Noise Level Measurement and Statistical Modelling of Mubi Main Market: Implications for Communication and Public Health

The problem of noise pollution in urban markets is a major impediment to effective communication and to the health of the population, especially in fast-urbanizing regions of sub-Saharan Africa, such as Nigeria. This paper measured and modelled noise levels at Mubi Main Market, one of the larger commercial centres in Adamawa State, Nigeria, which serves traders and visitors from the surrounding states and other countries, including Cameroon, Chad, and Niger. A sound level meter mobile application was used to measure noise levels at the new motor park section, and measurements were made thrice a day (6:00 AM, 12:00 PM, and 6:00 PM) for a period of one month. Average exposure was calculated by computing daily averages of exposure. Maximum Likelihood Estimation (MLE) was used to fit the measured data of noise level (NL) to five probability distribution functions, which included Weibull, Rayleigh, Rician, Nakagami, and Lognormal distributions. The primary tool used to check goodness-of-fit was the Kolmogorov-Smirnov (K-S) test, with the Anderson-Darling test as a secondary tool. The Weibull distribution gave the most appropriate fit with the smaller K-S value (0.10039) and Anderson-Darling (0.46943). It was found that the likelihood of surpassing a critical level of noise at the market was 0.280 (28.0%). These findings show that there are continually higher noise levels, which are fuelled by vehicular traffic, commercial generators, human activities (haggling, selling), and other point/diffuse sources, which often exceed World Head Organization (WHO) recommendations of commercial areas (daytime no more than 55 dB(A)) and the NESREA allowable levels of mixed residential-commercial zones. These tiers lead to a decrease in speech intelligibility, social interactions, and an increase in noise-induced hearing loss, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, stress, and sleep disturbances. The paper identifies the necessity of noise modelling of space and specific interventions to reduce the effects that affect traders, workers, and people within informal market settings.