Assessment of the Railroad Transport Impact on Physical and Chemical Soil Properties: The Case Study from Zduńska Wola Karsznice Railway Junction, Central Poland

Contamination of the soil and water environment with harmful substances can be associated with many activities carried out on the railway. The problem is particularly relevant to liquid fuel loading and refueling facilities as well as to increased traffic at railway junctions. Studies were conducted in the area of railway junction Zduńska Wola Karsznice in central Poland (Łódź Voivodeship). Soil samples were collected from specific research points: from the inter-railway (A), 5 m from the main track (B), from the embankment—10 m from the main track (C), and from the side track (D), at the depth of 0–5 (1) cm and 20 cm (2). The following analyses were made: granulometric composition, pH in H2O, and percent content of carbonates (CaCO3). PHEs were determined in the fractions: 0.25 ≤ 0.5 mm, 0.1 ≤ 0.25 mm, and 0.05 ≤ 0.1 mm: Pb, Cd, Cr, Co, Cu, Ni, Zn, Sr by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry technique (ICP-MS/TOF OPTIMass 9500). The objectives of the study were (1) to assess PHEs (potentially harmful elements) contamination of the topsoil level of railway area, (2) to determine the correlation between the concentration of PHEs and the size of the fraction, and (3) to identify the areas (places) where the highest concentrations of PHEs were recorded. Based on the studied parameters, significant differentiation in soil properties of the areas in Zduńska Wola Karsznice was found. The analyses carried out showed that the accumulation of potentially harmful elements was as follows: Cu > Zn > Sr > Pb > Ni > Cr > Co > Cd. The average concentrations of Cu, Zn, Sr, Pb, Ni, Cr, Co and Cd were 216.0; 152.1; 97.8; 64.6; 15.2; 14.4; 3.1 and 0.2 mg·kg−1 d.w., respectively. These contaminations occur in the topsoil layer of the railway embankment, which suggests a railway transport origin. The highest concentrations of PHEs were recorded in samples collected from close to the rails (inter-railway, side track), and in the embankment (10 m from the track) in the very fine sand fraction (0.05 ≤ 0.1 mm). The high accumulation index of copper, cadmium and lead in the surface layer of soil indicate their anthropogenic origin. The results presented in the paper can be used in local planning and spatial development of this area, taking into account all future decisions about ensuring environmental protection, including groundwater and soils.

Impact of Railroad Transport on Physical and Chemical Properties of Soils in the Railway Junction Zduńska Wola – Karsznice (Central Poland)

Railway operations and the accompanying infrastructure are responsible for the emission of pollutants and toxic substances that adversely affect both the atmospheric air, soil and the groundwater environment. The main groups include such compounds as: trace metals and aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). Contamination of the soil and water environment with harmful substances can be associated with many activities carried out on the railway. The problem is particularly relevant to liquid fuel loading and refuelling facilities as well as to increased traffic at railway junctions.

Using the flammability potential and the exergy indicator to assess the fire hazard of the rail transportation of cargoes

Introduction. Problems of fire safety of dangerous goods (DG) in the process of their rail transportation have not been fully resolved. The flammability assessment of substances and materials is insufficiently impartial; an integrated indicator, that allows to apply a consolidated methodological standpoint to improve their energy efficiency and environmental/fire safety is unavailable.The purpose of this work is to substantiate the feasibility and advantages of the exergy approach to assessing the fire hazard of the exhaust gas emitted from railroad transport.Materials and methods. The use of the flammability potential as an integrated indicator of the fire hazard of cargoes has a number of limitations. The exergy approach has a strong potential if applied to the assessment and prediction of fire hazards. Present-day and potential railroad cargoes serve as examples that substantiate the feasibility of this approach.Results and its discussion. Dependences between fire hazard indicators (flash points, flame propagation limits, auto-ignition points, heat of combustion) demonstrated by the components of liquid and gaseous fuels and the chemical exergy were identified.A study of changes in the physical exergy triggered by spills and combustion were illustrated by liquefied natural gas and liquefied hydrocarbon gases having various compositions. Physical exergy change patterns depending on the temperature and pressure of the above products were developed.For self-ignitable cargoes, dependences between the physical exergy and activation energy, critical ambient temperature, and heat capacity of self-heating materials were identified. The influence of thermal conductivity and humidity coefficients on the exergy value is established.Exergy changes were determined depending on the elemental composition of solid municipal waste, ash, volatile matter and fixed carbon content. Polymers and rubbers have the highest values of this indicator.An exergy indicator was introduced to assess fire and environmental hazards of substances and materials; it serves as the basis for the classification of cargoes.Conclusions. The use of the exergy indicator allows to increase the objectivity of assessments and take account of technical, economic, environmental criteria and indicators of fire hazards within an integrated system.

