Study on Oxygen Supply Standard for Physical Health of Construction Personnel of High-Altitude Tunnels

Abstract

The low atmospheric pressure and low oxygen content in high-altitude environment have great impacts on the functions of human body. Especially for the personnel engaged in complicated physical labor such as tunnel construction, high altitude can cause a series of adverse physiological reactions, which may result in multiple high-altitude diseases and even death in severe cases. Artificial oxygen supply is required to ensure health and safety of construction personnel in hypoxic environments. However, there are no provisions for oxygen supply standard for tunnel construction personnel in high-altitude areas in current tunnel construction specifications. As a result, this paper has theoretically studied the impacts of high-altitude environment on human bodies, analyzed the relationship between labor intensity and oxygen consumption in high-altitude areas and determined the critical oxygen-supply altitude values for tunnel construction based on two different standard evaluation systems, i.e., variation of air density and equivalent PIO2. In addition, it has finally determined the oxygen supply standard for construction personnel in high-altitude areas based on the relationship between construction labor intensity and oxygen consumption.

Energy-Saving Network Ventilation Technology of Extra-Long Tunnel in Climate Separation Zone

“…For Node 1, in the ventilation network, when the air density changes little, the air quantity flowing in Node i is equal to that flowing out of Node i, i.e., the algebraic sum at any node is zero, as shown in Equations (10) and (11).…”

“…Good ventilation results are obtained in extra-long tunnels after applying this ventilation mode, but the drawback is high construction costs due to large occupied space in the tunnel [10]. Shafts or inclined shafts serve as air inlets or outlets in segmented longitudinal ventilation, the extra-long tunnel is divided into several segments [11]. Construction expense will obviously decline compared to semi-transverse ventilation [12].…”

Using Electroencephalography (EEG) Power Responses to Investigate the Effects of Ambient Oxygen Content, Safety Shoe Type, and Lifting Frequency on the Worker’s Activities

“…These electrical signals are a combination of brain rhythms at different frequency levels falling into differing frequency, including delta waves (<4 Hz), theta waves (4-7 Hz), alpha waves (7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12), beta waves (12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30), and gamma waves [5]. Studies have shown that delta activities are high during sleep while theta index activities are high on the early phase of sleepiness [6].…”

“…Furthermore, the pressure of atmospheric significantly affects the functions of the human body because low atmospheric pressure leads to a decrease in partial oxygen pressure [26]. Thus, the change in atmospheric pressure and the molecular pressure of oxygen are essential variables affecting oxygen transport and human respiration in altitude [27]. Many studies have shown that the maximal workload, as well as the uptake of oxygen, decreases as the atmospheric pressure and the partial pressure of oxygen decreases (in another word as altitude increases) [28,29]".…”

Occupational Safety and Related Impacts on Health and the Environment

“…The physical workload of male workers in the construction industry in Norway is investigated by Lunde and his colleagues who describe the cardiovascular burden of 255 such workers [7]. Construction workers in Chinese high altitude tunnels face a different set of risks and Guo and colleagues looked at the oxygen supply standards which might apply when workers are engaged in heavy physical work in tunnels [8]. Importantly the authors moot a standard for oxygen supply to this workforce.…”