-My motto has always been – “Find reasons to make it happen rather than to look for excuses not to try”.
Dear Edmund.
It is my view that your KMA Noise Control Unit would be far more effective if it took a more pro-active approach to controlling noise in Kumasi rather than waiting for someone to make a complaint then after five months or so allowing the complainant to continue to suffer noise far, far in excess of the EPA guidelines. I was extremely disappointed how you dealt with my complaint about noise pollution.
In the workplace I have often written strategic and business plans around the statement “Find reasons to make it happen rather than to look for excuses not to try”. I strongly urge you to consider such a work ethic for the KMA Noise Control Unit.
Edmund, the position you hold as the Manager of the KMA Noise Control Unit is one that comes with enormous responsibility. The effort, decisions and actions you take may mean the difference between life and death, the difference between birth defects or not, the difference between learning difficulties or not. Millions of people in Kumasi are depending on you and how well you do your job.
It seems to me Edmund that if you do your job well you may save the lives of thousands or more people in Kumasi.
However, it also seems to me, that if you don’t do your job well you may contribute to the deaths of thousands or more people. “Noise can kill” so says a report by the World Health Organization and the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre. Anything that can kill should not be ignored or treated lightly.
“Noise can kill”, and Edmund, as I understand it, it is your job as Manager of the KMA Noise Control Unit to bring all noise pollution in Kumasi under control and to within the EPA guidelines. If I am wrong in this assumption please correct me.
May I suggest Edmund that you get your Noise Control Unit out of the office and into the streets to stop the rampant and harmful noise that so pervades Kumasi.
Previously I gave you documents which attested to the harm noise can cause to human health. Please allow me to remind you of a few points again:
“The most dramatic effects are in heart disease, because exposure to noise can kill people”. http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn20326-noise-kills-and-blights-lives-in-europe.html#.VKol6tKUfVD
“Changes in the immune system and birth defects have been attributed to noise exposure”. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_effects_from_noise
“Effects of noise in pre-school and school aged children include cognitive tasks are impaired, like reading, long term memory, attention and motivation”. http://www.who.int/ceh/capacity/noise.pdf
“Noise can pose a serious threat to a child’s physical and psychological health, including learning and behaviour”. http://www.epa.gov/air/noise/ochp_noise_fs_rev1.pdf
“Sleep Deprivation of just 30 minutes of daily sleep debt raises weight and diabetes risk”. http://www.naturalblaze.com/2015/03/just-30-minutes-of-daily-sleep-debt.html
“Solitary confinement and prolonged sleep deprivation are just two examples of the psychological torture methods”. https://www.icrc.org/eng/assets/files/other/irrc-867-reyes.pdf
Yours sincerely
Peter Cunningham
