Building-in-Briefcase: A Rapidly-Deployable Environmental Sensor Suite for the Smart Building.

Science.gov (United States)

Weekly, Kevin; Jin, Ming; Zou, Han; Hsu, Christopher; Soyza, Chris; Bayen, Alexandre; Spanos, Costas

2018-04-29

A building’s environment has profound influence on occupant comfort and health. Continuous monitoring of building occupancy and environment is essential to fault detection, intelligent control, and building commissioning. Though many solutions for environmental measuring based on wireless sensor networks exist, they are not easily accessible to households and building owners who may lack time or technical expertise needed to set up a system and get quick and detailed overview of environmental conditions. Building-in-Briefcase (BiB) is a portable sensor network platform that is trivially easy to deploy in any building environment. Once the sensors are distributed, the environmental data is collected and communicated to the BiB router via the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) and WiFi technology, which then forwards the data to the central database securely over the internet through a 3G radio. The user, with minimal effort, can access the aggregated data and visualize the trends in real time on the BiB web portal. Paramount to the adoption and continued operation of an indoor sensing platform is battery lifetime. This design has achieved a multi-year lifespan by careful selection of components, an efficient binary communications protocol and data compression. Our BiB sensor is capable of collecting a rich set of environmental parameters, and is expandable to measure others, such as CO 2 . This paper describes the power characteristics of BiB sensors and their occupancy estimation and activity recognition functionality. We have demonstrated large-scale deployment of BiB throughout Singapore. Our vision is that, by monitoring thousands of buildings through BiB, it would provide ample research opportunities and opportunities to identify ways to improve the building environment and energy efficiency.

Indoor environmental and air quality characteristics, building-related health symptoms, and worker productivity in a federal government building complex.

Science.gov (United States)

Lukcso, David; Guidotti, Tee Lamont; Franklin, Donald E; Burt, Allan

2016-01-01

Building Health Sciences, Inc. (BHS), investigated environmental conditions by many modalities in 71 discreet areas of 12 buildings in a government building complex that had experienced persistent occupant complaints despite correction of deficiencies following a prior survey. An online health survey was completed by 7,637 building occupants (49% response rate), a subset of whom voluntarily wore personal sampling apparatus and underwent medical evaluation. Building environmental measures were within current standards and guidelines, with few outliers. Four environmental factors were consistently associated with group-level building-related health complaints: physical comfort/discomfort, odor, job stress, and glare. Several other factors were frequently commented on by participants, including cleanliness, renovation and construction activities, and noise. Low relative humidity was significantly associated with lower respiratory and "sick building syndrome"-type symptoms. No other environmental conditions (including formaldehyde, PM10 [particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter work but at reduced capacity), and increase in reported symptom-days, including symptoms not related to respiratory disease. We found that in buildings without unusual hazards and with environmental and air quality indicators within the range of acceptable indoor air quality standards, there is an identifiable population of occupants with a high prevalence of asthma and allergic disease who disproportionately report discomfort and lost productivity due to symptoms and that in "normal" buildings these outcome indicators are more closely associated with host factors than with environmental conditions. We concluded from the experience of this study that building-related health complaints should be investigated at the work-area level and not at a building-wide level. An occupant-centric medical evaluation should guide environmental investigations, especially when screening results of building

Application of Sensitivity Analysis in Design of Integrated Building Concepts

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Heiselberg, Per; Brohus, Henrik; Hesselholt, Allan Tind

2007-01-01

analysis makes it possible to identify the most important parameters in relation to building performance and to focus design and optimization of integrated building concepts on these fewer, but most important parameters. The sensitivity analyses will typically be performed at a reasonably early stage...... the design requirements and objectives. In the design of integrated building concepts it is beneficial to identify the most important design parameters in order to more efficiently develop alternative design solutions or more efficiently perform an optimization of the building performance. The sensitivity...

Environmental Sustainability and Mold Hygiene in Buildings.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Haoxiang; Ng, Tsz Wai; Wong, Jonathan Wc; Lai, Ka Man

2018-04-04

Environmental sustainability is one of the key issues in building management. In Hong Kong, one of the initiatives is to reduce the operation hours of air-conditioning in buildings to cut down energy consumption. In this study, we reported a mold contamination case in a newly refurbished laboratory, in which the air-conditioner was switched from 24- to 18-h mode after refurbishment. In order to prevent mold recurrence, the air-conditioner was switched back to 24-h mode in the laboratory. During the mold investigation, visible mold patches in the laboratory were searched and then cultured, counted and identified. Building and environmental conditions were recorded, and used to deduce different causes of mold contamination. Eight contaminated sites including a wall, a bench, some metal and plastic surfaces and seven types of molds including two Cladosporium spp., two Aspergillus spp., one Rhizopus sp., one Trichoderma sp., and one Tritirachium sp. were identified. Cladosporium spp. were the most abundant and frequently found molds in the laboratory. The contaminated areas could have one to five different species on them. Based on the mold and environmental conditions, several scenarios causing the mold contamination were deduced, and different mold control measures were discussed to compare them with the current solution of using 24-h air-conditioning to control mold growth. This study highlights the importance of mold hygiene in sustainable building management.

Environmental Sustainability and Mold Hygiene in Buildings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Haoxiang Wu

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Environmental sustainability is one of the key issues in building management. In Hong Kong, one of the initiatives is to reduce the operation hours of air-conditioning in buildings to cut down energy consumption. In this study, we reported a mold contamination case in a newly refurbished laboratory, in which the air-conditioner was switched from 24- to 18-h mode after refurbishment. In order to prevent mold recurrence, the air-conditioner was switched back to 24-h mode in the laboratory. During the mold investigation, visible mold patches in the laboratory were searched and then cultured, counted and identified. Building and environmental conditions were recorded, and used to deduce different causes of mold contamination. Eight contaminated sites including a wall, a bench, some metal and plastic surfaces and seven types of molds including two Cladosporium spp., two Aspergillus spp., one Rhizopus sp., one Trichoderma sp., and one Tritirachium sp. were identified. Cladosporium spp. were the most abundant and frequently found molds in the laboratory. The contaminated areas could have one to five different species on them. Based on the mold and environmental conditions, several scenarios causing the mold contamination were deduced, and different mold control measures were discussed to compare them with the current solution of using 24-h air-conditioning to control mold growth. This study highlights the importance of mold hygiene in sustainable building management.

Associations of indoor carbon dioxide concentrations, VOCS, environmental susceptibilities with mucous membrane and lower respiratory sick building syndrome symptoms in the BASE study: Analyses of the 100 building dataset

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Apte, M.G.; Erdmann, C.A.

2002-10-01

Using the 100 office-building Building Assessment Survey and Evaluation (BASE) Study dataset, we performed multivariate logistic regression analyses to quantify the associations between indoor minus outdoor CO{sub 2} (dCO{sub 2}) concentrations and mucous membrane (MM) and lower respiratory system (Lresp) Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) symptoms, adjusting for age, sex, smoking status, presence of carpet in workspace, thermal exposure, relative humidity, and a marker for entrained automobile exhaust. Using principal components analysis we identified a number of possible sources of 73 measured volatile organic compounds in the office buildings, and assessed the impact of these VOCs on the probability of presenting the SBS symptoms. Additionally we included analysis adjusting for the risks for predisposition of having SBS symptoms associated with the allergic, asthmatic, and environmentally sensitive subpopulations within the office buildings. Adjusted odds ratios (ORs) for statistically significant, dose-dependant associations (p<0.05) for dry eyes, sore throat, nose/sinus congestion, and wheeze symptoms with 100-ppm increases in dCO{sub 2} ranged from 1.1 to 1.2. These results suggest that increases in the ventilation rates per person among typical office buildings will, on average significantly reduce the prevalence of several SBS symptoms, up to 80%, even when these buildings meet the existing ASHRAE ventilation standards for office buildings. VOC sources were observed to play an role in direct association with mucous membrane and lower respiratory irritation, and possibly to be indirectly involved in indoor chemical reactions with ozone that produce irritating compounds associated with SBS symptoms. O-xylene, possibly emitted from furniture coatings was associated with shortness of breath (OR at the maximum concentration = 8, p < 0.05). The environmental sensitivities of a large subset of the office building population add to the overall risk of SBS symptoms (ORs

Noise sensitivity: Symptoms, health status, illness behavior and co-occurring environmental sensitivities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Baliatsas, Christos, E-mail: c.baliatsas@nivel.nl [Netherlands Institute for Health Services Research (NIVEL), Utrecht (Netherlands); Kamp, Irene van, E-mail: irene.van.kamp@rivm.nl [National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven (Netherlands); Swart, Wim, E-mail: wim.swart@rivm.nl [National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven (Netherlands); Hooiveld, Mariëtte, E-mail: m.hooiveld@nivel.nl [Netherlands Institute for Health Services Research (NIVEL), Utrecht (Netherlands); Yzermans, Joris, E-mail: J.Yzermans@nivel.nl [Netherlands Institute for Health Services Research (NIVEL), Utrecht (Netherlands)

