Ambient exposure to coarse and fine particle emissions from building demolition

8 Demolition of buildings produce large quantities of particulate matter (PM) that could be inhaled 9 by on-site workers and people living in the neighbourhood, but studies assessing ambient 10 exposure at the real-world demolition sites are limited. We measured concentrations of PM10 11 (≤10 μm), PM2.5 (≤2.5 μm) and PM1 (≤1 μm) along with local meteorology for 54 working hours 12 over the demolition period. The measurements were carried out at (i) a fixed-site in the 13 downwind of demolished building, (ii) around the site during demolition operation through 14 mobile monitoring, (iii) different distances away from the demolition site through sequential 15 Corresponding author: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, United Kingdom; Tel.: +44 1483 682762; Fax: +44 1483 682135; E-mail addresses: [email protected], [email protected] M AN US CR IP T AC CE PT ED ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT 2 monitoring, and (iv) inside an excavator vehicle cabin and on-site temporary office for engineers. 16 Position of the PM instrument was continuously recorded using a Global Positioning System on 17 a second basis during mobile measurements. Fraction of coarse particles (PM2.5–10) contributed 18 89 (with mean particle mass concentration, PMC ≈ 133±17 μg m), 83 (100±29 μg m), and 19 70% (59±12 μg m) of total PMC during the fixed-site, mobile monitoring and sequential 20 measurements, respectively, compared with only 50% (mean 12±6 μg m) during the 21 background measurements. The corresponding values for fine particles (PM2.5) were 11, 17 and 22 30% compared with 50% during background, showing a much greater release of coarse particles 23 during demolition. The openair package in R and map source software (ArcGIS) was used to 24 assess spatial variation of PMCs in downwind and upwind of the demolition site. A modified box 25 model was developed to determine the emission factors, which were 210, 73 and 24 μg m s 26 for PM10, PM2.5 and PM1, respectively. The average respiratory deposited doses to coarse (and 27 fine) particles inside the excavator cabin and on-site temporary office increased by 57(and 5-) 28 and 13(and 2-) times compared with the local background level, respectively. The monitoring 29 stations in downwind direction illustrated a logarithmic decrease of PM with distance. Energy30 dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy were used to assess 31 physicochemical features of particles. The minerals such as silica were found as a marker of 32 demolition dust and elements such as sulphur coming from construction machinery emissions. 33 Findings of this study highlight a need to limit occupational exposure of individuals to coarse 34 and fine particles by enforcing effective engineering controls. 35