Estimating the Additional Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Korea: Focused on Demolition of Asbestos Containing Materials in Building

Our plain-English summary of Estimating the Additional Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Korea: Focused on Demolition of Asbestos Containing Materials in Building, by Y.C. Kim, W.H. Hong, Y.L. Zhang, et al (International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2016).

The study

• Authors: Y.C. Kim, W.H. Hong, Y.L. Zhang, B.H. Son, Y.K. Seo, J.H. Choi
• Journal: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
• Published: 2016;13(9)
• Cited by: 2 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

Abstract

When asbestos containing materials (ACM) must be removed from the building before demolition, additional greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are generated. However, precedent studies have not considered the removal of ACM from the building. The present study aimed to develop a model for estimating GHG emissions created by the ACM removal processes, specifically the removal of asbestos cement slates (ACS). The second objective was to use the new model to predict the total GHG emission produced by ACM removal in the entire country of Korea. First, an input-equipment inventory was established for each step of the ACS removal process. Second, an energy consumption database for each equipment type was established. Third, the total GHG emission contributed by each step of the process was calculated. The GHG emissions generated from the 1,142,688 ACS-containing buildings in Korea was estimated to total 23,778 tonCO₂eq to 132,141 tonCO₂eq. This study was meaningful in that the emissions generated by ACS removal have not been studied before. Furthermore, the study deals with additional problems that can be triggered by the presence of asbestos in building materials. The method provided in this study is expected to contribute greatly to the calculation of GHG emissions caused by ACM worldwide.

In plain English

This was a modeling study of greenhouse gas emissions, not of health. It estimated the extra emissions produced when asbestos cement slates must be removed from Korean buildings before demolition. Under the Korean Standard, these roofing slates are about 90% cement and 10% chrysotile. The authors identified the equipment in the six removal steps that needs external electricity or fuel: shower units, drain filters, HEPA filter cleaners and cargo trucks; battery-powered asbestos samplers were left out. They converted that energy use into emissions using IPCC methods. National building registers showed 1,142,688 of 6,694,094 buildings (17.07%) with slate roofs, estimated at 169,144,378 m2 and 1,776,016 tons of slate. The on-site removal stage was estimated at 2097 to 6309 tonCO2eq (average 4212). Transport to landfills was estimated at 21,681 to 125,044 tonCO2eq in the text; a table gives 125,832 for the upper value. The national total was 23,778 to 132,141 tonCO2eq. The authors concluded that transport contributes much more than removal. They noted that the registers cover only legitimate buildings and do not record slate area.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Modeling (estimation) study of greenhouse gas emissions; no health outcomes were studied
• Who was studied: All buildings in Korean building registers: 6,694,094 buildings, of which 1,142,688 (17.07%) had asbestos cement slate roofing, across 163 local governing units
• Exposure: Removal and transport of asbestos cement slates (roofing), made to the Korean Standard of about 90% cement and 10% chrysotile. Emissions came from the electricity and fuel used by removal equipment and cargo trucks.
• Main results:
  • The equipment counted as needing external electricity or fuel was shower equipment, drain filters, HEPA filter cleaners and cargo trucks. Asbestos samplers were excluded because they run on rechargeable batteries.
  • Total asbestos cement slate in Korean buildings was estimated at 169,144,378 m2, weighing 1,776,016 tons
  • For all of Korea, emissions from the removal stage were estimated at 2097 to 6309 tonCO2eq (average 4212 tonCO2eq). Emissions from the transportation stage were given in the text as 21,681 to 125,044 tonCO2eq; Table 11 gives 125,832 for the highest value.
  • The predicted total emission for complete slate removal in all of Korea ranged from 23,778 to 132,141 tonCO2eq
  • The removal stage produced 1.0436 to 2.7997 kgCO2eq per day of slate removal, depending on the equipment manufacturer
  • Transporting 1 m2 of slate for 1 km by one cargo truck produced 0.000646 to 0.004298 kgCO2eq
  • Depending on the combination of removal and transport equipment, emissions from the process could be reduced by up to 82%
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that the transportation stage contributes much more to emissions than the removal stage. They suggested that finding an optimal landfill site and combining asbestos-containing materials with general construction waste are likely tools to reduce emissions.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • Building registers contain only legitimate buildings, so they may not match the actual situation
  • The registers record building area and roof material but not slate area or weight, so these were estimated using a roof-slope conversion factor of 1.428 taken from an earlier study

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Asbestos-Cement.

Related studies

• Asbestos release from whole-building demolition of buildings with asbestos-containing material — R.A. Perkins, J. Hargesheimer, et al. (2007)
• Optimal management program for asbestos containing building materials to be available in the event of a disaster — Y.C. Kim, W.H. Hong (2017)
• Does the Presence of Asbestos-Containing Materials in Buildings Post-construction and Before Demolition Have an Impact on the Exposure to Occupants in Non-occupational Settings? — R. Singh, A.L. Frank (2023)
• Worker exposure to asbestos during removal of sprayed material and renovation activity in buildings containing sprayed material — N.W. Paik, R.J. Walcott, et al. (1983)
• Mesothelioma among employees with likely contact with in-place asbestos-containing building materials — H.A. Anderson, L.P. Hanrahan, et al. (1991)
• Asbestos-containing materials in New York City buildings — P. Lundy, M. Barer (1992)

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