2016-10-15

Epidemiological evidence on the symptomatic profile, health status and illness behavior of people with subjective sensitivity to noise is still scarce. Also, it is unknown to what extent noise sensitivity co-occurs with other environmental sensitivities such as multi-chemical sensitivity and sensitivity to electromagnetic fields (EMF). A cross-sectional study performed in the Netherlands, combining self-administered questionnaires and electronic medical records of non-specific symptoms (NSS) registered by general practitioners (GP) allowed us to explore this further. The study sample consisted of 5806 participants, drawn from 21 general practices. Among participants, 722 (12.5%) responded “absolutely agree” to the statement “I am sensitive to noise”, comprising the high noise-sensitive (HNS) group. Compared to the rest of the sample, people in the HNS group reported significantly higher scores on number and duration of self-reported NSS, increased psychological distress, decreased sleep quality and general health, more negative symptom perceptions and higher prevalence of healthcare contacts, GP-registered NSS and prescriptions for antidepressants and benzodiazepines. These results remained robust after adjustment for demographic, residential and lifestyle characteristics, objectively measured nocturnal noise exposure from road-traffic and GP-registered morbidity. Co-occurrence rates with other environmental sensitivities varied between 9% and 50%. Individuals with self-declared sensitivity to noise are characterized by high prevalence of multiple NSS, poorer health status and increased illness behavior independently of noise exposure levels. Findings support the notion that different types of environmental sensitivities partly overlap. - Highlights: • People with self-reported noise sensitivity experience multiple non-specific symptoms. • They also report comparatively poorer health and increased illness behavior. • Co-occurrence with other

Noise sensitivity: Symptoms, health status, illness behavior and co-occurring environmental sensitivities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baliatsas, Christos; Kamp, Irene van; Swart, Wim; Hooiveld, Mariëtte; Yzermans, Joris

2016-01-01

Epidemiological evidence on the symptomatic profile, health status and illness behavior of people with subjective sensitivity to noise is still scarce. Also, it is unknown to what extent noise sensitivity co-occurs with other environmental sensitivities such as multi-chemical sensitivity and sensitivity to electromagnetic fields (EMF). A cross-sectional study performed in the Netherlands, combining self-administered questionnaires and electronic medical records of non-specific symptoms (NSS) registered by general practitioners (GP) allowed us to explore this further. The study sample consisted of 5806 participants, drawn from 21 general practices. Among participants, 722 (12.5%) responded “absolutely agree” to the statement “I am sensitive to noise”, comprising the high noise-sensitive (HNS) group. Compared to the rest of the sample, people in the HNS group reported significantly higher scores on number and duration of self-reported NSS, increased psychological distress, decreased sleep quality and general health, more negative symptom perceptions and higher prevalence of healthcare contacts, GP-registered NSS and prescriptions for antidepressants and benzodiazepines. These results remained robust after adjustment for demographic, residential and lifestyle characteristics, objectively measured nocturnal noise exposure from road-traffic and GP-registered morbidity. Co-occurrence rates with other environmental sensitivities varied between 9% and 50%. Individuals with self-declared sensitivity to noise are characterized by high prevalence of multiple NSS, poorer health status and increased illness behavior independently of noise exposure levels. Findings support the notion that different types of environmental sensitivities partly overlap. - Highlights: • People with self-reported noise sensitivity experience multiple non-specific symptoms. • They also report comparatively poorer health and increased illness behavior. • Co-occurrence with other

Interactive Building Design Space Exploration Using Regionalized Sensitivity Analysis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Østergård, Torben; Jensen, Rasmus Lund; Maagaard, Steffen

2017-01-01

simulation inputs are most important and which have negligible influence on the model output. Popular sensitivity methods include the Morris method, variance-based methods (e.g. Sobol’s), and regression methods (e.g. SRC). However, all these methods only address one output at a time, which makes it difficult...... in combination with the interactive parallel coordinate plot (PCP). The latter is an effective tool to explore stochastic simulations and to find high-performing building designs. The proposed methods help decision makers to focus their attention to the most important design parameters when exploring......Monte Carlo simulations combined with regionalized sensitivity analysis provide the means to explore a vast, multivariate design space in building design. Typically, sensitivity analysis shows how the variability of model output relates to the uncertainties in models inputs. This reveals which...

Green Template for Life Cycle Assessment of Buildings Based on Building Information Modeling: Focus on Embodied Environmental Impact

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sungwoo Lee

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The increased popularity of building information modeling (BIM for application in the construction of eco-friendly green buildings has given rise to techniques for evaluating green buildings constructed using BIM features. Existing BIM-based green building evaluation techniques mostly rely on externally provided evaluation tools, which pose problems associated with interoperability, including a lack of data compatibility and the amount of time required for format conversion. To overcome these problems, this study sets out to develop a template (the “green template” for evaluating the embodied environmental impact of using a BIM design tool as part of BIM-based building life-cycle assessment (LCA technology development. Firstly, the BIM level of detail (LOD was determined to evaluate the embodied environmental impact, and constructed a database of the impact factors of the embodied environmental impact of the major building materials, thereby adopting an LCA-based approach. The libraries of major building elements were developed by using the established databases and compiled evaluation table of the embodied environmental impact of the building materials. Finally, the green template was developed as an embodied environmental impact evaluation tool and a case study was performed to test its applicability. The results of the green template-based embodied environmental impact evaluation of a test building were validated against those of its actual quantity takeoff (2D takeoff, and its reliability was confirmed by an effective error rate of ≤5%. This study aims to develop a system for assessing the impact of the substances discharged from concrete production process on six environmental impact categories, i.e., global warming (GWP, acidification (AP, eutrophication (EP, abiotic depletion (ADP, ozone depletion (ODP, and photochemical oxidant creation (POCP, using the life a cycle assessment (LCA method. To achieve this, we proposed an LCA method

Variability of building environmental assessment tools on evaluating carbon emissions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ng, S. Thomas, E-mail: tstng@hkucc.hku.hk; Chen Yuan, E-mail: chenyuan4@gmail.com; Wong, James M.W., E-mail: jmwwong@hku.hk

2013-01-15

With an increasing importance of sustainability in construction, more and more clients and designers employ building environmental assessment (BEA) tools to evaluate the environmental friendliness of their building facilities, and one important aspect of evaluation in the BEA models is the assessment of carbon emissions. However, in the absence of any agreed framework for carbon auditing and benchmarking, the results generated by the BEA tools might vary significantly which could lead to confusion or misinterpretation on the carbon performance of a building. This study thus aims to unveil the properties of and the standard imposed by the current BEA models on evaluating the life cycle carbon emissions. The analyses cover the (i) weighting of energy efficiency and emission levels among various environmental performance indicators; (ii) building life cycle stages in which carbon is taken into consideration; (iii) objectiveness of assessment; (iv) baseline set for carbon assessment; (v) mechanism for benchmarking the emission level; and (v) limitations of the carbon assessment approaches. Results indicate that the current BEA schemes focus primarily on operational carbon instead of the emissions generated throughout the entire building life cycle. Besides, the baseline and benchmark for carbon evaluation vary significantly among the BEA tools based on the analytical results of a hypothetical building. The findings point to the needs for a more transparent framework for carbon auditing and benchmarking in BEA modeling. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Carbon emission evaluation in building environmental assessment schemes are studied. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Simulative carbon emission is modeled for building environmental assessment schemes. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Carbon assessments focus primarily on operational stage instead of entire lifecycle. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Baseline and benchmark of carbon assessment vary greatly among BEA

Variability of building environmental assessment tools on evaluating carbon emissions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ng, S. Thomas; Chen Yuan; Wong, James M.W.

2013-01-01

With an increasing importance of sustainability in construction, more and more clients and designers employ building environmental assessment (BEA) tools to evaluate the environmental friendliness of their building facilities, and one important aspect of evaluation in the BEA models is the assessment of carbon emissions. However, in the absence of any agreed framework for carbon auditing and benchmarking, the results generated by the BEA tools might vary significantly which could lead to confusion or misinterpretation on the carbon performance of a building. This study thus aims to unveil the properties of and the standard imposed by the current BEA models on evaluating the life cycle carbon emissions. The analyses cover the (i) weighting of energy efficiency and emission levels among various environmental performance indicators; (ii) building life cycle stages in which carbon is taken into consideration; (iii) objectiveness of assessment; (iv) baseline set for carbon assessment; (v) mechanism for benchmarking the emission level; and (v) limitations of the carbon assessment approaches. Results indicate that the current BEA schemes focus primarily on operational carbon instead of the emissions generated throughout the entire building life cycle. Besides, the baseline and benchmark for carbon evaluation vary significantly among the BEA tools based on the analytical results of a hypothetical building. The findings point to the needs for a more transparent framework for carbon auditing and benchmarking in BEA modeling. - Highlights: ► Carbon emission evaluation in building environmental assessment schemes are studied. ► Simulative carbon emission is modeled for building environmental assessment schemes. ► Carbon assessments focus primarily on operational stage instead of entire lifecycle. ► Baseline and benchmark of carbon assessment vary greatly among BEA schemes. ► A more transparent and comprehensive framework for carbon assessment is required.

EPA Region 1 Environmentally Sensitive Areas

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — This coverage represents polygon equivalents of environmentally sensitive areas (ESA) in EPA Region I. ESAs were developed as part of an EPA headquarters initiative...

EPA Region 1 Environmentally Sensitive Areas (Points)

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — This coverage represents point equivalents of environmentally sensitive areas in EPA New England. This coverage represents polygon equivalents of environmentally...

