Why NR’s breathing easy
NICOLA ATKINSON, rail account manager at ESG, explains how the company has helped Network Rail to ensure optimum workplace health and safety for its track maintenance teams
The UK rail sector not only prides itself on providing a safe environment for passengers, but also for those behind the scenes, maintaining stations, rolling stock and the track.
Managing hazards, including those posed by poor air quality, has always been a key priority. One example of this is when Network Rail (NR) needed to be sure that the air remained clean and free from dust and fumes inside its new fleet of mobile maintenance trains (MMTs). These self-propelled units are designed to provide a safe and well-lit environment for workers, shielding them from weather and passing trains while they work on the track.
The MMTs are designed to operate either with the sides in an open position, to provide additional space for large equipment, or with the sides fully deployed, to provide maximum protection.
In any enclosed space, dust and fumes are significant health and safety issues, unless suitable precautions are taken. The build-up of dust and fumes can become particularly acute during track maintenance work when cutting, grinding and welding of rails release potentially toxic fumes. Drilling into concrete sleepers and stone ballast can also lead to a large build-up of particulates.
Exposure to these fumes can cause irritation to the eyes, nose and chest in the short term, while dust can lead to breathlessness. In the long term, both hazards can cause chronic respiratory illnesses.
Under the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) regulations, organisations operating in all sectors have a legal obligation to assess and minimise the risks posed to employees from dust, fumes and other hazardous substances.
To design a solution to enable NR to meet these regulatory requirements for its fleet of MMTs, ESG undertook comprehensive air monitoring on behalf of NR at the vehicle manufacturer’s site in Austria.
Air monitoring and occupational hygienists investigated internal dust and metal fume levels produced by welding and other similar heavy-duty work in order to ensure the MMTs were provided with sufficient ventilation to facilitate high-intensity maintenance. ESG also performed monitoring on each person operating within the MMTs during work activities to determine background air quality levels for other people working in the unit at the same time.
Tests were repeated for each MMT with the sides both open and fully deployed to provide useful air quality comparisons in all possible operational scenarios.
All of the work was completed in situ, with the MMTs deployed on an Austrian test track. ESG’s hygienists liaised regularly with NR to maximise monitoring efficiency and ensure optimum test precision.
The results of the tests successfully demonstrated that the ventilation systems within all the units were effective enough to minimise internal dust and metal fume levels, even with their sides fully extended and during high-intensity metal-working.
Due to this analysis, NR now has the confirmation it needs that its MMTs comply with UK workplace exposure limits, and that its high standards of worker health and safety are being upheld.
ESG performed monitoring on each person operating within the MMTs during work activities.