High-resolution spatiotemporal measurement of air and environmental noise pollution in Sub-Saharan African cities: Pathways to Equitable Health Cities Study protocol for Accra, Ghana.

Abstract:

INTRODUCTION:Air and noise pollution are emerging environmental health hazards in African cities, with potentially complex spatial and temporal patterns. Limited local data are a barrier to the formulation and evaluation of policies to reduce air and noise pollution. METHODS AND ANALYSIS:We designed a year-long measurement campaign to characterise air and noise pollution and their sources at high-resolution within the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA), Ghana. Our design uses a combination of fixed (year-long, n=10) and rotating (week-long, n =~130) sites, selected to represent a range of land uses and source influences (eg, background, road traffic, commercial, industrial and residential areas, and various neighbourhood socioeconomic classes). We will collect data on fine particulate matter (PM2.5), nitrogen oxides (NOx), weather variables, sound (noise level and audio) along with street-level time-lapse images. We deploy low-cost, low-power, lightweight monitoring devices that are robust, socially unobtrusive, and able to function in Sub-Saharan African (SSA) climate. We will use state-of-the-art methods, including spatial statistics, deep/machine learning, and processed-based emissions modelling, to capture highly resolved temporal and spatial variations in pollution levels across the GAMA and to identify their potential sources. This protocol can serve as a prototype for other SSA cities. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION:This environmental study was deemed exempt from full ethics review at Imperial College London and the University of Massachusetts Amherst; it was approved by the University of Ghana Ethics Committee (ECH 149/18-19). This protocol is designed to be implementable in SSA cities to map environmental pollution to inform urban planning decisions to reduce health harming exposures to air and noise pollution. It will be disseminated through local stakeholder engagement (public and private sectors), peer-reviewed publications, contribution to policy documents, media, and conference presentations.

journal_name

BMJ Open

journal_title

BMJ open

authors

Clark SN,Alli AS,Brauer M,Ezzati M,Baumgartner J,Toledano MB,Hughes AF,Nimo J,Bedford Moses J,Terkpertey S,Vallarino J,Agyei-Mensah S,Agyemang E,Nathvani R,Muller E,Bennett J,Wang J,Beddows A,Kelly F,Barratt B,Bee

doi

10.1136/bmjopen-2019-035798

subject

Has Abstract

pub_date

2020-08-20 00:00:00

pages

e035798

issue

8

issn

2044-6055

pii

bmjopen-2019-035798

journal_volume

10

pub_type

杂志文章

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