Atmospheric Environment

The 2016 London atmospheric emissions inventory estimates that, the construction sector contributes 34% of the total PM10 and 7% of the total NOX – the largest and 5th largest sources, respectively. Recent on-road light duty diesel vehicle emission tests have shown significant differences between real-world NOX emissions compared with results from laboratory based regulatory tests.

The aim of this study was therefore to quantify the ‘real-world’ tail-pipe NOX, CO2, and particle emissions, for 30 of the most commonly used construction machines in London under normal working conditions.

Highlights

• NOX, CO2, and particulate exhaust emissions from a total of 30 construction machines, including 9 different types.
• PEMS measurements were carried out on active construction sites in London, giving an indication of ‘real-world’ emissions.
• Measured NOX emissions indicate that approximately 75% of the machines tested conform to within a factor of 2.1.