Impact of road infrastructure equipment on the environment and surroundings

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The effect of infrastructure equipment is taking a toll on the health and economic well-being of residents all around the world. This is mainly because it contributes to ambient air pollution, noise, and vibration in the surroundings. The study aimed at analyzing the effe...

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Autores principales:	N. Robinah, A. Safiki, O. Thomas, B. Annette
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	GJESM Publisher 2022
Materias:	effects emissions noise road infrastructure equipment vibrations Environmental sciences GE1-350
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/08c71febd5a14ee5a98efb134c99e0d7
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:08c71febd5a14ee5a98efb134c99e0d72021-11-17T10:35:02ZImpact of road infrastructure equipment on the environment and surroundings2383-35722383-386610.22034/GJESM.2022.02.08https://doaj.org/article/08c71febd5a14ee5a98efb134c99e0d72022-04-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.gjesm.net/article_245962_8d976c6915acbc4df3a1869cb9852f00.pdfhttps://doaj.org/toc/2383-3572https://doaj.org/toc/2383-3866BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The effect of infrastructure equipment is taking a toll on the health and economic well-being of residents all around the world. This is mainly because it contributes to ambient air pollution, noise, and vibration in the surroundings. The study aimed at analyzing the effects of the road infrastructure equipment on the surroundings in Uganda. The emissions of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, hydrocarbons, and particulate matter were analyzed.METHODS: Six road infrastructure equipment were sampled consisting of an excavator, roller, grader, concrete mixer, tamper, and wheel loader, obtained from a case study project in Kampala city, Uganda. The diesel exhaust air emissions were computed and analyzed using the emissions rate equation model for non-road equipment, developed by Environmental Protection Agency. This was based on the horsepower and power rating of the equipment. Noise and vibrations levels were obtained using a sound level meter, seismometers, and accelerators, while following the National Environment Regulations.FINDINGS: The greenhouse gas of carbon dioxide was the most predominant accounting for 84.1 percent of the total emissions. The grader was the highest emitter of this greenhouse gas, at 1,531.5 g/h, representing 37.1%. The lowest air pollutant emission was nitrogen dioxide at 1.43 g/h for the concrete mixer, representing 1.4%. Overall, the equipment emitted more greenhouse gases than air criteria pollutants at 88.8% and 11.2% respectively. The highest criteria air pollutant was particulate matter at 100.5 g/h, emitted by the grader. Most of the emissions met the standards stipulated by Environmental Protection Agency, for reducing emissions back to the environment, except particulate matter. However, the concentrations of some pollutants like carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide did not satisfy the limits required for ambient air quality that is safe for workers. All the equipment had noise levels way above the recommended 70.00 decibel, except for the wheel loader. Only the excavator produced vibrations higher than permissible vibration limit by 4%.CONCLUSION: The criteria air pollutants of carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, and particulate matter emitted by the equipment were all not safe to the workers. They exceeded the permissible limits of 50 ppm, 5 ppm, and 0.02 g/kW/h respectively. This partly shows why ambient air pollution had been reported in urban centers in Uganda. The study shows the need for strengthening the regulations and monitoring of the construction equipment being used, in order to protect the surroundings.N. RobinahA. SafikiO. ThomasB. AnnetteGJESM Publisherarticleeffectsemissionsnoiseroad infrastructure equipmentvibrationsEnvironmental sciencesGE1-350ENGlobal Journal of Environmental Science and Management, Vol 8, Iss 2, Pp 251-264 (2022)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	effects emissions noise road infrastructure equipment vibrations Environmental sciences GE1-350
spellingShingle	effects emissions noise road infrastructure equipment vibrations Environmental sciences GE1-350 N. Robinah A. Safiki O. Thomas B. Annette Impact of road infrastructure equipment on the environment and surroundings
description	BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The effect of infrastructure equipment is taking a toll on the health and economic well-being of residents all around the world. This is mainly because it contributes to ambient air pollution, noise, and vibration in the surroundings. The study aimed at analyzing the effects of the road infrastructure equipment on the surroundings in Uganda. The emissions of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, hydrocarbons, and particulate matter were analyzed.METHODS: Six road infrastructure equipment were sampled consisting of an excavator, roller, grader, concrete mixer, tamper, and wheel loader, obtained from a case study project in Kampala city, Uganda. The diesel exhaust air emissions were computed and analyzed using the emissions rate equation model for non-road equipment, developed by Environmental Protection Agency. This was based on the horsepower and power rating of the equipment. Noise and vibrations levels were obtained using a sound level meter, seismometers, and accelerators, while following the National Environment Regulations.FINDINGS: The greenhouse gas of carbon dioxide was the most predominant accounting for 84.1 percent of the total emissions. The grader was the highest emitter of this greenhouse gas, at 1,531.5 g/h, representing 37.1%. The lowest air pollutant emission was nitrogen dioxide at 1.43 g/h for the concrete mixer, representing 1.4%. Overall, the equipment emitted more greenhouse gases than air criteria pollutants at 88.8% and 11.2% respectively. The highest criteria air pollutant was particulate matter at 100.5 g/h, emitted by the grader. Most of the emissions met the standards stipulated by Environmental Protection Agency, for reducing emissions back to the environment, except particulate matter. However, the concentrations of some pollutants like carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide did not satisfy the limits required for ambient air quality that is safe for workers. All the equipment had noise levels way above the recommended 70.00 decibel, except for the wheel loader. Only the excavator produced vibrations higher than permissible vibration limit by 4%.CONCLUSION: The criteria air pollutants of carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, and particulate matter emitted by the equipment were all not safe to the workers. They exceeded the permissible limits of 50 ppm, 5 ppm, and 0.02 g/kW/h respectively. This partly shows why ambient air pollution had been reported in urban centers in Uganda. The study shows the need for strengthening the regulations and monitoring of the construction equipment being used, in order to protect the surroundings.
format	article
author	N. Robinah A. Safiki O. Thomas B. Annette
author_facet	N. Robinah A. Safiki O. Thomas B. Annette
author_sort	N. Robinah
title	Impact of road infrastructure equipment on the environment and surroundings
title_short	Impact of road infrastructure equipment on the environment and surroundings
title_full	Impact of road infrastructure equipment on the environment and surroundings
title_fullStr	Impact of road infrastructure equipment on the environment and surroundings
title_full_unstemmed	Impact of road infrastructure equipment on the environment and surroundings
title_sort	impact of road infrastructure equipment on the environment and surroundings
publisher	GJESM Publisher
publishDate	2022
url	https://doaj.org/article/08c71febd5a14ee5a98efb134c99e0d7
work_keys_str_mv	AT nrobinah impactofroadinfrastructureequipmentontheenvironmentandsurroundings AT asafiki impactofroadinfrastructureequipmentontheenvironmentandsurroundings AT othomas impactofroadinfrastructureequipmentontheenvironmentandsurroundings AT bannette impactofroadinfrastructureequipmentontheenvironmentandsurroundings
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Impact of road infrastructure equipment on the environment and surroundings

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