Environmental Assessment Methodologies for Commercial Buildings: An Elicitation Study of U.S. Building Professionals’ Beliefs on Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jasmin Kientzel

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Voluntary environmental programs (VEPs have become increasingly popular around the world to address energy efficiency issues that mandatory building codes have not been able to tackle. Even though the utility of voluntary schemes is widely debated, they have become a de facto reality for many professionals in the building and construction sector. One topic that is neglected, however, in both academic and policy discussions, relates to how professionals (architects, engineers, real estate developers, etc. perceive the rise of voluntary rating schemes. In order to fill this gap in the literature, the present study investigates beliefs underlying adoption behavior regarding one of the most prominent voluntary assessment and certification programs in the U.S. building industry, the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED scheme. In this paper, an elicitation study, based on 14 semi-structured interviews with building professionals in the North East of the United States, was conducted to analyze this question. Building on the Reasoned Action Approach, this paper shows that, in addition to more conventional factors such as financial calculations and marketing aspects, the understanding of beliefs held by building professionals offers important insights into their decisions to work with Voluntary Environmental Assessment and Rating Programs.

Sustainability of earth building materials - Environmental product declarations as an instrument of competition in building material industry

OpenAIRE

Schroeder, Horst; Lemke, Manfred

2015-01-01

[EN] The evaluation of the building process in terms of their environmental impact in all life cycle phases of a building leads to the key principle of sustainable building: the analysis of the life cycle of the materials used in a building. The goal of this analysis is to reduce waste and keep the environmental impact as low as possible by “closing” the cycle. During an inventory, the entire life cycle is assessed. This includes the sourcing and extracting of the raw material, the use of the...

Environmental Sensitivity in Children: Development of the Highly Sensitive Child Scale and Identification of Sensitivity Groups

Science.gov (United States)

Pluess, Michael; Assary, Elham; Lionetti, Francesca; Lester, Kathryn J.; Krapohl, Eva; Aron, Elaine N.; Aron, Arthur

2018-01-01

A large number of studies document that children differ in the degree they are shaped by their developmental context with some being more sensitive to environmental influences than others. Multiple theories suggest that "Environmental Sensitivity" is a common trait predicting the response to negative as well as positive exposures.…

PLACE-BASED GREEN BUILDING: INTEGRATING LOCAL ENVIRONMENTAL AND PLANNING ANALYSIS INTO GREEN BUILDING GUIDELINES

Science.gov (United States)

This project will develop a model for place-based green building guidelines based on an analysis of local environmental, social, and land use conditions. The ultimate goal of this project is to develop a methodology and model for placing green buildings within their local cont...

Noise sensitivity: symptoms, health status, illness behavior and co-occurring environmental sensitivities.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Baliatsas, C.; Kamp, I. van; Swart, W.; Hooiveld, M.; Yzermans, J.

2016-01-01

Epidemiological evidence on the symptomatic profile, health status and illness behavior of people with subjective sensitivity to noise is still scarce. Also, it is unknown to what extent noise sensitivity co-occurs with other environmental sensitivities such as multi-chemical sensitivity and

Environmental Impacts of a Multi-Borehole Geothermal System: Model Sensitivity Study

Science.gov (United States)

Krol, M.; Daemi, N.

2017-12-01

Problems associated with fossil fuel consumption has increased worldwide interest in discovering and developing sustainable energy systems. One such system is geothermal heating, which uses the constant temperature of the ground to heat or cool buildings. Since geothermal heating offers low maintenance, high heating/cooling comfort, and a low carbon footprint, compared to conventional systems, there has been an increasing trend in equipping large buildings with geothermal heating. However, little is known on the potential environmental impact geothermal heating can have on the subsurface, such as the creation of subsurface thermal plumes or changes in groundwater flow dynamics. In the present study, the environmental impacts of a closed-loop, ground source heat pump (GSHP) system was examined with respect to different system parameters. To do this a three-dimensional model, developed using FEFLOW, was used to examine the thermal plumes resulting from ten years of operation of a vertical closed-loop GSHP system with multiple boreholes. A required thermal load typical of an office building located in Canada was calculated and groundwater flow and heat transport in the geological formation was simulated. Consequently, the resulting thermal plumes were studied and a sensitivity analysis was conducted to determine the effect of different parameters like groundwater flow and soil type on the development and movement of thermal plumes. Since thermal plumes can affect the efficiency of a GSHP system, this study provides insight into important system parameters.

Environmental Perceptions and Health before and after Relocation to a Green Building.

Science.gov (United States)

MacNaughton, Piers; Spengler, John; Vallarino, Jose; Santanam, Suresh; Satish, Usha; Allen, Joseph

2016-08-01

Green buildings are designed to have low environmental impacts and improved occupant health and well-being. Improvements to the built environment including ventilation, lighting, and materials have resulted in improved indoor environmental quality (IEQ) in green buildings, but the evidence around occupant health is currently centered around environmental perceptions and self-reported health. To investigate the objective impact of green buildings on health, we tracked IEQ, self-reported health, and heart rate in 30 participants from green and conventional buildings for two weeks. 24 participants were then selected to be relocated to the Syracuse Center of Excellence, a LEED platinum building, for six workdays. While they were there, ventilation, CO 2 , and volatile organic compound (VOC) levels were changed on different days to match the IEQ of conventional, green, and green+ (green with increased ventilation) buildings. Participants reported improved air quality, odors, thermal comfort, ergonomics, noise and lighting and fewer health symptoms in green buildings prior to relocation. After relocation, participants consistently reported fewer symptoms during the green building conditions compared to the conventional one, yet symptom counts were more closely associated with environmental perceptions than with measured IEQ. On average, participants had 4.7 times the odds of reporting a lack of air movement, 1.4 more symptoms (p-value = 0.019) and a 2 bpm higher heart rate (p-value green and conventional buildings is driven by both environmental perceptions and physiological pathways.

Hybrid LCA model for assessing the embodied environmental impacts of buildings in South Korea

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jang, Minho; Hong, Taehoon; Ji, Changyoon

2015-01-01

The assessment of the embodied environmental impacts of buildings can help decision-makers plan environment-friendly buildings and reduce environmental impacts. For a more comprehensive assessment of the embodied environmental impacts of buildings, a hybrid life cycle assessment model was developed in this study. The developed model can assess the embodied environmental impacts (global warming, ozone layer depletion, acidification, eutrophication, photochemical ozone creation, abiotic depletion, and human toxicity) generated directly and indirectly in the material manufacturing, transportation, and construction phases. To demonstrate the application and validity of the developed model, the environmental impacts of an elementary school building were assessed using the developed model and compared with the results of a previous model used in a case study. The embodied environmental impacts from the previous model were lower than those from the developed model by 4.6–25.2%. Particularly, human toxicity potential (13 kg C 6 H 6 eq.) calculated by the previous model was much lower (1965 kg C 6 H 6 eq.) than what was calculated by the developed model. The results indicated that the developed model can quantify the embodied environmental impacts of buildings more comprehensively, and can be used by decision-makers as a tool for selecting environment-friendly buildings. - Highlights: • The model was developed to assess the embodied environmental impacts of buildings. • The model evaluates GWP, ODP, AP, EP, POCP, ADP, and HTP as environmental impacts. • The model presents more comprehensive results than the previous model by 4.6–100%. • The model can present the HTP of buildings, which the previous models cannot do. • Decision-makers can use the model for selecting environment-friendly buildings

Protection of historic buildings against environmental pollution of vibrations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kowalska-Koczwara Alicja

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Historic buildings in Poland are largely neglected objects that small percentage is preserved in its original form. Unrelenting in the case of historic buildings is a time that brings with it the natural processes of aging of buildings, but also the history of the object which is often marked by military conflicts, fires or even incompetently carried out reconstruction. Nowadays historic buildings are also destroyed by the rapid development of infrastructure and residential construction. This development could lead to changes of water in the soil, make changes in the geologic al structure or cause exposure of the historic building to the new influences (eg. traffic vibrations, to which building has not been subjected so far. Vibrations are often omitted in environmental issues, although the protection against noise and vibration has its place in the Law on Environmental Protection. This article presents the methodology for the measurement and interpretation of vibration influence on historic buildings and the assessment methods of technical condition of historic building on the example of dynamic measurements made on St. Nicholas Church in Krakow. The importance of well-done crack-by-crack documentation and characterization of damages based on damage index is shown. Difficulties that can be encountered when determining the causes of technical condition of historic buildings are also shown. Based on the example of the Church in the article are also given the possible protection solutions of historic structures from vibrations.

