LECCION 5 – MITIGATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS

The environmental impact of transport is significant because it is a major user of energy, and burns most of the
world's petroleum. This creates air pollution, including nitrous oxides and particulates, and is a significant contributor to global
warming through emission of carbon dioxide, for which transport is the fastest-growing emission sector. 
Environmental regulations in developed countries have reduced the individual vehicles emission; however, this has been
offset by an increase in the number of vehicles, and more use of each vehicle. Some pathways to reduce the carbon emissions of
road vehicles considerably have been studied. Energy use and emissions vary largely between modes,
causing environmentalists to call for a transition from air and road to rail and human-powered transport, and increase transport
electrification and energy efficiency.
Mitigation of environmental impacts is an important part of the planning, design, and operation of transportation
facilities. Mitigation of system level system – level impacts, such as air quality, energy consumption, and land – use impacts, is a
major concern in the transportation planning process.

NOISE
Noise is an important impact for most transportation systems. Noise impacts around major airports are often severe.
Noise impacts of highway and rail systems tend to be less severe. Mitigation of noise impacts includes control of noise at the
source, location and design of facilities to minimize noise impacts, construction of noise barriers, and insulation of receptors.

Measurement of Sound
The basic unit of sound is decibel, which related to the actual sound pressure as follows:

dB = 20 log (P/ Po)

where: P = sound pressure of particular sound, Po = standard reference pressure of 20 N/m2.
The scale most encountered in analysis of transportation – related noise is known as the A – weighted sound level, and
is designated as dBA. This scale correlates well in human response, and is available as a built – in feature on most sound meters.
In terms of human activities and responses, 50 dBA corresponds to a normal conversation. A loud conversation at 0.6 m
corresponds to about 70 dBA. Sound above the 70 – dBA level contribute to hearing loss to some extent. Sound level at 80 dBA
normally considered annoying; this level corresponds to a pneumatic drill or a freight train at 15 m. A jet aircraft takeoff at 65 m
is roughly equivalent to 120 dBA.

AIRPORT NOISE MITIGATION

Mitigation of airport traffic noise has involved attempts to reduce noise at source, location and orientation of runways to
route arrivals and departures over relatively uninhabitated areas, insulation receptors, operational restrictions, installation of
noise barriers to mitigate the effects of operations on the ground including takeoff runs. Efforts at reduction of noise at the source
have focused on jet engine design. Sources of engine noise include the primary jet and machinery noise. On takeoff, when noise
levels are usually maximum, primary jet noise predominates. The introduction of fan engines resulted in a major reduction in
primary jet noise, since the fan exhaust, which is at a lower velocity than the primary jet. Machinery noise has been reduced by
acoustical lining of the inlet and the ducts for the fan exhaust and removal of inlet guide vanes.

HIGHWAY AND RAIL NOISE MITIGATION

The problems and techniques involved in mitigation of highway and rail noise are similar, although the two modes
differ somewhat in terms of noise intensity and noise spectra and the frequency with which noise episodes are experienced.
Highway noise is nearly continuous and rail noise is more sporadic. In highways, there are several potential sources of noise. At
low speeds, engines and exhaust noise predominate. At higher speeds, tire noise prevails. These different sources of noise occur
at different elevation from the ground; for instance, tire noise originates at pavement level, whereas noise from stack exhaust for
heavy trucks originates approximately 2.5 m above the pavement.

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 More commonly, mitigation of highway or rail noise has involved shielding of receptors by means of design
modifications or noise barriers. Noise barriers commonly consists of earth berms or walls constructed of wood, metal,
transparent or translucent plastic or concrete. The primary noise attenuation (reduction) mechanism involved is Fresnel
diffraction, also referred to as barrier attenuation. Barrier attenuation is primarily a function of Fresnel Number N, which is in
turn a function of the difference in noise path lengths with and without the barrier and the wavelength of the noise, δ be the
difference in path lengths, and λ the wavelength of the sound usually assumed to be 0.6 m for traffic noise.

difference in path lengths, δ = A + B – C

A,B, C are path lengths as shown in the figure
Fresnel Number, N = 2δ/ λ
For individual vehicles, barrier attenuation Δ is:

Δ = 0, for N ≤ (- 0.196 – 0.0635 ε)

Δ = 5(1 + 0.6 ε) + 20 log

√ 2 π |N| , for (- 0.196 – 0.065 ε) ≤ N ≤ 0
tan √ 2 π |N|

Δ = 5(1 + 0.6 ε) + 20 log

√ 2 π |N| , for 0 ≤ N ≤ 5.03
tanh √ 2 π |N|
Δ = 20 (1+ 0.15 ε), for N ≥ 5.03
Use ε = 0 for wall or noise barrier, and ε = 1 for earth berms

EJEMPLO: Calculate the barrier attenuation for a noise barrier located 12 m from the source and 20 m from the receptor. The
source is exhaust stack noise from a heavy truck, and is assumed to originate 2.4 m above the pavement. The receptor is a
window located 2.0 m above the pavement. The barrier is 6.0 m high.

