EFFECT OF NOISE POLLUTION ON THE HEALTH OF PORT HARCOURT REFINING COMPANY WORKERS

Abstract

The Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC) is a Port Harcourt based oil and gas company primarily specializing in the refining of crude oil into petroleum products. The company is a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC, DPR 2014)”. According to Ohaji (2016) in PHRC news, “Crude oil refining involves several processes that generate high levels of noise including distillation, reformation, catalytic cracking and power generation. The main processes in the plant include crude oil distillation, reformation, and catalytic cracking; operations at these units, as well as the power generating unit, are associated with regular generation of high levels of noise”. “There are four (4) turbo-generators each with capacity of 14 mega watt of electricity per hour and four boilers, capacity of generating one hundred and twenty (120) tons of steam per hour each”(DPR, 2016). Ohaji (2016) noted that “The major noise exposures occur at the Crude Distillation Unit (CDU), Crude Reformation Unit (CRU), Fluid Catalytic Cracking Unit (FCC) and the power plant. Ambient noise measurements at these units regularly exceed levels considered harmful to hearing, and use of hearing protection by employees is mandatory within these units” (Ohaji, 2016).