Dear Mr Coyne

LFS/AH/RSN18395

Thank you for your email, which has been received by Merseytravel.

Your request is being dealt with under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 / Environmental Information Regulations 2004 and will be answered within twenty working days.

If you have any queries about this request do not hesitate to contact me. Please quote the reference number above in any future communications.

Kind regards,

Andy Henderson

Senior Information Management Officer | Merseytravel | Mann Island, PO Box 1976, Liverpool, L69 3HN
Office: 0151 330 1679 | Email: [email address]

Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail.

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Dear Mr Coyne

LFS/AH/RSN18395

Thank you for your recent request, which has been processed in accordance with the Environmental Information Regulations 2004. Please find Merseytravel’s response to your enquiry below.

Please provide details of any air quality mitigation measures deployed in the Mersey Tunnels.

Pollution levels in the Mersey Tunnels are constantly monitored at pollution stations throughout the tunnels roadway. Each station monitors visibility, Nitrogen Dioxide and Carbon Monoxide, and ventilation control are introduced when the vent control levels for the pollution parameters are reached. Pollution control limits are based on guidelines from the Health & Safety Executive EH40 and standard set for road tunnels by Highways England.

In particular is there any equipment which removes pollutants from the atmosphere in the Tunnels, as opposed to venting and dispersing it?

There is no equipment in place to remove pollutants from the atmosphere, neither is there any requirement to process the controlled pollutants within the exhaust air from our vent stations. Dispersion modelling studies carried out by Mersey Tunnels on our exhaust dispersions at height indicated that contribution of emissions from vent shafts to the ambient pollution levels were negligible at all locations.

Please provide details of any reports provided or procured by Merseytravel, within the last 10 years, on the feasibility of installing any equipment to remove pollutants from the air in the Tunnels.

Dispersion modelling of emissions from Mersey Tunnels did not raise any concerns regarding the discharge from vent shafts at all locations. It was therefore not necessary for any such studies to be undertaken.

I trust that this information is of interest to you.

If you are dissatisfied with the handling of your request, you have the right to ask for an internal review, which should be addressed to:
Mrs Julie Watling
Legal, Democratic Services & Procurement Manager
Merseytravel
PO Box 1976
Liverpool
L69 3HN
[email address]

If you are not content with the result of your internal review, you also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner, whose address is
The Information Commissioner’s Office,
Wycliffe House,
Water Lane,
Wilmslow,
Cheshire SK9 5AF
www.ico.gov.uk

Kind regards,

Andy Henderson

Senior Information Management Officer | Merseytravel | Mann Island, PO Box 1976, Liverpool, L69 3HN
Office: 0151 330 1679 | Email: [email address]

Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail.

The information supplied continues to be protected by copyright. You are free to use it for your own purposes, including for private study and non-commercial research and for any other purpose authorised by an exception in current copyright law. Documents (except photographs) can also be used in the UK without requiring permission for the purposes of news reporting. Any other reuse, for example, commercial publication would require the permission of the copyright holder.

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