Calculate path lengths: A, B, C

Calculate Fresnel Number, N

Calculate barrier attenuation, Δ

The overall reduction in noise due to the barrier, which is known as the insertion loss, depends on the transmission loss.
Transmission loss is the reduction in sound transmitted through the barrier, ground cover, reflections where there are parallel
barriers, and possibly other circumstances.

ENCROACHMENT ON NATURAL HABITATS

Construction of transportation facilities of all types is right to encroach on natural habitats. Habitats which are
especially sensitive, and for which significant impact mitigation may be required, include wetlands and those containing
threatened or endangered species. Other especially sensitive areas include old – growth forest, vegetation and coastal zones.
Transportation related construction may impact natural habitats in a number of ways. In addition transportation facilities
may disturb natural areas directly by means of noise, visual intrusion, fumes, and conflicts between wildlife and vehicles and
directly by providing for increased human access. Mitigation includes design modification, construction of artificial habitats, and
management of habitat in rights – of – way.
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STORM WATER MANAGEMENT
Storm water discharges from transportation facilities can contribute to flooding and adversely impact water quality
downstream. Construction of impervious surfaces such as pavements alters the relationship between rainfall and runoff; such
surfaces also serve as a source for a variety of contaminants. Among the more important are particulates, metals such as lead,
copper, and zinc; hydrocarbons, nutrients and bacteria. The ultimate sources of these contaminants include spilled fuel, pavement
wear, dust, wear of tire and vehicle parts, fecal matter from the shipment of animals such as cattle, and fertilizers and pesticides.
Flood control policy is generally a matter of local concern, and is usually governed by local ordinances. The overall
strategy for mitigation of both water quantity and water quality impacts of transportation systems is to increase detention of
storm water. This slows runoff, thus decreasing peak intensities, and provide time for contaminants to settle out or removed by
other processes.

Facilities used for storm water management include the following:

1. Detention basins. These may consist of depression which are dry except during storm events (dry ponds), or permanent (wet
ponds).
2. Infiltration trenches. These are stone – filled trenches that allow rainwater to fill the stone voids and then to infiltrate the
surrounding soil.
3. Porous pavements. These are pavements consisting of a layer of open – graded soil asphalt over a deep base of large
aggregate that serves a reservoir for detaining rainwater.
4. Vegetative filter strips. These are strips of land covered with grass or other vegetation.
5. Wetlands. Wetlands have sometimes been proposed for rainwater quality management and effective in removing nutrients
from storm water.

HAZARDOUS WASTES AND SOIL CONTAMINATION

Hazardous wastes and contaminated soils are often present in the rights – of – way of transportation facilities. The most
common contaminants include petroleum, asbestos, lead, and other metals. Remediation options include landfilling, containment
and treatment.
 Landfilling. Contaminated material may be removed and placed in an approved landfill.
 Containment. This involves sealing off hazardous waste or contaminated soil by means of capping, grout curtains,
slurry walls, or sheet piles, or encapsulation in concrete vaults or bridge abutments. In case of soils contaminated by
petroleum, containment is sometimes been achieved by using them as subbase in road construction.
 Treatment. These include incineration, solidification or stabilization, bioremediation, and vacuum extraction.
Petroleum contaminated soils are sometimes treated by aeration or land farming. In the case of aeration, soils are spread
and volatile petroleum products are allowed to evaporate, in land farming, aeration is combined with a process of
fertilization and cultivation in which microbes break down the petroleum.

SECTORS
Aviation
Aviation emissions vary based on length of flight. For covering long distances, longer flights are a better investment of the high
energy costs of take-off and landing than very short flights, yet by nature of their length inevitably use much more energy.
CO2 emissions from air travel range from .24 kg CO2 per passenger mile for short flights down to .18 kg CO2 per passenger mile
for long flights. Researchers have been raising concern about the globally increasing hypermobility of society, involving frequent
and often long distance air travel and the resulting environmental and climate impacts. This threatens to overcome gains made in
the efficiency of aircraft and their operations.

Road transport
Cars
Unleaded gasoline has 8.91 kg and diesel has 10.15 kg of CO2 per gallon. CO2 emissions originating from ethanol are
disregarded by international agreements however so gasoline containing 10% ethanol would only be considered to produce
8.02 kg of CO2 per gallon.  

Buses
On average, inner city commuting buses emit .3 kg of CO2 per passenger mile (.18 kg/km per passenger), and long distance bus
trips emit .08 kg of CO2 per passenger mile (.05 kg/km per passenger).

Rail

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On average, commuter rail and subway trains emit .16 kg of CO2 per passenger mile (.26 kg/km per passenger), and long
distance (>20 mi, >32 km) trains emit .19 kg of CO2 per passenger mile (.3 kg/km per passenger). Electric trains contributes
relatively less to the pollution as pollution happens in the power plants which are lot more efficient than diesel driven engines.

Shipping
The fleet emission average for delivery vans, trucks and big rigs is 10.17 kg CO2 per gallon of diesel consumed. Delivery vans
and trucks average about 1.3 kg of CO2 per mile while big rigs average about 1.92 kg of CO2 per mile.

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