Sustainability and Toxicity of Building Materials

Manufacture, Use and Disposal Stages

Morten Gjerde, Fabricio Chicca, Guy Marriage, Emina K. Petrović

• Publisher: Woodhead Publishing
• Year: 2024
• eBook ISBN: 9780323983563
• Edition: 0
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Civil Engineering
• Index: Technology & Engineering

Sustainability and Toxicity of Building Materials: Manufacture, Use and Disposal Stages provides a review of toxicity impacts from building materials, including the consideration of the toxicity in the extraction and manufacture of the materials and eventual dismantling and disposal. This book also offers the potential to stimulate future developments in this area, both in terms of knowledge-building and methods for future research. With the increasing emphasis on sustainable construction, it has become important to better understand the impacts of common materials. Civil and structural engineers, postgraduates, researchers as well as architects will find this book to be useful in selecting sustainable building materials.While many building and furnishing materials are safe to use, in recent decades, some have had to be redesigned due to recognition that they contained problem chemicals like formaldehyde. Unfortunately, there is still limited understanding of the toxic impacts of many synthetic chemicals which means that the risks in this area are not well recognized. With increasing interest in using limited resources more sustainably, definitions of what is sustainable should be expanded to move from the focus on energy and carbon impacts to also include more explicit consideration of toxicity impacts. - Examines toxicity in the extraction and manufacturing of materials - Presents the short and long-term toxicity effects of natural and manmade building materials - Guides readers in selecting building materials that have a positive impact on the health of occupants and the environment

Table of contents

• Front Cover
• Sustainability and Toxicity of Building Materials
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• List of contributors
• Introduction
• 1 Contextualising the importance of evaluating toxic impacts
• 2 Sustainability and toxicity issues with natural and conventional construction materials
• 3 Sustainability and toxicity issues with synthetic and composite materials
• 4 Sustainability and toxicity issues with systems and built examples
• 5 Emerging considerations
• Index
• Back Cover