The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as part of efforts to mitigate noise pollution in the Obuasi Municipality, has engaged church leaders on the effective ways of curbing the menace. The meeting also sought to educate the participants on the impact of noise pollution to the environment and solicit the help of church leaders to save it from such contamination. Noise is an underestimated threat that could cause several short-to-long-term health problems, studies by the World Health Organisation have shown. In Ghana, the permissible ambient noise set by the Ghana Standards Authority and the EPA for residential areas is 55 decibels (dB) and lower during the day, and 48 dB at night. Mr Joseph Amoakoh Addai, the Principal Programme Officer, EPA, Obuasi, said it was a shared responsibility of environmental management team and the public to ensure rationality regarding noise pollution. The EPA, he said, was committed to having regular engagements with stakeholders to find a lasting solution to noise pollution in the area. The Agency would continue to educate stakeholders on best practices on environmental management and receive feedback to fine-tune the implementation of policies. ‘We will continue to provide solutions to the challenges that your activities cause, and we look forward to working together to protect our environment,’ Mr Addai assured. The EPA has identified noise pollution as a serious problem in Obuasi, hence the need to step up efforts to regulate activities of people involved in the menace. He expressed optimism that churches would comply with the regulations after the engagement and said the Agency would take legal action against anyone who refused to abide by the rules.
Source: Ghana News Agency
