Evaluation of street sweeping and washing to reduce ambient PM₁₀

This paper presents an evaluation of street sweeping and washing by PM ₁₀ measurements and determination of silt load from active traffic streets. A modified Regenerative-Air Vacuum Sweeper (RAVS) and a washer were used. It was found that the impact of sweeping alone on ambient PM₁₀ concentrations was short-lived, lasting no more than about 2-3 h. The method of sweeping followed by washing tested in this work was found to offer a measurable reduction in PM₁₀ re-suspension potentials from paved roads. Typically, the reduction efficiency is up to 24.4% of ambient PM₁₀ concentration. Finally, correlated with η_s (based on silt load), a correlation is proposed to estimate the reduction efficiency, η_r (based on PM₁₀), which is valid in appropriate conditions suggested by the work. It is feasible to predict the reduction efficiency of ambient PM₁₀ controlled by the RAVS and washer used in this work.