Real-time construction site dust monitoring

Protecting Parisians from dust emissions during the construction of “The Grand Paris Express”

The Grand Paris Express is the largest transport development passing through an urban area in Europe today. The project will require the construction of 68 new interconnected stations and four new lines. The first phase of the project is scheduled to be ready in time for the 2024 Paris Olympics. Due to the close proximity of local residents and sensitive receptors, the Parisian authorities requested that continuous PM10 and PM2.5 dust particulate monitors be deployed at each site. A live data feed from each monitor was needed to quickly identify any increases in dust levels that had the potential to give rise to complaints from local residents. Given the high-profile nature of the project and the critical timeframe for the Olympics it was vital to have alerts that notified the site managers to take action quickly, but also to have ready and available data to investigate and resolve any complaints. Minimising the risk of delay caused by complaints was essential in order to deliver the project on time.

TSI’s DustTrak^TM Environmental Monitor is an MCERTS certified instrument that is up to the job. It contains an array of features that enable it to operate continuously in tough conditions without any loss in performance. The DustTrak^TM Environmental Monitors were deployed around the fence perimeter of each allocated site to measure the amount of dust particulates leaving the boundary. Each monitor is equipped with telemetry and mobile communication to log data to TSI’s cloud monitoring platform where information can be clearly displayed and easily shared with others. Additionally, a variety of alerts can be created depending on the set threshold limits and sent out to specified recipients via email or SMS. For example, the site manager will receive an alert when the dust concentration level exceeds an average of 150µg/m3 over a 15-minute period. Such notifications enable site managers to respond rapidly and take effective action to reduce dust levels.

Apave, an international benchmark group in the field of technical, environmental and human risk management for over 150 years, operates on the Grand Paris Express site. Apave was commissioned to assess the quality of the air. Dust and gas are measured using sentries (connected beacons) positioned on the site: All the results of these measurements are then analyzed by Apave and sent by email or sms.

TSI’s monitoring platform also allows Apave to invite other users to view their data which increases transparency. The platform allows them to set the access level to prevent a user from inadvertently changing any advanced settings. Functions such as these are a great way to keep key stakeholders informed, such as relevant local councils and community representatives.

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