Dynamic health risk assessment model for construction dust hazards in the reuse of industrial buildings

Abstract

The reuse of industrial buildings produces large amounts of construction dust, which poses significant health risks to construction workers. A dynamic health risk assessment (DHRA) framework is proposed to comprehensively estimate and reduce the hazards caused by dust produced during the renovation construction of polluted industrial buildings. The proposed framework primarily considers the changes in the construction process due to the changes in the temporal and spatial dimensions and is used to perform highly specialised risk assessments of dust hazards. The DHRA framework identified four time-varying factors: construction procedures, construction behaviours, site characteristics, and regeneration scenarios. In addition, the spatial distribution characteristics of dust and industrial pollutants produced through various construction processes were considered, and a spatio-temporal risk assessment model was developed to predict the degree of construction dust risk caused by construction behaviour. The DHRA framework expands the connotation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) model from a dynamic perspective and provides new ideas and methods for the occupational health and safety management of related construction projects. This framework can effectively promote the development of a sustainable theory. It can be used as a tool for predicting and assessing hazards, which can provide certain theoretical and technical references for dust control in various construction projects, especially in the reconstruction of old industrial buildings.