Road crashes have been internationally recognized as one of the main causes of death. On one hand, in Europe, many governments are struggling with the ambitious target of zero road deaths by 2050. On the other hand, they are facing remediation of illegal waste dumps, subject to European infringement procedures and involving a lot of workers and heavy materials transportation. With the aim to further explore occupational health and safety (OHS) issues related to the remediation of such contaminated sites close to urban areas, we decided to focus our attention on road crashes involving people while working in the transport of materials and goods (i.e., occupational road safety). In the scientific literature, it is considered an emerging matter of concern, but no significant contribution nor specific procedures have been provided in this research field for workers in charge of contaminated sites. With the aim to fill such a gap, we decided to, first, investigate the impacts of a landfill remediation site (Malagrotta landfill, near Rome—Italy) on road safety in the surrounding context. Then, road safety management measures for workers driving heavy vehicles from and toward the reference site were suggested through the means of cluster analysis. The main road accident determinants (road safety signs and traffic conditions) for heavy vehicles in the Rome municipality, derived from a sample of 166 events, occurred in the period 2017–2021 on target road infrastructures for the case study. The events were finally grouped with a k-means three-centroid solution. Overall, despite the intrinsic limits related to the data’s details, this paper provides a specific and data-driven methodology to address occupational road safety near a landfill remediation site and encourages further research in this field.
Fire tests are used to determine whether fire protection products meet the minimum performance criteria set out in codes and legislation, as well as to certify these products. Experimental large-scale fires are used to test the performance of safety systems in tunnels, which are confined environments with a high probability of accidents and significant consequences due to the evolution of the event and whether there is the capability of counteracting it by safety measures. In this study, we conducted a systematic literature review following PRISMA guidelines. We searched the Scopus and Web of Science databases for publications from 2013 to 2022, resulting in a selection of 72 articles. An analysis was conducted on the following main topics: tunnel fires, fire characteristics (measured variables, spread, and smoke), model-scale tests, automatic shutdown systems, and ventilation solutions. One of the most important contributions of this study is the suggestion that fire tests represent an effective method not only to prevent fire events in tunnels but also to ensure the resilience of the infrastructure. Based on this state-of-the-art literature review, future tunnels could be designed by linking new smart technology and artificial intelligence to create interactive and high-performing safety systems.
In the last decade, green solutions for road tunnels have steadily emerged in the field of engineering. The focus has been on using renewable energy sources to conserve energy and address issues of disaster risk management, territorial resilience and vulnerability, especially as these issues relate to critical infrastructures (CIs), such as roads and railways. Focusing on the equilibrium of the infrastructure through integrated system services and their external effects guarantees a better evaluation of both effects as they relate to other systems and energy consumption optimisation. To this end, a systematic literature review has been conducted herein that collects and analyses studies carried out in the last decade that relate to green energy solutions in tunnels. Upon a review of the Scopus database from 2013 to 2022, 46 conceptual and empirical studies were selected. Classifications and discussions were then developed according to the main issues identified (e.g., energy saving in road tunnels, zero-energy tunnels, renewable energy sources, tunnel safety lighting, and sustainable infrastructure). Each contribution constitutes a part of the current literature that combines the problems of tunnel safety (as represented by the energy costs of safety devices, e.g., tunnel lighting systems) with issues of renewable energy sources in tunnels. The results of this systematic review offer ideas for future directions of the ‘green’ vision for tunnel infrastructure. This study represents the state-of-the-art of renewable energy solutions currently present worldwide. Gaps in the literature that have yet to be addressed include how to build a green system as well as how to balance its life costs. The review supports the claim that the integration of renewable energy sources can exploit innovative solutions related to the concept of resilience.
The ALARP concept is used in different countries for different sectors of activity where a risk assessment or measure is requested. In this paper a model is developed based upon ALARP principle for tunnel risk-based design in case of fire accident scenarios. In Italy, ALARP risk acceptability and tolerability criteria have been adopted then the compliance with them has to be verified in order to guarantee a minimum-sufficient level of safety. The quantum of risk coupled with any design scenario is defined and modelled and the consequent individual quantum of risk coupled with the single exposed unit in the scenario is defined too. The methodologies for the identification of the requested design scenario, in number and type, are outlined. The scenarios are described in a shape suitable as INPUTS in the thermo-dynamical numerical simulations for fire generation and exposed units evacuation. The expected OUTPUTS of the numerical simulation are the estimations of the number of the fatalities (N) coupled with the single specific scenarios. In parallel with the above physical deterministic scenario simulations, a conceptual and operational procedure has been also established for the scenarios probabilities assessment. Merging the resulting data of both the above separate models, the risk quanta Gu@larp model is finally established. A case study is developed considering scenarios related to a virtual limit tunnel to support the description of the model itself, properties, advantages and perspectives.
Determining the input parameters for the calibration of a water mist extinguishing system in a compartment is important for the evaluation of the performance of the design. Although there is a lot of research on the use of water mist, it is still difficult understand the behavior of the system in terms of safety of people and protection of things. In this study, we aimed to conduct an experimental analysis to evaluate the effectiveness of water mist extinguishing systems in protecting paintings in art gallery museums. We compared onsite tests in a compartment of an art gallery and a numerical analysis carried out with Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS). Numerical analysis using FDS included the water-cooling effect and the heat power in the simulated environment and the calibration for a model was found by reproducing the onsite results. The temperature trend was monitored as an essential parameter for the protection of the paintings. The study aimed to not only verify the effectiveness of the water mist system but also investigate the reproducibility of real-scale conditions through a simulated environment. The most important result obtained is the possibility of using a simulated environment instead of real-scale tests in order to test water mist capabilities.
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