THE RISE AND FALL OF THE KAMENSKY ENTREPRENEURIAL DYNASTY

The article examines the activities of one of the largest steamship and transport enterprises of the Volga-Kama basin in the early 20th century — trading house “F. and G. brothers Kamensky”. The company had a long history, having existed for more than half a century, transporting goods and passengers along the Volga and Kame, as well as by horse-drawn and railroad transport. Founded by the efforts of Fedor and Grigory Kozmich Kamensky in 1857, the company experienced success and setbacks that led to its absorption by another more successful enterprise in the early 20th century. The article pays special attention to the reason for the commercial failures of the children and grandchildren of the founders of the company, who came to its management after the death of Fеdor and Grigory Kamensky. In the face of heightened competition at the beginning of the 20th century between various shipping and transport companies, especially after the economic crisis and the revolutionary events of 1905–1907, the Kamensky family made considerable efforts to save their enterprise, spending significant funds on its modernization. The company grew the network of its offices significantly not only in the vast territory of Russia, but also beyond its borders. New steamships were purchased, the orders of which were located at domestic factories. Having opened its offices in Hamburg, Berlin and London, the company tried to get involved in the export trade of Russia, planning to use its vehicles. However, poor management practices and disproportionate spending on expanding the enterprise infrastructure and its technical equipment brought the company to the brink of bankruptcy.

REDUCING TRANSPORTATION EXPENSES FOR COMBINED CARGO TRANSPORTATION IN WAGONS AND CONTAINERS IN THE ARCTIC REGIONS OF RUSSIA

The economy of the Murmansk region retains its raw material orientation, as it is justified by the region’s natural resources and industrial potential. Economic activity of mineral-resource enterprises and those mining ores of ferrous and non-ferrous metals is going to remain the dominant sector of the regional economy for a long time due to the geological and economic characteristics and natural and climatic features peculiar to this area. The region is endowed with various natural resources. On the Kola Peninsula there are more than sixty major deposits of various types of mineral raw materials with more than three dozen extractable resources, the most valuable of which include copper-nickel, iron, apatite-nepheline ores and ores of rare metals. Production management and transportation of raw materials require well-developed infrastructure, creating an integrated transport system, that is why it plays a strategic role in the economy of the Murmansk region. It is connected with the fact that the region is predominated by industries focused on producing and delivering considerable volumes of raw materials and metals outside the region. In these circumstances, every enterprise plans and arranges transportation of cargo by various means of transport. Railway transportation plays a significant role as it provides round-the-clock cargo transportation from senders to recipients fulfilling clients transportation requests regardless of weather conditions.Therefore, the important scientific task is analyzing the cargo base and finding solutions for improving the existing and creating new designs of wagons and containers for railroad transportation of cargo, taking into account spatial directions of cargo flows, which is the purpose of this article. The authors have proposed options for modernization of wagons and designs of composite containers that possess scientific novelty, as the current state of the railroad transport system requires modernization.It is impossible to achieve effective economic performance of an enterprise that works in the sphere of mining and processing of mineral raw materials without creating a proper transport component that requires its own development. The implementation of the given proposals will allow the enterprises to increase the volume of cargo transportation which in its turn is going to have a significant impact on socio-economic development of the region.