Investigation of PM₁₀ concentrations and noise levels of the road sweepers operating in Istanbul-turkey: A case study

Istanbul is located on both continents of Asia and Europe, and it is the most populated city of Turkey with a population of 12 million. Cleaning the city is one of the most important and challenging problems of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality. Road cleaning is the responsibility of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Main Artery Roads Cleaning Department (IMARCD), which was established in 2003. The department has 162 road sweepers, which are being used to clean roads and common areas in the city. This study aims to measure and evaluate the effect of the noise levels and ambient air PM₁₀ concentrations originating from the road sweepers operated by IMARCD. Noise measurements indicated that noise levels around the vehicles rise up to 97.9 dBA. This level is important and potentially harmful for pedestrians. For the sweeper operator, noise levels also rise up to 81.9 dBA inside the vehicle, and this level is not suitable for 8-h working periods according to the Noise Pollution Regulation which was published by the Turkish Ministry of Labor and Social Security in 2003. Measurements showed that PM₁₀ concentration levels from the sweepers reach 355 μg/m³, and this level results in high exposure to both pedestrians around the vehicles and sweeper operators during operation.