A review of research on particulate matter pollution in the construction industry

The construction industry is one of the primary sources of fine dust pollution. Aging labor, occupational health impacts, and stagnant productivity are the concerns within the construction industry. Even though control measures are implemented to reduce exposure to fine dust during construction works, occupational health impacts for construction practitioners still exist. At the worst, it can lead the construction practitioner to premature death or long-term illness. The authors used content analysis with deductive reasoning and a concept based review approach to collate a broader knowledge within the scope of this research. It is found that the research and applications of fine dust emitted from construction equipment are in a progressive stage, but that of the construction activities is still in an early stage. The majority of recent publications in this area of research are associated with the control measures, health impacts, monitoring systems, and emission from the construction activities. However, still, there is no consensus about an appropriate real-time monitoring system or a targeted countermeasure. Researchers and construction practitioners can accommodate significant factors such as the distributional characteristics of different sizes of particles while using different materials and tools for various activities simultaneously. This study will support the future researchers in this area by directing their attention towards research areas such as real-time monitoring of construction dust by considering distributional characteristics of particles and formulation of a standard PM inventory for the construction works. This will in turn advocate for a refined construction practice and in the creation of targeted control measures. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.