The Health Risks of Construction Pollution in California

The report finds that diesel construction equipment in California causes over 1,100 premature deaths and more than $9 billion in annual public health costs. It identifies excavators, tractors/loaders/backhoes, and crawler tractors as the highest polluters and highlights the South Coast air basin as the most affected region. The authors advocate for a regulatory regime to retire old equipment and install retrofit technologies to reduce particulate matter and nitrogen oxides.

• Construction equipment emissions in California are estimated to cause more than 1,100 premature deaths, over 1,000 hospital admissions for cardiovascular and respiratory illness, 2,500 cases of acute bronchitis, and tens of thousands of asthma attacks annually.
• The annual economic cost of public health damage resulting from construction equipment pollution in California is estimated at more than $9 billion, which includes hundreds of thousands of lost work days and school absences.
• Five of California's air basins account for over 90 percent of the total health and economic damage. The South Coast air basin is the most impacted, with over 700 premature deaths and an estimated $5.9 billion in annual costs.
• Five categories of construction equipment are responsible for 65 percent of particulate matter (PM) and 60 percent of nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions: excavators, tractors/loaders/backhoes, crawler tractors (bulldozers), rubber-tired loaders, and skid-steer loaders.
• Construction equipment is significantly more polluting per hour of operation than modern highway trucks. For example, one hour of operation for an average bulldozer emits the same amount of PM as a new 'big rig' driving 1,400 miles.
• Due to long equipment lifespans and lagging emission standards, the report argues that pollution will persist for two to three decades unless California adopts a regulatory regime to retire old equipment and mandate retrofit technology.

APA

Union of Concerned Scientists (2006). The Health Risks of Construction Pollution in California. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-10/digging-up-trouble.pdf

Chicago

Union of Concerned Scientists. The Health Risks of Construction Pollution in California. 2006. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-10/digging-up-trouble.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Union of Concerned Scientists |title=The Health Risks of Construction Pollution in California |date=November 2006 |url=https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-10/digging-up-trouble.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{unionofconcernedscientists2006health, author = {{Union of Concerned Scientists}}, title = {{The Health Risks of Construction Pollution in California}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2006}, month = nov, url = {https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-10/digging-up-trouble.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }