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In recent years, particulate matter (PM) has emerged as a major social issue in various industries, particularly in East Asia. PM not only causes various environmental, social, and economic problems but also has a large impact on public health. Thus, there is an urgent requirement for reducing PM emissions. In South Korea, the PM generated at construction sites in urban areas directly or indirectly causes various environmental problems in surrounding areas. Construction sites are considered a major source of PM that must be managed at the national level. Therefore, this study aims to develop a technology for predicting PM emissions at construction sites. First, the major sources of PM at construction sites are determined. Then, PM emission factors are calculated for each source. Furthermore, an algorithm is developed for calculating PM emissions on the basis of an emission factor database, and a system is built for predicting PM emissions at construction sites. The reliability of the proposed technology is evaluated through a case study. The technology is expected to be used for predicting potential PM emissions at construction sites before the start of construction.

Recently, efforts to effectively reduce particulate matter by identifying its sources and trends have become necessary due to the sustained damage it has caused in East Asia. In the case of South Korea, damage due to fugitive dust generated at construction sites in densely populated downtown areas is significant, and particulate matter in such fugitive dust directly influences the health of nearby residents and construction workers. Accordingly, the purpose of the present study was to develop a method for calculating emission factors for PM10 and PM2.5 emission amounts in the fugitive dust generated in construction sites and to derive emission amount trends for major variables to predict the amounts of generated particulate matter. To this end, South Korean emission factors for PM10 and PM2.5 for different construction equipment and activities that generate fugitive dust were derived and a method for calculating the amount of particulate matter using the derived emission factors was proposed. In addition, the calculated total emissions using these factors were compared to those calculated using construction site fugitive dust equations developed for the United States, Europe, and South Korea, and the trend analysis of total emissions according to the major emission factor variables was conducted.

The sustainability of structures during their construction and service life has become a widespread topic of interest. To ensure the sustainability of bridges, maintenance databases can be analyzed to determine the status changes and required maintenance of existing bridges. The results of this analysis can then be used to predict the environmental impacts and costs incurred during ongoing maintenance of new bridges to prepare accordingly for the future. To prepare for future events, this study utilizes the US National Bridge Inventory to analyze changes in the condition rating of bridge decks and substructures according to their service years, and suggests maintenance scenarios for the service life of bridge deck and substructure concrete by investigating the maintenance activities according to service years. The factors for applying the scenarios in Korea and conceptual equations for life cycle studies which apply the scenarios are discussed for further study in the life cycle assessment field of bridges.