10.

4 Reducing Atmospheric pollution from land transport

10.4.1 Technical measures

Technological improvements to road vehicle would seem to offer the

greates potencial for reducing pollution in the sort to medium term if there
are no major changes to transport policy or individual behavior. The three-
way catalytic converter can reduce NOx, CO and HC by 95, 80, and 90 per
cent respectively. Not surprisingly therefore the fitting of these device to
news car is now mandatory in many industrialised countries.

However, it will be some time before order non-equipped vehicle are

phased out. Moreover, the converter is inoperative when the engine is cold, a
significant problem in the UK for example, when some 61 per cent of car
journeys are less than 8 km. nor can they be fitted to diesel vehicles, so that
most trucks will be unaffected and emissions of NOx will continue to rise. The
most serious drawback, however, is that they do not descrease to emission
of CO2 and actually increase full consumption.

For all of these reason the catalytic converter cannot be regarded as

anything like a full answer to the problem of pollution from transport energy
system. In some ways it actually makes matter worse, for it deludes people
into thinking that it is some sortof magical technical fix that deals with all
pollution, so that there is no need to change their behavior in any way. It
obscures the fact that the only way to deal with the problem properly, at
source, is to burn less of the fuels or to reduce the amound the carbon in the them.

Burning less of the fuels may be achieved in anumber of ways. Changes to

engines and power train, weight reduction and aerodynamic inprovements are
estimated to capable of achieving a 28 per cent reduction in energy consumption by
cars in the 1989-2010 period in UK. However whether this potential becomes reality
depends on manufacturers attitudes and consumer preferences; judging by trends
since the first energy shock of 1973, it would seem more likely that whatever
techological improvements are made will be used to increase power and
performance rather than to save fuel.

A second method of reducing energy consumption per vehicle is to encourage

change in driver behavior. It is thought that driving smoothly could save up to 20
per cent of car fuel, whilst a similar saving could be made if all those who drove
above the UKs 70 miles per hour (110 km per hour) speed limit reduced their
speed to legal limits. However motorists are frequenty less interested in saving
mony than they are in saving time and many such as van drivers of the users of
company cars do not pay the cost of their wasteful driving practices. It would seem
that behavioural changes are highly unlikely unless precipitated by legislation or by
pricing menchanisms.

One problem with both of these apporoaches is that making cars more full
efficient contributes less to overall energy consumption than might have been
thought because it does nothing to reduce consumption in indirect uses such as
vehicle-making and road building. Indeed, weight-saving materials could actually
consume more energy in production and assembly than tradisional ones. However,
the crucial drawback is that although the potential savings per kilometre seem
large, they are over-whelmed by the likely increase in the number of kilometres
travelled. In other words, such improvements on their own will not be sufficient to
reduce energy consumption in the systems as whole to the level where the outpout
og harmful emissions will be lowered.

10.4.2 Alternative fuels and power sources

Rather tahan burning less fuel, anothers way of reducing CO2, emissions is
develop alternative, low-carbon fuels to power road vehicles. Some are already is
use, such as methanol, liquefied petroleum gas and electricity (batteries), whereas
others such as compressed of liquefied hydrogen have yet to be fully exploited.
However, most steel face technical problems and performance limitions, especially
because of the large full storage volume or weight required on vehicle, which really
restricts applications to local delivery services such as the electric milk floats used
used in the UK. Moreover as far as the longer-term issue of greenhouse gas
emissions in concerned it does not appear that any of the alternative fuel sources
offer a clear advantage over petrol and diesel when the full fuel cycle is taken into
account. For example, the extent to which electric battery vehicles can become a
serious option depends on how far the CO2, emissions associated with electricity
production (much of which is in fossil-fuel-burning power stations) can be reduced.
Only when relatively clean electricity production can be achieved will electric-and
hydrogen-powered vehicles become a lower-pollution option.

10.4.3 Reducing total emissions

Increasing appreciation of the seriousness of these trends and of the growing

contribution of road transport to global warming is leading to attempts to reduce
carbon emissions per vehicle, but given the continuing rise in the number of
vehicles and in the number of kilometres travelled by them, this can only be
starting-point. Longer-term goals must thus address the issue of total emissions
rather than emissions per vehicle, as in the EU where there is a commitment to
overall CO2 emission reductions, beginning with a stabilization of emissions by the
year 2000. How this is to be achieved is unclear, particularly against the back-
ground of forecasts of increasing traffic of to up to 140 per cent in the UK and 500
per cent in southern Europe. As Whitelegg (1993:16) says, There is no possibility
whatsoever that any targets for stabilizing let alone reducing CO2 emissions can be
achieved against these increases in vehicle numbers and activity. In chapter 12 we
will return to this issue when we consider the way in which national transport
policies need to be reorientated in onder to incorporate environmental targets such
as these.