Hybrid LCA model for assessing the embodied environmental impacts of buildings in South Korea

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jang, Minho, E-mail: minmin40@hanmail.net [Asset Management Division, Mate Plus Co., Ltd., 9th Fl., Financial News Bldg. 24-5 Yeouido-dong, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, 150-877 (Korea, Republic of); Hong, Taehoon, E-mail: hong7@yonsei.ac.kr [Department of Architectural Engineering, Yonsei University, Seoul, 120-749 (Korea, Republic of); Ji, Changyoon, E-mail: chnagyoon@yonsei.ac.kr [Department of Architectural Engineering, Yonsei University, Seoul, 120-749 (Korea, Republic of)

2015-01-15

The assessment of the embodied environmental impacts of buildings can help decision-makers plan environment-friendly buildings and reduce environmental impacts. For a more comprehensive assessment of the embodied environmental impacts of buildings, a hybrid life cycle assessment model was developed in this study. The developed model can assess the embodied environmental impacts (global warming, ozone layer depletion, acidification, eutrophication, photochemical ozone creation, abiotic depletion, and human toxicity) generated directly and indirectly in the material manufacturing, transportation, and construction phases. To demonstrate the application and validity of the developed model, the environmental impacts of an elementary school building were assessed using the developed model and compared with the results of a previous model used in a case study. The embodied environmental impacts from the previous model were lower than those from the developed model by 4.6–25.2%. Particularly, human toxicity potential (13 kg C{sub 6}H{sub 6} eq.) calculated by the previous model was much lower (1965 kg C{sub 6}H{sub 6} eq.) than what was calculated by the developed model. The results indicated that the developed model can quantify the embodied environmental impacts of buildings more comprehensively, and can be used by decision-makers as a tool for selecting environment-friendly buildings. - Highlights: • The model was developed to assess the embodied environmental impacts of buildings. • The model evaluates GWP, ODP, AP, EP, POCP, ADP, and HTP as environmental impacts. • The model presents more comprehensive results than the previous model by 4.6–100%. • The model can present the HTP of buildings, which the previous models cannot do. • Decision-makers can use the model for selecting environment-friendly buildings.

CAPACITY BUILDING PROCESS IN ENVIRONMENTAL AND HEALTH IMPACT ASSESSMENT FOR A THAI COMMUNITY.

Science.gov (United States)

Chaithui, Suthat; Sithisarankul, Pornchai; Hengpraprom, Sarunya

2017-03-01

This research aimed at exploring the development of the capacitybuilding process in environmental and health impact assessment, including the consideration of subsequent, capacity-building achievements. Data were gathered through questionnaires, participatory observations, in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and capacity building checklist forms. These data were analyzed using content analysis, descriptive statistics, and inferential statistics. Our study used the components of the final draft for capacity-building processes consisting of ten steps that were formulated by synthesis from each respective process. Additionally, the evaluation of capacity building levels was performed using 10-item evaluation criteria for nine communities. The results indicated that the communities performed well under these criteria. Finally, exploration of the factors influencing capacity building in environmental and health impact assessment indicated that the learning of community members by knowledge exchange via activities and study visits were the most influential factors of the capacity building processes in environmental and health impact assessment. The final revised version of capacitybuilding process in environmental and health impact assessment could serve as a basis for the consideration of interventions in similar areas, so that they increased capacity in environmental and health impact assessments.

Identifying environmentally sensitive areas under the Oil Pollution Act

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lively-Diebold, B.; Pease, A.L.; Watson, S.N.; Wasel, P.A.

1993-01-01

Section 4202(a)(6) of the Oil Pollution Act (OPA) requires the President to issue regulations that require owners or operators of tank vessels, offshore facilities, and certain onshore facilities that could impact environmentally sensitive areas, drinking water intakes, and other economically sensitive areas to prepare and submit plans for responding to a worst case discharge of oil and to a substantial threat of such a discharge. The authority to implement the response plan regulations has been delegated to various agencies, including the US Environmental Protection Agency and the US Department of Transportation. In addition, Area Committees designated under the OPA are responsible for assuring preplanning of response efforts, including procedures for protecting environmentally sensitive areas, and protection, rescue and rehabilitation of fisheries and wildlife. Area Contingency Plans for each of the designated areas will describe the areas of special economic and environmental importance that might be damaged by discharges. This paper will discuss and compare the identification of environmentally sensitive areas and vulnerability analyses required as elements of response plans for agencies implementing regulations under the OPA authority. This paper will also describe the progress of the Area Committees with respect to contingency planning development for protection of environmentally sensitive areas

Environmental zoning for service life prediction of building components in Malaysia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fathoni U; Rohayu C O; Zakaria C M

2013-01-01

Interactions between building materials and environment are very complex. More often than not, deterioration of building component is due to environmental loads with the result of reducing its durability. The environmental loads are less overlooked or underestimated in early design phase. Objective of this study is to distinguish the difference of environmental load for different area in Malaysia. The environmental data consist of climate and pollution data which extracted from the Malaysia Meteorology Department's data bank. From this study, six different environmental zones in Malaysia are distinguished. There are different characteristic of environmental parameters found where some of them dominant to others. This information can assist the engineer to justify the use of different technology, material or construction method in construction industry.

Sensitivity analysis of the energy demand of existing buildings based on the Danish Building and Dwelling Register

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Anker; Wittchen, Kim Bjarne; Bertelsen, Niels Haldor

2014-01-01

performance certificate. The Danish Building Research Institute has described a method that can be applied for estimating the energy demand of dwellings. This is based on the information in the Danish Building and Dwelling Register and requirements in the Danish Building Regulations from the year......The EU Directive on the Energy Performance of Buildings requires that energy certification of buildings should be implemented in Denmark so that houses that are sold or let should have an energy performance certificate. The result is that only a small part of existing houses has an energy...... of construction of the house. The result is an estimate of the energy demand of each building with a variation. This makes it possible to make an automatic classification of all buildings. The paper discusses the uncertainties and makes a sensitivity analysis to find the important parameters. The variations...

A method of the sensitivity analysis of build-up and decay of actinides

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mitani, Hiroshi; Koyama, Kinji; Kuroi, Hideo

1977-07-01

To make sensitivity analysis of build-up and decay of actinides, mathematical methods related to this problem have been investigated in detail. Application of time-dependent perturbation technique and Bateman method to sensitivity analysis is mainly studied. For the purpose, a basic equation and its adjoint equation for build-up and decay of actinides are systematically solved by introducing Laplace and modified Laplace transforms and their convolution theorems. Then, the mathematical method of sensitivity analyses is formulated by the above technique; its physical significance is also discussed. Finally, application of eigenvalue-method is investigated. Sensitivity coefficients can be directly calculated by this method. (auth.)

Environmental design - an emerging field of study for professionals in the building industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anjum, N.; Paul, J.

2004-01-01

Despite differences in definition, perspective and priorities, sustainable design has become a critical challenge for building design professionals in the 21st century. The major issue is how best to manage/maintain the interconnections between ecological conditions and balances, on the one hand, and social needs and priorities, on the other. This paper has attempted to examine how the field of environmental design has been evolved; how global environmental issues relate to the built environment; what professional commitments have been made to improve the environmental quality of buildings? Finally, it argues the need for environmental-design education in Pakistan and introduces a recently developed/launched degree-programme in environmental design for building professionals (architects, civil engineers, planners and designers) through distance learning methodology. (author)

Gender sensitive education in watershed management to support environmental friendly city

Science.gov (United States)

Asteria, D.; Budidarmono; Herdiansyah, H.; Ni’mah, N. L.

2018-03-01

This study is about gender-sensitive perspective in watershed management education program as one of capacity building for citizens in watershed management with community-based strategy to support environmental friendly cities and security for women from flood disasters. Involving women and increasing women’s active participation in sustainable watershed management is essential in urban area. In global warming and climate change situations, city management should be integrated between social aspect and environmental planning. This study used mix method (concurrent embedded type, with quantitative as primary method) with research type is descriptive-explanatory. The result of this study is education strategies with gender approaches and affirmative action through emancipation approach and local knowledge from women’s experiences can increase women’s participation. Women’s empowerment efforts need integrated intervention and collaboration from government, NGO, and other stakeholders to optimize women’s role in watershed management for support environmental friendly city. The implication of this study is an educational strategy on watershed conservation with gender perspective to offer social engineering alternatives for decision makers to policy of sustainable watershed management in urban area related to flood mitigation efforts.

Application of Sensitivity Analysis in Design of Sustainable Buildings

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Heiselberg, Per; Brohus, Henrik; Hesselholt, Allan Tind

2007-01-01

satisfies the design requirements and objectives. In the design of sustainable Buildings it is beneficial to identify the most important design parameters in order to develop more efficiently alternative design solutions or reach optimized design solutions. A sensitivity analysis makes it possible...

US Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®)

Science.gov (United States)

A series of rating systems aimed at increasing the environmental and health performance of buildings' sites and structures and of neighborhoods. LEED® covers the design, construction, and operations of all types of buildings.

Unmet health care needs for persons with environmental sensitivity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gibson PR

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Pamela Reed Gibson, Shannon Kovach, Alexis LupferDepartment of Psychology, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA, USAAbstract: Studies of unmet health care needs have shown that women, people with poor health, and people with lower socioeconomic status are more likely to report having unmet health care needs. In this study, we examined the types of and reasons for unmet health care needs in 465 people with environmental sensitivities. A second area of inquiry involved negative reactions to general anesthesia. Results showed that the most common barriers to receiving care were the inability to find a provider who understands environmental sensitivities and a lack of accessibility due to chemical and electromagnetic exposures in health care environments. Lower income and poorer health (longer illness, a worsening or fluctuating course of illness, and a higher level of disability were significantly correlated with the total number of reported unmet health care needs. Some people with environmental sensitivities reported having negative reactions to anesthesia of long duration; most common were nausea and vomiting, fatigue, and reduced cognitive ability.Keywords: environmental sensitivity, chemical sensitivity, electrohypersensitivity, chemical hypersensitivity, chemical intolerance, contested illness

Students' Environmental Responsibility and Their Willingness to Pay for Green Buildings

Science.gov (United States)

Attaran, Sharmin; Celik, Bilge Gokhan

2015-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore environmental attitudes and how such attitudes, when combined with a specific cost, can affect environmental behavior. Environmental attitudes are important to study due to the rising belief by building occupants that they are owed safe, healthy, environmentally responsible, and comfortable living…

The Teaching Green School Building: A Framework for Linking Architecture and Environmental Education

Science.gov (United States)

Cole, Laura B.

