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Assessment of H2S emission hazards into tunnels: the Nosoud tunnel case study from Iran

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Abstract

The presence of a gassy ground condition is an important problem in tunneling. In this study, the effects of groundwater H2S and CH4 emissions are investigated and characterized together with the factors that created these conditions in Nosoud tunnel in Iran. Through the geological investigations, the presence of these gasses was not detected prior to the construction of the tunnel. Groundwater sampling indicated that about 1 L of H2S is released per 100 L of the water inflow into the Nosoud tunnel under normal conditions. However, the volume of the released gas was varying with the changes in the groundwater discharge rate. Thus, estimation of groundwater inflow into the tunnel is necessary for predicting the volume of gas emission. Based on the experience of the Nosoud tunnel excavations, there are several geological and hydrogeological factors that must be considered as the indicators of gas emissions during tunneling. Considering the importance of ground water gas emission into the tunnels located in gassy conditions, the present work was conducted to predict the H2S seepage before the excavation using geological and hydrogeological indicators.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank professor Milanovic, Dr. Sahabi and Dr. Aghasi for their guides that greatly improved this paper.

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  1. Faculty of Geoscience, Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran

    Massoud Morsali & Mohsen Rezaei

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  1. Massoud Morsali
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  2. Mohsen Rezaei
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Correspondence to Massoud Morsali.

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Morsali, M., Rezaei, M. Assessment of H2S emission hazards into tunnels: the Nosoud tunnel case study from Iran. Environ Earth Sci 76, 227 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-017-6493-0

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