10.5 Side-effect of transport systems : noise and vibration

10.5.1 Introduction

Noise is any disagreeable sound. Its effect will depend very much on the sensitivity
of individual, on the location, on the time of day and on existing noise levels. It
disrupts activities, disturbs sleep, slows the learning process at school, impedes
verbal communication and causes annoyance and stress. People at home are
particularly susceptible, having to close window even in summer and not being able
to make full use of gardens or balconies. Noisy neighbours are often major reasons
for complaint, but transport-related sources of noise constitute by far the major part
of the noise environment, with road traffic the chief offender.

It is estimated that some 135 milion people in OECD countries suffer transport noise
levels in excess of 65 dB (A), equivalent to the sound of a busy street through open
windows (Fig. 10.8). Noise is seen as a high-priority environmental concern by
communities, one that can cause property price falls and in the case of new
transport proposals is the driving force behind much community opposition. For
example, objectors to the building of a new road in Oxford voiced their opposition
by using the slogan that it word transform Oxford from being the city of dreaming
spires to the city of screaming tyres!

Vibration is part of noise spectrum, but is felt rathers than heard. It is extremely
localized close to road and railways and as a consequence bothers fewer people
than noise. The cost in term of demage to buildings is known, thoughtit is a problem
in heritage zone of old towns.

10.5.2 the sources of noise

The sources of noise from road vehicles are many and varied, including brake
squeal, door slam, loose loads, horns, over-amplified music systems, anti-theft
alarms and sirens on emergency vehicles. The major sources though are propulsion
noises at low speeds-especially from trucks climbing

Fig. 10.8

Noise level from different sources: Source:OECD (1988)

Gradients-and tyre/road interaction at higher speeds. The Nuisance will vary

according to a number of factors, including background noise level, time of day and
vehicle type. In recent Germen surveys of urban roadnoise, the greatest mean
levels were heard to emanate from heavy commercial vehicles, followed by
motorcycles, smaller trucks and buses (Fig. 10.9). Motorcycles have very large
spread between the noisiest and quietest, whilst cars, though the quietest in the
sample, exceed 82 dB (A) at 100 km per hour.

Rail noise depends on the form of population, the nature of the load, the speed of
train and the type of track. In general term freight trains cause more nuisance than
passenger trains and diesel cause more disturbance than electric locomotives.
Increasing objections are being

Fig. 10.9

Noise levels recorded for different vehicles under differing speed conditions. Source:
Steven(nd)

raised to the extension of high-speed rail systems due to the noise and vibration
inflicted on line-side cummunities., well seen in the case of opposition of the
proposed route of the new London-Chanel Tunnel line in England. Noise from
Individual aircraft is now less disturbing than in the past since a new generation of
quieter aircraft has gone into service.

Nevertheless, the growth in air travel has meant more flights from more airports for
more hours in the day, resulting in some level of disturbance for more people. There
issues are discussed in Box 10.1

Box 10.1 Air transport and the environment

The noise pollution problems around airports are well known. For example,
Heathrow the largest international airport in the word, experiences severe
difficulties, with runways orientated east-west so that most of the 200000 landings
per year come in over the heart of the city, disturbing 500000 people day and night.
The airport has expanded from 5 million passengers a year to over 45 million from
1960-93 and the growth continues at around 4 per cent per year. Planning
applications have been submittedfor a fifth terminal which will bring the capacity up
to 80 million passengers a year, of whom 54 million will arriveby road, with all the
attendant side-effects.
However, a new manace is now emerging as the realization grows that pollution
from aircraft is much more significant than was previously thought. Thought only
about 13 per cent of transport fuel is consumed by aircraft, pollutants have different
lifetimes. Reactions, effects and distribution patterns when injected into the upper
atmosphere compared with the lower atmosphere. For example, NOx destroys high
level ozone, allowing so much increased UV radiation to reach the earth that the
growth of subsonic aircraft flying higher and faster, together with likely future
supersonic transport in the highly sensitive stratosphere seem likely to negate the
word-wide phase-out of ozone-destroying CFCs. Again, water vapour emission from
engines-not a problem at low levels is of great concern at altitude because it
freezers into clouds which both reflect heat back and forth to earth and react with
NOx to destroy ozone. Additionally, the contribution of aircraft NOx to global
warming may be as much as all the man-made surface emissions of NOx put
together.