2014-01-01

The "Teaching Green School Building" is an emergent type of school building that attempts to engage building users with environmental issues in buildings. Architectural interventions in these buildings range from signage to interactive touch screens to gardens and demonstration kitchens that foster educational programmes about…

24 CFR 570.205 - Eligible planning, urban environmental design and policy-planning-management-capacity building...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... environmental design and policy-planning-management-capacity building activities. 570.205 Section 570.205..., urban environmental design and policy-planning-management-capacity building activities. (a) Planning... known or suspected environmental contamination. (5) [Reserved] (6) Policy—planning—management—capacity...

Guam, 2006 Environmental Sensitivity Index Map

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

24 CFR 1003.205 - Eligible planning, urban environmental design and policy-planning-management-capacity building...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... environmental design and policy-planning-management-capacity building activities. 1003.205 Section 1003.205... planning, urban environmental design and policy-planning-management-capacity building activities. (a... plans, general environmental studies, and strategies and action programs to implement plans, including...

Sensitivity analysis of the energy demand of existing buildings based on the Danish Building and Dwelling Register (BBR)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Anker; Wittchen, Kim Bjarne; Bertelsen, Niels Haldor

2014-01-01

performance certificate. The Danish Building Research Institute has described a method that can be applied for estimating the energy demand of dwellings. This is based on the information in the Danish Building and Dwelling Register and requirements in the Danish Building Regulations from the year......The EU Directive on the Energy Performance of Buildings requires that energy certification of buildings should be implemented in Denmark so that houses that are sold or let should have an energy performance certificate. The result is that only a small part of existing houses has an energy...... of construction of the house. The result is an estimate of the energy demand of each building with a variation. This makes it possible to make an automatic classification of all buildings. The paper discusses the uncertainties and makes a sensitivity analysis to find the important parameters. The variations...

A system approach to the environmental analysis of industrial buildings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

San-Jose Lombera, Jose-Tomas [LABEIN-Tecnalia, C/Geldo, Parque Tecnologico de Bizkaia, Edificio 700, 48160 Derio (Vizcaya) (Spain); Department of Science of Materials, ESTSI Bilbao-University of Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Alda, Urquijo s/n, 48013 Bilbao (Spain); Garrucho Aprea, Isaac [SEDICAL S.A., Txorierri Etorbidea 46 - Pab, 12 F 48150 Sondica (Vizcaya) (Spain)

2010-03-15

The construction sector plays a major role in the development of society. It wields enormous influence over economic activity, employment and growth rates. However, it also has a substantial impact on the natural environment, the effects of which are evident across the world. Over recent decades, pioneering initiatives have proposed environmentally friendly buildings and sustainable construction has centred on residential and office buildings. Nevertheless, further consideration still needs to be given to sustainability in many areas of industrial construction. Accordingly, an Integrated Value Model for Sustainable Assessment (MIVES) is presented in this article that applies a set of six study scopes to define the sustainability criteria of industrial buildings. The system uses a requirements tree to quantify sustainability at various hierarchical levels, in order to assess the behaviour of industrial buildings and compliance with the criteria. Assignment of value functions to the sustainability criteria is then described in the context of a case study of a printing works, which demonstrates the effectiveness of this model at unifying both qualitative and quantitative indicators, in order to arrive at a specific ''environmental sustainability index'' for the industrial building. (author)

A life cycle multi-objective economic and environmental assessment of distributed generation in buildings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Safaei, Amir; Freire, Fausto; Henggeler Antunes, Carlos

2015-01-01

Highlights: • A lifecycle optimization model for distributed energy systems is developed. • Model estimates costs and environmental impacts of meeting the building energy demand. • Design and operating strategies to reduce costs and environmental impacts are discussed. • Pareto frontiers of costs vis-à-vis environmental impacts are presented. • Distributed generation can reduce the environmental impacts of the building sector. - Abstract: Distributed generation, namely cogeneration and solar technologies, is expected to play an important role in the future energy supply mix in buildings. This calls for a methodological framework to assess the economic and environmental performance of the building sector when such technologies are employed. A life-cycle model has been developed, combining distributed generation and conventional sources to calculate the cost and environmental impacts of meeting the building energy demand over a defined planning period. Three type of cogeneration technologies, solar photovoltaic and thermal, as well as conventional boilers along with the Portuguese electricity generation mix comprise the energy systems modeled. Pareto optimal frontiers are derived, showing the trade-offs between different types of impacts (non-renewable cumulative energy demand, greenhouse gas emissions, acidification, eutrophication) and cost to meet the energy demand of a commercial building. Our analysis shows that according to the objective to employ distributed generation (reducing cost or environmental impacts), a specific design and operational strategy for the energy systems shall be adopted. The strategies to minimize each type of impact and the associated cost trade-offs by exploring the solutions located on the Pareto optimal frontiers are discussed

An Analysis of the Most Adopted Rating Systems for Assessing the Environmental Impact of Buildings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elena Bernardi

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Rating systems for assessing the environmental impact of buildings are technical instruments that aim to evaluate the environmental impact of buildings and construction projects. In some cases, these rating systems can also cover urban-scale projects, community projects, and infrastructures. These schemes are designed to assist project management in making the projects more sustainable by providing frameworks with precise criteria for assessing the various aspects of a building’s environmental impact. Given the growing interest in sustainable development worldwide, many rating systems for assessing the environmental impact of buildings have been established in recent years, each one with its peculiarities and fields of applicability. The present work is motivated by an interest in emphasizing such differences to better understand these rating systems and extract the main implications to building design. It also attempts to summarize in a user-friendly form the vast and fragmented assortment of information that is available today. The analysis focuses on the six main rating systems: the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Methodology (BREEAM, the Comprehensive Assessment System for Built Environment Efficiency (CASBEE, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Nachhaltiges Bauen (DGNB, the Haute Qualité Environnementale (HQETM, the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED, and the Sustainable Building Tool (SBTool.

Quantitative relationships between occupant satisfaction and satisfaction aspects of indoor environmental quality and building design

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Frontczak, Monika Joanna; Schiavon, S.; Goins, J.

2012-01-01

The article examines which subjectively evaluated indoor environmental parameters and building features mostly affect occupants' satisfaction in mainly US office buildings. The study analyzed data from a web-based survey administered to 52 980 occupants in 351 office buildings over 10 years...... by the Center for the Built Environment. The survey uses 7-point ordered scale questions pertaining to satisfaction with indoor environmental parameters, workspace, and building features. The average building occupant was satisfied with his/her workspace and building. Proportional odds ordinal logistic...

The USEPA environmental response team TAGA at work at the Hart building fumigation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mickunas, D.B.; Turpin, R. [United States Environmental Protection Agency, Edison, NJ (United States). Environmental Response Team; Blaze, S.; Wood, J. [Lockheed Martin Inc., Edison, NJ (United States). Response Engineering and Analytical Contract

2004-07-01

This paper describes the fumigation activities conducted at the Hart Senate Office building in Washington, DC in October 2001 following the delivery of a letter containing anthrax. Anthrax spores were dispersed in areas within the office. The United States States Environmental Protection Agency Environmental Response Team (USEPA/ERT) was responsible for the decontamination activities. Chlorine dioxide was chosen as the anthrax sporicide after a detailed technical review and consultation with scientific experts. ERT provided continuous, near real-time ambient air monitoring during the fumigation process. The monitoring was conducted to ensure that the nearby residences were not impacted by the chlorine dioxide fumigant. The monitoring plan required the use of a Trace Atmospheric Gas Analyzer (TAGA), a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer mounted in a mobile laboratory. The monitoring activities of ERT's mobile laboratory were outlined in this paper along with the logistical and technical aspects of the air monitoring. More than 130 hours of TAGA monitoring was performed and 2.3 million data points were collected. No chlorine or chlorine dioxide concentrations were observed above the action limits during any fumigation event. The building was cleared by the health and regulatory agencies and re-opened in January 2002. It was concluded that TAGA is an excellent technology to monitor these compounds because is is extremely sensitive and selective. 2 tabs., 5 figs.

A protocol for lifetime energy and environmental impact assessment of building insulation materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shrestha, Som S.; Biswas, Kaushik; Desjarlais, Andre O.

