senko da, Guilherme H, Tiago BG, Victor LP, Pinto AJ, Sant DQ (2013) A. Noise mapping of an educational environment. \u003cem\u003eCanadian Acoustics\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003e40(1)\u003c/em\u003e, 27\u0026ndash;35\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSavale PA (2014) Effects of noise pollution on human being: Its prevention and control. J Environ Res Dev 8(4):1026\u0026ndash;1036\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSeetha P, Karmegam K, Ismail MY, Sapuan SM, Ismail N, Moli LT (2008) Effects to\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eteaching environment of noise level in school classrooms. J Sci Ind Res, \u003cem\u003e67\u003c/em\u003e, 659\u0026ndash;664\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSmaldino JJ, Crandell CC, Kreisman BM, John AB, Kreisman NV (2008) Room acoustics for listeners with normal hearing and hearing impairment. In: Valente M, HosfordDunn H, Roesner R (eds) Audiology treatment. Thieme, New York\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eTiesler G, Machner R, Brokmann H (2015) Acoustics and Impact on Health and Social Behavior. Energy Procedia 78:3108\u0026ndash;3113\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWorld Health Organization (1999) Guidelines for community\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWorld Health Organization (2018) Environmental noise guidelines for the European region\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ol\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"PLATEAU STATE UBIVERSITY, BOKKOS","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Noise Level Mapping, Noise pollution, Plateau State University, Bokkos","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-5725709/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-5725709/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003eNoise pollution is an increasing environmental\u003c/em\u003e issue \u003cem\u003eimpacting urban areas, especially educational institutions where the academic performance, health, and well-being of individuals can be affected significantly. This study identified the main sources of noise, measured noise levels, and mapped the spatial distribution of noise pollution within Plateau State University, Bokkos, Nigeria. Using geo-mapping software and sound level meter, a total of 15 monitoring locations within the University were selected based on the land use. Three readings obtained at an interval of one hour; in the morning, at noon and in the evening for a period of one week were recorded. ArcGIS 10.5 was used to perform inverse Distance Weighted (IDW) Interpolation of the Spatial distribution of noise level in the study area. Findings were compared with the World Health Organization and the National Environmental Regulatory agency standard for noise levels. Results showed that students and traffic constitute the major sources of noise in the study environment. High noise levels were recorded at all the selected points, especially the classroom areas where the level is above the standard limit of 50 dB for educational area. The study recommends that in order to manage and control noise pollution, the University should reassign incompatible land uses, build sound proof walls, plant trees, within and around the Campus. In such ways, noise pollution would be minimized, this will hinder the interference of noise with academic activities within the Campus.\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"An Assessment of Noise Level Mapping in Plateau State University Bokkos.","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2024-12-31 07:35:19","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-5725709/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"c82ee27a-f2e2-4085-aca9-3428a15fa0b0","owner":[],"postedDate":"December 31st, 2024","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[{"id":42196542,"name":"Environmental Policy"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2024-12-31T07:35:19+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2024-12-31 07:35:19","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-5725709","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-5725709","identity":"rs-5725709","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"qtupq5eGEP_6zYnWcrvyt","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}