Abstract:
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ABSTRACT
Noise is considered as any unwanted sound that may adversely affect the health and
wellbeing of individuals or populations exposed. This study assessed the magnitude
of occupational noise exposures to workers in different manufacturing sectors in
Thika District-Kenya. Systematic random sampling was used to select eight
manufacturing companies (one per sector) from Directorate of Occupational Safety
and Health Services and Kenya Association of Manufacturers registered workplaces
in Thika District. Thika district was selected because of its high concentration of
manufacturing companies. Data was collected through; environmental noise survey,
questionnaire survey, observation and secondary data for comparison. A sample size
of 400 (out of 2400 employee) participants from the eight selected manufacturing
industries were randomly recruited in this study as per the table of maximum return
of sample. In this study the males population was high (82%) as compared to females
(18%), hence gender had a significant association between the companies sampled.
This study also found that the generator department recorded the highest values of
between 88.7–96.4 dBs (χ2 = 2.40; p < 0.05, df = 1.00) while the office department
recorded the lowest values of between 38.1–50.1 dBs (p < 0.05) in all the selected
companies. The production department had the highest exposure magnitude in
relation to employees. The companies’ noise exposure levels had significant
association in terms of office departments (p = 0.04). The study concludes that
magnitude of noise exposure to the workers in generator and production units of
manufacturing industries in Thika District is high and recommends strict
enforcement of noise control regulations supported by necessary trainings, policies
and personal protective equipments.