2014-01-01

This article describes a proposed protocol that is intended to provide a comprehensive list of factors to be considered in evaluating the direct and indirect environmental impacts of building insulation materials, as well as detailed descriptions of standardized calculation methodologies to determine those impacts. The energy and environmental impacts of insulation materials can generally be divided into two categories: (1) direct impact due to the embodied energy of the insulation materials and other factors and (2) indirect or environmental impacts avoided as a result of reduced building energy use due to addition of insulation. Standards and product category rules exist, which provide guidelines about the life cycle assessment (LCA) of materials, including building insulation products. However, critical reviews have suggested that these standards fail to provide complete guidance to LCA studies and suffer from ambiguities regarding the determination of the environmental impacts of building insulation and other products. The focus of the assessment protocol described here is to identify all factors that contribute to the total energy and environmental impacts of different building insulation products and, more importantly, provide standardized determination methods that will allow comparison of different insulation material types. Further, the intent is not to replace current LCA standards but to provide a well-defined, easy-to-use comparison method for insulation materials using existing LCA guidelines. - Highlights: • We proposed a protocol to evaluate the environmental impacts of insulation materials. • The protocol considers all life cycle stages of an insulation material. • Both the direct environmental impacts and the indirect impacts are defined. • Standardized calculation methods for the ‘avoided operational energy’ is defined. • Standardized calculation methods for the ‘avoided environmental impact’ is defined

Predictive control techniques for energy and indoor environmental quality management in buildings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kolokotsa, D. [Technological Educational Institute of Crete, Department of Natural Resources and Environment, 3, Romanou str., 73133, Hania, Crete (Greece); Pouliezos, A. [Technical University of Crete, Department of Production Engineering and Management, University Campus, Kounoupidiana, 73100 Hania (Greece); Stavrakakis, G.; Lazos, C. [Technical University of Crete, Department of Electronics and Computer Engineering, University Campus, Kounoupidiana, 73100 Hania (Greece)

2009-09-15

The aim of the present paper is to present a model-based predictive controller, combined with a Building Energy Management System (BEMS). The overall system predicts the indoor environmental conditions of a specific building and selects the most appropriate actions so as to reach the set points and contribute to the indoor environmental quality by minimizing energy costs. The controller is tested using a BEMS installation in Hania, Crete, Greece. (author)

Environmental issues in planning building energy technologies R ampersand D in the United States

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Farhar, B.C.; Abel, F.H.; Nicholls, A.K.; Millhone, J.P.

1991-08-01

The US Department of Energy's Office of Building Technologies (OBT) has begun studies on the relationship and impact of buildings energy use on the environment, particularly with respect to global climate change, acid rain, stratospheric ozone depletion, and indoor air quality. The paper presents an overview of international and US federal activity in global change to set OBT's activities in context. The paper then reviews briefly the contribution of buildings to atmospheric problems through building energy use. OBT's program primarily supports projects with indirect environmental impacts through energy efficiency (e.g., thermally activated heat pumps use natural gas instead of electricity) and the use of renewables in buildings. The paper briefly describes the OBT program and covers an inventory of projects that OBT has funded on environmental/building problems. Analyses have included three kinds of topics: (1) CFC substitutes for refrigeration equipment, (2) incorporating the cost of externalities into utility electricity generation, and (3) indoor air quality. The paper shows how environmental issues are being taken into account in planning the US R ampersand D program in building energy technologies. 27 refs

Environmental Approach In Interior Design Education In Turkey

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Derya Adıgüzel

2013-12-01

Full Text Available These days there has been a severe encroachment on nature, a large amount of waste being generated, and natural resources being used irresponsibly during the design, application and usage phases of buildings. Environmental sensitivity is necessary during the construction of new buildings and re-usage of current buildings to resolve environmental problems. In order to increase environmental sensitivity, a great responsibility falls onto interior design along with other disciplines during the creation of living spaces. The accumulation of knowledge from career training and the level of awareness will determine the practical development of environmentally sensitive interior design. Therefore the purpose of this article is to make a determination of the current state of environmental design in interior design education in Turkey. The degree to which environmental design is reflected in the curricula of interior design departments was studied. The relationship between the awareness level of the students and the educational programs will be presented through three samples. Surveys were conducted at three universities that have varying degrees of environmental design within the interior design curricula. As a result, the importance of having an environmentally conscious design understanding within the curricula of interior design and recommendations for improving the environmental design awareness of students will be presented in this article.

Sensitivity Analysis Applied in Design of Low Energy Office Building

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Heiselberg, Per; Brohus, Henrik

2008-01-01

satisfies the design requirements and objectives. In the design of sustainable Buildings it is beneficial to identify the most important design parameters in order to develop more efficiently alternative design solutions or reach optimized design solutions. A sensitivity analysis makes it possible...

Sensitivity analysis of water consumption in an office building

Science.gov (United States)

Suchacek, Tomas; Tuhovcak, Ladislav; Rucka, Jan

2018-02-01

This article deals with sensitivity analysis of real water consumption in an office building. During a long-term real study, reducing of pressure in its water connection was simulated. A sensitivity analysis of uneven water demand was conducted during working time at various provided pressures and at various time step duration. Correlations between maximal coefficients of water demand variation during working time and provided pressure were suggested. The influence of provided pressure in the water connection on mean coefficients of water demand variation was pointed out, altogether for working hours of all days and separately for days with identical working hours.

Sensitivity analysis for daily building operation from the energy and thermal comfort standpoint

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ignjatović Marko G.

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Improving energy performance of buildings is one of the most important tasks for reaching sustainability. Assessing building energy consumption is performed more often with specialized simulation tools. Sensitivity analysis proved to be a valuable tool for creating more reliable and realistic building energy models and better buildings. This paper briefly describes the methodology for running global sensitivity analysis and tools that can be used, and presents the results of such an analysis conducted for winter period, daily, on input variables covering a real building's operation, control and occupant related parameters that affect both thermal comfort and heating energy consumption. Two sets of inputs were created. The only difference between these sets is an addition of clothing insulation and occupant heat gain as input variables. The reference building was simulated for three distinctive winter weeks. Two additional input variables have an effect especially on thermal comfort, but they do not disturb the relative order of other influential input variables. The common influential variables for both energy consumption and thermal comfort were identified and are: air handling unit sup-ply temperature and airflow rate and control system related parameters. This can help in future research into implementing the simulation-assisted optimized operation in real buildings. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. TR-33051: The concept of sustainable energy supply of settlements with energy efficient buildings

Environmental analysis for building legislation purposes. A challenge to science and policy making

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Scholten, N.P.M.; Huppes, G.; Haes, H.A.U. de

2000-01-01

The Dutch Government is cooperating with the building industry to prepare legislation for environmental performance requirements for dwellings and residential buildings. These requirements, also known as dubo-eisen (requirements for sustainable building) will have to apply to all newly built

Environmental issues and energy conservation in buildings in Pakistan: role of architectural intervention

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arif, S.; Khan, A.; Alamgir, K.; Alamgir, K.

2011-01-01

Energy shortage and environmental catastrophe is the severe problem globally and particularly important for the developing countries like Pakistan. There is a serious need to solve the problem for a sustainable building environment as the building sector has become a major consumer of energy. An attempt has been made for the building professionals and building users for adherence into their design and construction the energy conservation measures to reduce environmental problems more easily after the thorough review of the famous authors' research work and findings in this field. The ultimate aim is the establishment of awareness for the building professionals for delivering sustainable buildings in Pakistan. Through the implementation of design measures to mitigate the urban heat island, the general public can decrease their demand for energy and effectively cool the urban landscape. In addition to the economic benefits, energy conservation leads to reductions in CO/sub 2/ emissions. (author)

Incorporation of electricity GHG emissions intensity variability into building environmental assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cubi, Eduard; Doluweera, Ganesh; Bergerson, Joule

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Current building assessment does not account for variability in the electric grid. • A new method incorporates hourly grid variability into building assessment. • The method is complementary with peak-shaving policies. • The assessment method can affect building design decisions. - Abstract: Current building energy and GHG emissions assessments do not account for the variable performance of the electric grid. Incorporating hourly grid variability into building assessment methods can help to better prioritize energy efficiency measures that result in the largest environmental benefits. This article proposes a method to incorporate GHG emissions intensity changes due to grid variability into building environmental assessment. The proposed method encourages building systems that reduce electricity use during peak periods while accounting for differences in grid GHG emissions intensity (i.e., peak shaving is more strongly encouraged in grids that have GHG intense peak generation). A set of energy saving building technologies are evaluated in a set of building variants (office, residential) and grid types (hydro/nuclear dominated, coal/gas dominated) to demonstrate the proposed method. Differences between total GHG emissions calculated with the new method compared with the standard (which assumes a constant GHG emissions intensity throughout the year) are in the 5–15% range when the contribution of electricity to total GHG emissions is more significant. The influence of the method on the assessment of the relative performance of some energy efficiency measures is much higher. For example, the estimated GHG emissions savings with heat pumps and photovoltaics can change by −40% and +20%, respectively, using the new assessment method instead of the standard. These differences in GHG emissions estimates can influence building design decisions. The new method could be implemented easily, and would lead to better decision making and more accurate

Economic and environmental impacts of community-based residential building energy efficiency investment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choi, Jun-Ki; Morrison, Drew; Hallinan, Kevin P.; Brecha, Robert J.

