Cancer-Stimulating Gas Emissions

 

Cancer-Stimulating Gas Emissions in the Asphalt Industry and their Effects on the Health of Construction Workers

   

To improve the mechanical properties of asphalt, additives such as polymers, rubber, nanoparticles, etc. are mixed with the bitumen. Furthermore, recycled reclaimed asphalt is increasingly used in road construction.

Asphalt is usually laid at high temperatures of around 140°C, with mastic asphalt even reaching temperatures of more than 200°C. During asphalt paving, the vapors produced cause carcinogenic gas emissions, to which construction workers are forcibly exposed on site. In Germany, there is neither sufficient technical literature on this problem nor has a limit value been set for the gases emitted. In the course of several test trials conducted by the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, the harmful influence of the gases emitted during asphalt paving was proven.

The aim of this project is to determine the effects of gas emissions during asphalt paving on the health of construction workers through systematic investigations. In addition to protecting the health of construction workers, the focus of this project is on environmental protection, resource-conserving use of asphalt materials, and optimization of asphalt production.

Detailed research objectives here are:

1. An analysis of the effects of different asphalt mix types on the concentration variations of gas emissions caused by asphalt.
2. An analysis of the effects of different asphalt mix types on variations in the chemical composition of asphalt gases.
3. An assessment of the effects of asphalt gases of different concentrations and compositions on the health of construction workers.