utility tunnel

Indoor atmosphere hazard identification in person entry urban

utility tunnels

Jorge Curiel-Esparza a ,Julian Canto-Perello

b,*

a E.T.S.de Ingenieros de Caminos,Canales y Puertos,Universidad Politecnica de Valencia,Camino de Vera,s/n,46071Valencia,Spain b

Departamento de Ingenieria de la Construccion y Proyectos de Ingenieria Civil,Universidad Politecnica de Valencia,Camino de Vera,

s/n,46071Valencia,Spain

Received 2September 2004;received in revised form 28January 2005;accepted 18February 2005

Available online 31March 2005

Abstract

Urban underground space is a finite and non-renewable resource.Sustainable use of valuable shallow subsurface space requires the wide use of utility tunnels.However,traditional trenching has been adopted in many projects arguing utilidors present atmo-sphere hazards related to any multipurpose confined space.Utility tunnel operational risks might seem discouraging at first,but urban planning for an underground sustainable future needs these efficient facilities.The aim of this work is to characterize utilidor indoor atmosphere hazards to show how these risks could be minimised,in order to guarantee a better standard of safety and health protection.

Ó2005Elsevier Ltd.All rights reserved.

Keywords:Utility tunnel;Workplace safety;Indoor atmosphere

1.Introduction

The need for underground public works in order to live in communities has existed for millennia.Utilization of the subsurface is an essential for communities of every size,and an even greater essential for large cities,especially those that are growing fast (Carmody and Sterling,1993).Nowadays,demands for all existing ur-ban utilities due to the growth of urban areas and the possibility of new types of utility systems are increasing.Utility services have been placed underground in order to achieve less visual impact and more protection against adverse climate,vandalism and natural disasters.Most present underground utilities were installed in days when land was cheap and environmental impacts were not a key factor.The value of the subsurface space has been ignored for a long time (Duffaut,1996;Duffaut

and Labbe,2002).Utility tunnels became significant not only for preventing the need to dig up streets for statu-tory services,but also for the efficient use of the valuable subsurface space under streets (Curiel-Esparza et al.,2004).Once a subsurface facility or utility is placed,the underground space used can never be restored to its original condition.Urban underground space is a fi-nite and non-renewable resource.

The most striking feature of these underground facil-ities is that they integrate urban utilities in an easily accessible space at any point of their length (see Fig.1)(Cano-Hurtado and Canto-Perello,1999).Accessibil-ity and maintainability of public services are key factors in selecting underground tunnels over other methods of utility distribution.Also,besides liability,one of the ma-jor problems for many companies is to share the same workplace (Curiel-Esparza et al.,2003).Some of the most commonly stated reasons for not adopting utility tunnels are atmospheric hazards associated with a multipurpose confined space.The need to improve

0886-7798/$-see front matter Ó2005Elsevier Ltd.All rights reserved.doi:10.1016/j.tust.2005.02.003

*

Corresponding author.Fax:+34962794115.

E-mail address:jcantope@cst.upv.es (J.Canto-Perello).

/locate/tust

Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology 20(2005)

426–434

Tunnelling and

Underground Space Technology

incorporating Trenchless Technology Research