2014-01-01

A systematic framework for evaluating the local economic and environmental impacts of investment in building energy efficiency is developed. Historical residential building energy data, community-wide economic input–output data, and emission intensity data are utilized. The aim of this study is to show the comprehensive insights and connection among achieving variable target reductions for a residential building energy use, economic and environmental impacts. Central to this approach for the building energy reduction goal is the creation of individual energy models for each building based upon historical energy data and available building data. From these models, savings estimates and cost implications can be estimated for various conservation measures. A ‘worst to first’ (WF) energy efficient investment strategy is adopted to optimize the level of various direct, indirect, and induced economic impacts on the local community. This evaluation helps to illumine opportunities to establish specific energy reduction targets having greatest economic impact in the community. From an environmental perspective, short term economy-wide CO 2 emissions increase because of the increased community-wide economic activities spurred by the production and installation of energy efficiency measures, however the resulting energy savings provide continuous CO 2 reduction for various target savings. - Highlights: • WF energy efficient strategy helps to optimize various level of economic impacts. • Greatest community benefits are achieved from specific energy reduction targets. • Community-wide economic impacts vary for different energy conservation measures

Aging characteristics of containment building and sensitivity on ultimate pressure capacity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seo, Jeong Moon; Choun, Young Sun; Choi, In Kil; Ha, Jae Joo

1998-03-01

For the reliable safety assessment of the containment building, structural and material conditions can be investigated in detail and pertinent assessment technologies have to be established. Also, an understanding on the aging-related degradations for the construction materials is required to predict long-term structural safety of the containment building. For the development of reliable aging prediction models, an extensive data base system related to aging properties of the containment building has to be prepared. The objectives of this research are to develop aging models representing long-term degradation of materials and a structural performance assessment program for containment building considering aging-related degradation. According to the results of sensitivity analysis, as the mechanical properties of the constituent materials degrade, the ultimate pressure capacity of containment building may decrease and severe damage may occur around the mid-level of the containment wall. (author). 28 refs., 11 tabs., 36 figs

Compatibility of global environmental assessment methods of buildings with an Egyptian energy code

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amal Kamal Mohamed Shamseldin

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Several environmental assessment methods of buildings had emerged over the world to set environmental classifications for buildings, such as the American method “Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design” (LEED the most widespread one. Several countries decided to put their own assessment methods to catch up with the previous orientation, such as Egypt. The main goal of putting the Egyptian method was to impose the voluntary local energy efficiency codes. Through a local survey, it was clearly noted that many of the construction makers in Egypt do not even know the local method, and whom are interested in the environmental assessment of buildings seek to apply LEED rather than anything else. Therefore, several questions appear about the American method compatibility with the Egyptian energy codes – that contain the most exact characteristics and requirements and give the outmost credible energy efficiency results for buildings in Egypt-, and the possibility of finding another global method that gives closer results to those of the Egyptian codes, especially with the great variety of energy efficiency measurement approaches used among the different assessment methods. So, the researcher is trying to find the compatibility of using non-local assessment methods with the local energy efficiency codes. Thus, if the results are not compatible, the Egyptian government should take several steps to increase the local building sector awareness of the Egyptian method to benefit these codes, and it should begin to enforce it within the building permits after a proper guidance and feedback.

Forty years of environmentally conscious building technology design

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lorenzo Matteoli

2013-05-01

Full Text Available This short essay analyzes the environmental approach throughout the history of Architectural Technology, starting from building details up to the present attention to the smart city, land maintenance and urban retrofit, seen as complex research activities, political strategies, design and entrepreneurial actions which have the scope to transform present day urban crusts into organic textures, climatologically consistent, reactive, user-friendly, efficient and with a low environmental impact. The exercise identifies some research and teaching trends for Architectural Technology in order to promote debate and the analysis of the historical perspective and present situation of the discipline.

An integrated environmental and health performance quantification model for pre-occupancy phase of buildings in China

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li, Xiaodong, E-mail: eastdawn@tsinghua.edu.cn; Su, Shu, E-mail: sushuqh@163.com; Zhang, Zhihui, E-mail: zhzhg@tsinghua.edu.cn; Kong, Xiangqin, E-mail: kxlwq@126.com

2017-03-15

To comprehensively pre-evaluate the damages to both the environment and human health due to construction activities in China, this paper presents an integrated building environmental and health performance (EHP) assessment model based on the Building Environmental Performance Analysis System (BEPAS) and the Building Health Impact Analysis System (BHIAS) models and offers a new inventory data estimation method. The new model follows the life cycle assessment (LCA) framework and the inventory analysis step involves bill of quantity (BOQ) data collection, consumption data formation, and environmental profile transformation. The consumption data are derived from engineering drawings and quotas to conduct the assessment before construction for pre-evaluation. The new model classifies building impacts into three safeguard areas: ecosystems, natural resources and human health. Thus, this model considers environmental impacts as well as damage to human wellbeing. The monetization approach, distance-to-target method and panel method are considered as optional weighting approaches. Finally, nine residential buildings of different structural types are taken as case studies to test the operability of the integrated model through application. The results indicate that the new model can effectively pre-evaluate building EHP and the structure type significantly affects the performance of residential buildings.

An integrated environmental and health performance quantification model for pre-occupancy phase of buildings in China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Xiaodong; Su, Shu; Zhang, Zhihui; Kong, Xiangqin

2017-01-01

To comprehensively pre-evaluate the damages to both the environment and human health due to construction activities in China, this paper presents an integrated building environmental and health performance (EHP) assessment model based on the Building Environmental Performance Analysis System (BEPAS) and the Building Health Impact Analysis System (BHIAS) models and offers a new inventory data estimation method. The new model follows the life cycle assessment (LCA) framework and the inventory analysis step involves bill of quantity (BOQ) data collection, consumption data formation, and environmental profile transformation. The consumption data are derived from engineering drawings and quotas to conduct the assessment before construction for pre-evaluation. The new model classifies building impacts into three safeguard areas: ecosystems, natural resources and human health. Thus, this model considers environmental impacts as well as damage to human wellbeing. The monetization approach, distance-to-target method and panel method are considered as optional weighting approaches. Finally, nine residential buildings of different structural types are taken as case studies to test the operability of the integrated model through application. The results indicate that the new model can effectively pre-evaluate building EHP and the structure type significantly affects the performance of residential buildings.

Environmental Comfort Indicators for School Buildings in Sustainability Assessment Tools

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tatiana Santos Saraiva

2018-06-01

Full Text Available Decades ago, the only requirement to construct a building was to give men the right conditions for the execution of their work or leisure activities. With the development of knowledge about the internal and external environments of buildings, other requirements have been added such as the issue of user comfort. New construction techniques have been incorporated and new products have been created to improve internal environment comfort. This research addressed the importance of using indicators related to environmental comfort in sustainability assessment tools applied to school buildings. It also considered the importance of environmental issues for the good performance of human beings, and the harmonious coexistence of the comfort indicators indoor air quality, thermal comfort, visual comfort, acoustic comfort and ergonomic comfort based on data gathered in research carried out with users of high schools (only students. This research was carried out in two different cities of different countries, Guimarães (Portugal and Juiz de Fora (Brazil, that have similar characteristics of teaching standards and climate conditions (temperature and air humidity. In this study, interviews were made through questionnaires and, later, the information collected was analyzed. This study demonstrates the need to include an ergonomic indicator for school buildings in sustainability assessment tools.

Theoretical Explanations of Environmental Motivations and Expectations of Clients on Green Building Demand and Investment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Joachim, Onuoha Iheanyichukwu; Kamarudin, Norhaya; Aliagha, Godwin Uche; Ufere, Kalu Joseph

2015-01-01

In building industry, green demand and investment creates a positive footprint on the environment. However, these environmental opportunities have not been adequately harnessed and explored by Clients of green building apparently because of poor understanding of the motivating drivers and benefits accruing from green building demand and investment. The decision to demand for or invest in green building is influenced by certain environmental motivating drivers and expectations which have not been fully examined by researchers and not well understood by stakeholders. Based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) and Theory of Value Belief Norm (VBN) explanations, this study focused on the Clients, purchasers and users' motivations and intentions to go for green building. Based on the reviewed theories, we hypothesized that environmental motivations and expectations for green building demand and investment are embedded in the environmental quest for protection of eco-system and bio-diversity, improvement of water and air quality, reduction of solid waste, conservation of natural resources, reduction of societal costs of landfill creation and maintenance, minimization of site impact and reduction emission to air and enhanced energy efficiency. However, the predictive validity of these propositions depends on the client's beliefs, values, social pressure, and perceived behavioural control

Characterization of Under-Building Contamination at Rocky Flats Implementing Environmental-Measurement While Drilling Process with Horizontal Directional Drilling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

WILLIAMS, CECELIA V.; LOCKWOOD, GRANT J.; NORMANN, RANDY A.; LINDSAY, THOMAS

2001-01-01

Characterization is required on thirty-one buildings at Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site (RFETS or the Site) with known or suspected under building contamination. The Site has teamed with Sandia National Laboratory (SNL) to deploy Environmental Measure-While-Drilling (EMWD) in conjunction with horizontal directional drilling (HDD) to characterize under building contamination and to evaluate the performance and applicability for future characterization efforts. The Environmental Measurement-While-Drilling-Gamma Ray Spectrometer (EMWD-GRS) system represents an innovative blend of new and existing technology that provides the capability of producing real-time environmental drill bit data during drilling operations. The project investigated two locations, Building 886 and Building 123. Building 886 is currently undergoing D and D activities. Building 123 was demolished in 1998; however, the slab is present with under building process waste lines and utilities. This report presents the results of the EMWD Gamma Ray Spectrometer logging of boreholes at these two sites. No gamma emitting contamination was detected at either location.(author)

Environmental impact assessment for the Nova projects (Building 391 complex)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Odell, B.N.

