Assessment of dust and fibers resulting from the demolition of buildings following an earthquake

Following the 6 February 2023 Kahramanmaraş and Hatay earthquakes, demolition occurred in Malatya, Türkiye (27,979 structures). This study quantified post-earthquake outdoor airborne fibrous dust and gravimetric total/respirable dust concentrations and evaluated whether asbestos fibers were present. On 9–10 May 2024, we sampled four active demolition sites, one debris storage/dumping site, and one control site without demolition or storage activities (24 measurements: 12 phase-contrast microscopy (PCM) fiber samples over two days; 6 total-dust and 6 respirable-dust gravimetric samples on 9 May). Airborne fibrous dust was screened by PCM using HSG 248 + A1 criteria, and asbestos identification was assessed by SEM/EDXA. Total and respirable dust were measured gravimetrically (MDHS 14/3). PCM fiber concentrations showed a site-type gradient, highest at the storage/dumping site (0.012 ± 0.002 fiber/cm³), slightly above the HSG248 clearance indicator (0.01 fiber/cm³; shown for contextual comparison, not an ambient-air standard). Demolition sites ranged from 0.004 to 0.010 fiber/cm³, whereas the control site remained lowest (0.001 ± 0.0001 fiber/cm³). SEM/EDXA did not detect asbestos fibers in any sample. Gravimetric dust peaked at the storage/dumping site (total: 1.11 ± 0.23 mg/m³; respirable: 0.85 ± 0.18 mg/m³), followed by demolition sites (total: 0.65–0.82 mg/m³; respirable: 0.46–0.70 mg/m³) and the control site (total: 0.49 ± 0.10 mg/m³; respirable: 0.16 ± 0.03 mg/m³). Compared with the control site, demolition sites showed higher mean total and respirable dust, corresponding to ~ 1.50× and ~ 3.47× higher concentrations, respectively. Ambient air sampling showed elevated fibrous and particulate concentrations at demolition and debris storage/dumping sites; however, asbestos fibers were not detected. Exposure controls and monitoring are warranted during demolition and debris management.