Dust in the Underground Railway Tunnels of an Italian Town
- 1 January 2006
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Informa UK Limited in Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
- Vol. 3 (1), 16-25
- https://doi.org/10.1080/15459620500444004
Abstract
This article assesses hazards associated with exposure to dust in tunnels and platforms of the A and B lines of Rome's underground railway and provides an informed opinion on the risks to workers and the travelling public of exposure to tunnel dust. The study focused on the analysis and measurement of dust granulometric classes PM 10 , respirable fraction, respirable combustible dust, and the organic, metallic, siliceous, and fibrous components. Comparing the measurement values from the tunnels and platforms with those found at the entrances to the underground railway stations, it emerges that dust concentration in the tunnels and platforms is three times higher, with a maximum PM 10 value of 479 μ g/m 3 . Averaged over 24 hours, in relation to the above ground levels, drivers and station staff are exposed to an additional value of 11 μ g/m 3 and 10 μ g/m 3 , respectively. If commuters were to remain in the trains or on the station platforms, the 24-hour average exposure would increase by 3 μ g/m3. Iron and silica were the major components found in the dust. The use of silica sand in the emergency braking system of the carriages is capable of causing a dispersion of quartz in the air in percentages varying from 5% to 14%. Methods are suggested in this article for the reduction of dust dispersion.Keywords
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