Air Quality

Diesel Particulate Emissions

Crossrail committed to reducing particulate emissions from construction machinery as part of its Environmental Minimum Requirements and was the first UK infrastructure project to set out requirements for emissions control on construction machinery to bring about environmental benefits (as opposed to occupational health benefits in an underground setting).

It was recognised that during the long construction period, there would be many construction sites spread across London, with each site having a range of large and medium size diesel engines working throughout the day, in many cases in close proximity to local communities.

In 2012 less than 40% of all construction plant and equipment on Crossrail construction sites were fitted with diesel particulate filters or cleaner Euro Stage IIIB engines. By 2015 this had increased to over 80%. The learning legacy paper on Non-Road Mobile Machinery Diesel Engine Emissions Control Requirements describes the research undertaken and analysis of the various options for controlling emissions and the steps taken to implement the eventual solution and monitor compliance. This also includes a series of guidance notes that future projects may find useful.

Dust Monitoring

Crossrail required daily dust logs and use of continuous monitors for monitoring of dust from construction sites. Dust monitoring data collected from the continuous monitors was used to ensure compliance requirements were met.

Air Quality Documents:

Summary Publication date Document Type
Crossrail Driver Diesel Exposure Study

Crossrail Driver Diesel Exposure Study

Topic area: Air Quality

This study was carried out by King’s College London on Crossrail’s behalf to characterise the exposure of mobile machinery operatives and allied personnel within the sub-surface and surface level rail construction environment. 10 operatives were recruited to the study between February and September 2017. These oper...

13/03/2018 Research Paper
Non-Road Mobile Machinery

Non-Road Mobile Machinery

Topic area: Air Quality

In 2012 less than 40% of all construction plant and equipment on Crossrail construction sites were fitted with diesel particulate filters or cleaner Euro Stage IIIB engines. By 2015 this had increased to over 80%. This learning legacy page describes the research undertaken and analysis of the various options for contro...

26/02/2016 Micro-report
Occupational exposure to respirable dust, respirable crystalline silica and diesel engine exhaust emissions in the London tunnelling environment

Occupational exposure to respirable dust, respirable crystalline silica and diesel engine exhaust emissions in the London tunnelling environment

Topic area: Air Quality

An IOM air quality research report comprising a series of measurement campaigns on the Crossrail project to investigate exposure to respirable dust, respirable crystalline silica and diesel engine exhaust emissions of the workers involved in tunnel construction.  Access the document here. A separate paper on this top...

30/05/2015 Research Paper