These issues are becoming more serious as air transport demand continues to grow,
currently doubling every 10-15 years. Annual air passengers-km per person per year
range from about 1700 for North Amerika through 480 for Europe to 75 for Asia and
45 for Africa. Given future growth in word population and some equalization of
travel between regions, the potential growth in demand is almost limitless. Fig.
10.10 shows that in business as usual case (BAU) emissions will rise to more than
four times the present level, or more than 10 per cent of global emissions over the
next 40 years and that no one mitigation measure is enough on its own to stabilize
the position. More than 50 per cent of global emissions over the next 40 years and
that no one mitigation measure is enough on its own to stabilize the position. More
than 50 per cent of emissions are due to tourism which cannot continue to grow at
current rates without accelerating damage to the global atmosphere and other
environments.

Fig.10.10

The Effect of different control measures on global carbon dioxide emissions from
aircraft. The easiest operational improvement to achieve is an increase in the load
factor (how full an aircraft is). Other operational improvements may become
possible in the future. Demand management and technology can help limit
emissions too. No One control measure is enough on its own to stabilize carbon
dioxide emissions. Source: Barrett 1993

Management of demand on an international scale must soon move to centre stage

as on ingradient

of green sustainable tourism. The cheap winter sun holiday in Florida or Majorca, so
characteristic of mass-consumption capitalism in the late twentieth century, may
one day be seen as a luxury that the earth cannot afford.

10.5.3. Alternative methods of abatement

Noise may be abated by moderating it at its source, ameliorating it along the path
of movement, reducing the impact of its existing levels, moving its source
elsewhere, or reducing traffic. Each of these will be examined in turn.

Reduction of noise at its source

A number of measures might be adopted under this heading:

1. Introducing technical measures such as the redesign of the engine for lower
engine speeds; encapsulation of the engine and gearbox in a noise
absorbing tunnel or box; and modification of road surfaces to reduce tyre
noise, though this may conflict with the aim of reducing skidding.
Associated with this is the need to maintain road surface smoothness in order
to minimize vibration.
2. Influencing driving habits to produce smoother flow and lower speeds and
thus lower noise peaks.
3. Managing traffic to keep it flowing smoothly, perhaps by linking traffic lights
to produce green waves of traffic and thus reduce stop-start progress.
4. Controlling motor cycles perhaps by preventing owner-modification, fitting
better exhaust silencers or even controlling top speed and acceleration. As
large motor cylcles are really itemsof sports equipment rather than essential
means of transport, there is no reason why they should be permitted to emit
as mush noise as fully laden commercial vehicles.
5. Lower rail noise can be achieved by shifting to electric traction, by better
track maintenance and by modification of the rail vehicles, particularly the
wheels and bogies. Vibration is reduced by much the same package. In the
case of Japanese Shinkansen lines, the use of iron girders has been
minimized, vibration-resistant track beds installed and rails polished to
reduce corrugations. Even so , noise barriers have had to be erected,
homeowners compensated or bought out and much of the line put in tunnel,
up to 56 per cent of it on the Okoyama-Hakata section.

Reducing noise along the path of movement

Surrounding roads and railways with buffer zones, planting or screening is
desirable, though space for this may not be available in urban areas. The
most effective solution is to put the road or line in tunnel, but this increases
costs dramatically, often to prohibitive levels. In the case of aircraft
movements, take-off patterns can be adopted that reduce noise fall-out over
residential areas.

Reducing impact of noise on existing communities

Noise-reduction techniques can be applied to building themselves, such as
double glazing and noise-absorbing insulation. An alternative or additional
tactic may be to ban aircraft movement at night, in the same way that some
cities have restricted truck movements to walking hours.

Strategies for removing the source of nuisance

The construction of bypasses around towns is often partly justified interms of
removing the noise nuisance from residential areas. Similarly, noise-reduction
strategies influence the location of new airports, which despite their need to
be sited close to the city if they are to serve their intended market are
frequently banished to more distant locations in order to minimize their
environmental impact.

Reducing traffic
One certain way of reducing the nuisance from noise and vibration would be
to reduce the amount of traffic in the first place, a strategy which would of
course mitigation transports other environmental impact too. Discussion of
broad goal of kind is postponed until the whole issue of sustainable transport
is examined in Chapter 12.