Methodology for estimating emissions in underground utility construction operations

Purpose – Today, engineers are faced with engaging the construction option that not only provides the best cost advantage, but also considers environmental sensitivities to create the most sustainable solution. The purpose of this paper is to identify a methodology to determine the pollutant emissions from utility construction methods.Design/methodology/approach – A survey of the literature was conducted to determine the need and developments in the area of emissions from construction industry. With the use of approved methodologies, an application program that is simple and user friendly was designed to estimate emissions from utility construction projects.Findings – The results of the research shows that the emissions can be calculated from standard equations using details available at any project site. With minimum effort, construction industry personnel can use available historical project data to determine and quantify emissions from their construction activities.Research limitations/implications – T...