On the Question of Construction Materials’ Environmental Safety

Abstract

The questions related to construction materials’ environmental safety assessment taking into account products’ overall lifecycle stages have been considered. Assessment principles of materials impact on the environment have been described. It has been proposed to describe the material’s environmental safety degree using two criteria: material’s environmental safety index and material’s environmental efficiency criterion. The first one is the environmental characteristics of material, regardless of its use in a specific product, and excluding a treatment process. This criterion application allows compare the environmental properties both of kindred and dissimilar materials. The second one takes into account the material’s impact on the environment at all stages of the product lifecycle. This criterion application will clarify the final selection of the material taking into account its treatment process to the product, and production’s socio-economic factors.