Clegg Matt, Thornes John Edward, Banerjee Debasree, Mitsakou Christina, Quaiyoom Azhar, Delgado-Saborit Juana Maria, Phalkey Revati
School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK.
Climate Change and Health Group, Radiation, Chemical and Environmental Hazards, United Kingdom Health Security Agency, Chilton, Oxford OX11 0RQ, UK.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Jan 5;19(1):575. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19010575.
High NO concentrations (long term average of 383 µg/m in 2016/2017) recorded at Birmingham New Street railway station have resulted in the upgrade of the bi-directional fan system to aid wind dispersion within the enclosed platform environment. This paper attempts to examine how successful this intervention has been in improving air quality for both passengers and workers within the station. New air pollution data in 2020 has enabled comparisons to the 2016/2017 monitoring campaign revealing a 23-42% decrease in measured NO concentrations. The new levels of NO are below the Occupational Health standards but still well above the EU Public Health Standards. This reduction, together with a substantial decrease (up to 81%) in measured Particulate Matter (PM) concentrations, can most likely be attributed to the new fan system effectiveness. Carbon Monoxide levels were well below Occupational and Public Health Standards at all times. The COVID-19 pandemic "initial lockdown" period has also allowed an insight into the resultant air quality at lower rail-traffic intensities, which produced a further reduction in air pollutants, to roughly half the pre-lockdown concentrations. This study shows the scope of improvement that can be achieved through an engineering solution implemented to improve the ventilation system of an enclosed railway station. Further reduction in air pollution would require additional approaches, such as the removal of diesel engine exhaust emissions via the adoption of electric or diesel-electric hybrid powered services.
伯明翰新街火车站记录的高浓度一氧化氮（2016/2017年长期平均浓度为383微克/立方米）导致双向风扇系统升级，以帮助在封闭的站台环境中实现空气扩散。本文试图研究这一干预措施在改善车站内乘客和工作人员的空气质量方面取得了多大成功。2020年的新空气污染数据使得能够与2016/2017年的监测活动进行比较，结果显示一氧化氮测量浓度下降了23%-42%。新的一氧化氮水平低于职业健康标准，但仍远高于欧盟公共卫生标准。这种下降，再加上测量的颗粒物（PM）浓度大幅下降（高达81%），很可能归因于新风扇系统的有效性。一氧化碳水平在任何时候都远低于职业和公共卫生标准。2019冠状病毒病大流行的“首次封锁”期也使人们得以了解较低铁路交通强度下的空气质量情况，这使得空气污染物进一步减少，降至封锁前浓度的大约一半。这项研究表明，通过实施工程解决方案来改善封闭火车站的通风系统，可以实现很大程度的改善。进一步减少空气污染将需要其他方法，例如通过采用电动或柴油-电动混合动力服务来消除柴油发动机废气排放。
