Assessment of the impacts of the life cycle of construction waste on human health: lessons from developing countries
Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management
ISSN: 0969-9988
Article publication date: 29 September 2023
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to address the existing gap in the study of construction and demolition waste (C&DW) by focusing on its impact on human health throughout the entire life cycle. And this research provides a comprehensive assessment model that incorporates the release of gaseous pollutants and particulate matter during the whole life cycle of C&DW, thereby contributing to a more holistic understanding of its impact on human health.
Design/methodology/approach
The research was conducted in two stages. Firstly, the quantitative model framework of pollutants emitted by C&DW was established. Three types of pollutants were considered, namely nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2) and inhalable particulate matter (PM10). Second, disability-adjusted life year (DALY) and willingness to pay (WTP) assessments were used to provide a monetary quantified health impact for pollutants released by C&DW.
Findings
The results show that the WTP value of PM10 is the highest among all pollutants and 8.68E+07 dollars/a, while the WTP value in the disposal stage accounts for the largest proportion compared to the generation and transportation stage. These findings emphasize the importance of PM10 and C&DW treatment stage for pollutant treatment.
Originality/value
The results of this study are of great significance for the management department to optimize the construction management scheme to reduce the total amount of pollutants produced by C&DW and its harm to human health. Meanwhile, this study fills the gap in existing research on the impact assessment of C&DW on human health throughout the whole life cycle, and provides reference and basis for future research and policy formulation.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Since acceptance of this article, the following author(s) have updated their affiliations: Li Wang is at the School of Management Science and Real Estate, Chongqing University, Chongqing, China and Yanling Ye is at the Sichuan Tourism Investment Innovation Development Co., Ltd, Chengdu, China.
This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (Nos. 72371043). This research was funded by the Special Fund for Science and Technology Innovation Strategy of Guangdong Province under grant number pdjh2021b0405. The authors thank the editor and anonymous reviewers for their numerous constructive comments and encouragement that have improved our paper greatly.
Citation
Wang, L., Lv, Y., Wang, T., Wan, S. and Ye, Y. (2023), "Assessment of the impacts of the life cycle of construction waste on human health: lessons from developing countries", Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/ECAM-06-2023-0610
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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