Monitoring airborne particulate matter from building construction: A systematic review

Airborne particulate matter (PM) in building construction has been a worldwide concern, as it threatens the health of people within and around construction sites. Monitoring forms the basis for understanding and controlling PM. However, a standardized monitoring system for PM is lacking. This study has systematically reviewed 42 papers filtered from over 230 academic publications on monitoring airborne PM in building construction in the last decade. It has examined the application of monitoring and ways to improve monitoring systems under the main disciplines of environmental science, medicine, and engineering. The literature review has identified three types of applied studies which explore: 1) emissions and exposure, 2) health risks, and 3) efficiency of controls. Of the studies on emissions, some related to building activities and materials have revealed concentrations of PM to be 100-1000 times higher than current standards. The literature review identified inconsistent monitoring methods regarding indicators, techniques, monitoring points, time, and additional factors, as well as proposing four types of recommendations for monitoring systems. With the current characteristics of PM in building construction, the review highlighted three trends: 1) precision of monitoring purpose and objects; 2) modernizing systematic monitoring methods; and 3) advancing PM regulation via interdisciplinary research. This literature review will help decision makers to develop more detailed monitoring protocols and thus contribute to accelerating the mitigation of PM pollution in the construction industry.