ABSTRACT
Environmental issues in construction typically include soil and ground contamination, water pollution, C&D waste, noise and vibration, dust, hazardous emissions and odours, demolition of wildlife and natural features, and archaeological destruction (Coventry and Woolveridge 1999). Since the early 1970s, there have been numerous studies related to environmental issues in construction. Some examples include the study on air pollution (Henderson 1970), noise pollution (U.S.EPA 1971, 1973), water pollution (McCullough and Nicklen 1971), and solid-waste pollution (Spivey 1974a,b) generated from construction sites. On the other hand, although the expression ‘EM in construction’ was first coined in the U.S. National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (Warren 1973), the embryonic concept of EM in construction was not formulated until the late 1970s, when the role of environmental inspector was introduced in the design and construction phases of projects. The environmental inspector, who plays the role of environmental monitor (Dodds and Sternberger 1992), is a specialist whose academic background or experience results in considerable understanding of environmental impacts and applicable control measures, and acts as an advisor to construction engineers on all matters of EM (Spivey 1974a,b; Henningson 1978). Moreover, enthusiasm for establishing an EMS in a construction company increased quickly following two main important EM standards, BS 7750 (enacted in 1992) and the ISO 14001 EMS (enacted in 1996). The EM standards are regarded as guidance to the construction industry, from passive and one-sided CM on contamination reduction to active and all-round EM.
