Scientists say that inhaling those fine particles often found at construction sites is bad for the lungs and the heart (Photo courtesy of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction)
For most of us, the dust kicked
up by a construction site seems like a
minor nuisance. But it can be a health
hazard. As Karen Kelly reports, construction
dust is one source of air pollution that’s
largely been ignored:
Transcript
For most of us, the dust kicked
up by a construction site seems like a
minor nuisance. But it can be a health
hazard. As Karen Kelly reports, construction
dust is one source of air pollution that’s
largely been ignored:
If you’ve ever had the good fortune of living near a construction site, you
probably know a bit about dust.
Here in Ottawa, Canada, Mahad Adam can tell you all about it.
(construction sound)
For the past year, he’s lived across the street from a construction site that fills
an entire city block.
And he says the air quality can be terrible.
“Sneezing a lot, yes. Since the dust comes in during the whole day that they’ve
been working, it was constant dust inside the room so it was like having an
allergy.”
Trucks and bulldozers drive in and out of the site all day. They’re tracking mud
on the streets and the air is filled with dust.
Once that dirt is on the pavement, it’s kicked back up by every car that passes
by.
The construction site’s supervisor, Brad Smith, says he’s received lots of
complaints about the dust from nearby residents, especially seniors.
“I’m used to the dust and the dirt, whereas some of the people with breathing
problems and stuff that live in the community will be affected negatively more
than we are.”
In fact, too much dust can even be dangerous for people with respiratory
illnesses such as asthma.
To keep it under control, he says his company flushes the dirt off the streets
twice a week and then vacuums the rest up with a special truck.
He says the amount of cleaning they do depends on who they’re working for.
“My client is the city of Ottawa and they wrote that into the contract during
tender time. Whereas other projects I’ve been on, it can get into a bit of an
argument because it costs us and we push back a little bit.”
Smith says his company could get a fine if they leave debris on the roads.
But it’s hard to find a specific law – whether here in Canada or in the U.S. –
either at the national level, the state level, or even the local level that deals
directly with the dust coming off of construction sites.
The officials I talked to said that’s because it’s a temporary nuisance.
But what got me thinking about it was the research from Professor Brian
McCarry at McMaster University in Ontario.
He drove around his city measuring air pollution at different sites and he found
the cloud of dust kicked up when you pass a construction site is not something
you want to be breathing.
“In some cases you’re kicking up so much dust that the fine particles –
the things that cause health effects – are at levels that are there for concern.”
Scientists say that inhaling those fine particles is bad for the lungs and the
heart.
But McCarry says keeping the air clean around a construction site is actually
not that hard.
“It’s just housekeeping, it’s nothing more complex than that, and if you tell
them the housekeeping is higher in this area than elsewhere, they’ll do it.”
That can mean spraying down dusty roads with water or a sticky pine
substance.
Or using the vacuum truck more frequently in areas where there’s construction.
When companies started doing that, McCarry says there was a big drop in the
air pollution at those sites.
Now, local laws require that cleanup.
McCarry argues those laws should be everywhere.
For The Environment Report, I’m Karen Kelly.