1979-01-01

The environmental impact assessment of the Nova projects (Building 391 Complex) describes (1) the proposed actions, (2) the existing environment in and around the Livermore Valley, and (3) the potential environmental impacts from the construction and operation of these facilities. It shows that the proposed action does not conflict with any Federal, State, Regional, or Local Plans and Programs. Possible alternatives to the proposed action are discussed. However, it is concluded that the proposed actions were the most reasonable of the alternatives and would involve relatively minor adverse environmental impacts

Building the knowledge base for environmental action and sustainability

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

2015-01-01

was “Building the knowledge base for environmental action and sustainability”. The joint conference was designed to facilitate ‘within‐the‐domain’, as well as to create a space for developing synergies between the two communities. Altogether 125 research and applied papers (including extended abstracts) from 42......“Knowledge is power” (Sir Francis Bacon (1561 – 1626), Religious Meditations, Of Heresis, 1597) “Science is organised knowledge. Wisdom is organised life” (Immanuel Kant (1724 – 1804)) The 29th International Conference on Informatics for Environmental Protection and the third International...

Vantage Sensitivity: Environmental Sensitivity to Positive Experiences as a Function of Genetic Differences.

Science.gov (United States)

Pluess, Michael

2017-02-01

A large number of gene-environment interaction studies provide evidence that some people are more likely to be negatively affected by adverse experiences as a function of specific genetic variants. However, such "risk" variants are surprisingly frequent in the population. Evolutionary analysis suggests that genetic variants associated with increased risk for maladaptive development under adverse environmental conditions are maintained in the population because they are also associated with advantages in response to different contextual conditions. These advantages may include (a) coexisting genetic resilience pertaining to other adverse influences, (b) a general genetic susceptibility to both low and high environmental quality, and (c) a coexisting propensity to benefit disproportionately from positive and supportive exposures, as reflected in the recent framework of vantage sensitivity. After introducing the basic properties of vantage sensitivity and highlighting conceptual similarities and differences with diathesis-stress and differential susceptibility patterns of gene-environment interaction, selected and recent empirical evidence for the notion of vantage sensitivity as a function of genetic differences is reviewed. The unique contribution that the new perspective of vantage sensitivity may make to our understanding of social inequality will be discussed after suggesting neurocognitive and molecular mechanisms hypothesized to underlie the propensity to benefit disproportionately from benevolent experiences. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Environmental and economic evaluation of natural capital appropriation through building construction: practical case study in the Italian context.

Science.gov (United States)

Bastianoni, Simone; Galli, Alessandro; Pulselli, Riccardo Maria; Niccolucci, Valentina

2007-11-01

This paper focuses on appropriation of natural capital through construction of buildings. The ecological footprint and the Costanza natural capital concepts are applied. The environmental consequences of human settlement are currently of great concern, and a need is felt to reduce the impact of building on the environment. The embodied energy of building materials and the "land area" required to sustain their production are considered to evaluate the demand on nature of this activity. The ecological footprints of 2 typical Italian buildings are compared. The paper also focuses on how to reduce the natural capital appropriation of building construction by means of environmentally inexpensive materials, renewable energy resources, and optimization of the use of bioproductive land by construction of multistoried buildings. Finally, to allocate an environmental load of buildings, an economic evaluation of natural capital appropriation through building construction is proposed.

Environmental impact of energy standards - Perspectives for Swiss building; Umweltwirkungen von Energiestandards. Perspektiven fuer den Gebaeudepark Schweiz

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dettli, R.; Baur, M.; Philippen, D. [Econcept AG, Zuerich (Switzerland); Frischknecht, R.; Faist Emmenegger, M. [ESU-Services GmbH, Uster (Switzerland)

2006-12-15

This comprehensive final report for the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) deals with the effects energy standards have in the environmental area. First of all, the buildings examined, system limits and reference parameters and indicators are defined. The standards examined, types of building and energy systems used are dealt with, as are energy performance figures and Swiss standards such as SIA 380/1, MuKEn, Minergie and Minergie-P. The environmental loading caused by building activities is discussed both in general as well as for various particular standards. The influence of various factors such as the use of heat pumps, the electricity mix used and buildings with oil heating is discussed. The results for new and refurbished buildings are examined and future developments in the Swiss residential buildings area and their environmental impact are discussed. A comprehensive annex completes the report.

A sustainable building promotes pro-environmental behavior: an observational study on food disposal.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, David W-L; DiGiacomo, Alessandra; Kingstone, Alan

2013-01-01

In order to develop a more sustainable society, the wider public will need to increase engagement in pro-environmental behaviors. Psychological research on pro-environmental behaviors has thus far focused on identifying individual factors that promote such behavior, designing interventions based on these factors, and evaluating these interventions. Contextual factors that may also influence behavior at an aggregate level have been largely ignored. In the current study, we test a novel hypothesis--whether simply being in a sustainable building can elicit environmentally sustainable behavior. We find support for our hypothesis: people are significantly more likely to correctly choose the proper disposal bin (garbage, compost, recycling) in a building designed with sustainability in mind compared to a building that was not. Questionnaires reveal that these results are not due to self-selection biases. Our study provides empirical support that one's surroundings can have a profound and positive impact on behavior. It also suggests the opportunity for a new line of research that bridges psychology, design, and policy-making in an attempt to understand how the human environment can be designed and used as a subtle yet powerful tool to encourage and achieve aggregate pro-environmental behavior.

Environmental coefficients of the free-field sensitivity of measurement microphones

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Barrera Figueroa, Salvador; Cutanda Henriquez, Vicente; Torras-Rosell, Antoni

2017-01-01

The sensitivity of measurement microphones, both pressure and free field, is affected by changes in the environmental conditions, mainly temperature and static pressure. Static pressure and temperature coefficients for the pressure sensitivity have been the object of previous studies focused...... on Laboratory Standard microphones and few working standard microphones. The literature describes frequency dependent values for these coefficients which are used for calibration purposes. However, there is no description of the environmental coefficients of the free-field sensitivity though there have been...... some implementations that attempt to take care of the differences between the coefficients for the two types of sensitivities. Measuring the coefficients in a free field poses some challeng; it is not so easy to change neither the static pressure nor the temperature inside anechoic room within...

Sensitivity analysis of a low-level waste environmental transport code

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hiromoto, G.

1989-01-01

Results are presented from a sensivity analysis of a computer code designed to simulate the environmental transport of radionuclides buried at shallow land waste repositories. A sensitivity analysis methodology, based on the surface response replacement and statistic sensitivity estimators, was developed to address the relative importance of the input parameters on the model output. Response surface replacement for the model was constructed by stepwise regression, after sampling input vectors from range and distribution of the input variables, and running the code to generate the associated output data. Sensitivity estimators were compute using the partial rank correlation coefficients and the standardized rank regression coefficients. The results showed that the tecniques employed in this work provides a feasible means to perform a sensitivity analysis of a general not-linear environmental radionuclides transport models. (author) [pt

Environmental Impact Analysis on Residential Building in Malaysia Using Life Cycle Assessment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ahmad Faiz Abd Rashid

2017-02-01

Full Text Available The building industry has a significant impact on the environment due to massive natural resources and energy it uses throughout its life cycle. This study presents a life cycle assessment of a semi-detached residential building in Malaysia as a case study and assesses the environmental impact under cradle-to-grave which consists of pre-use, construction, use, and end-of-life phases by using Centre of Environmental Science of Leiden University (CML 2001. Four impact categories were evaluated, namely, acidification, eutrophication, global warming potential (GWP, and ozone layer depletion (ODP. The building operation under use phase contributed the highest global warming potential and acidification with 2.41 × 103 kg CO2 eq and 1.10 × 101 kg SO2 eq, respectively. In the pre-use phase, concrete in the substructure has the most significant overall impact with cement as the primary raw material. The results showed that the residential building in Malaysia has a fairly high impact in GWP but lower in acidification and ODP compared to other studies.

Influence of construction and demolition waste management on the environmental impact of buildings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Coelho, André; Brito, Jorge de

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► Environmental impacts of different demolition practices. ► “Top-down” approach to the Life Cycle Analysis methodology. ► Results based on real buildings measurements and demolition contractor activities. ► Not every type of selective demolition brings about environmental benefits. - Abstract: The purpose of this study is to quantify comparable environmental impacts within a Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) perspective, for buildings in which the first (Materials) and last (End of Life) life cycle stages are adjusted to several waste/material management options. Unlike most LCAs, the approach is “top-down” rather than “bottom-up”, which usually involves large amounts of data and the use of specific software applications. This approach is considered appropriate for a limited but expedient LCA designed to compare the environmental impacts of different life cycle options. Present results, based on real buildings measurements and demolition contractor activities, show that shallow, superficial, selective demolition may not result in reduced environmental impacts. Calculations actually show an increase (generally less than 5%) in most impact categories for the Materials and End of Life stages because of extra transportation needs. However, core material separation in demolition operations and its recycling and/or reuse does bring environmental benefits. A reduction of around 77% has been estimated in the climate change impact category, 57% in acidification potential and 81% in the summer smog impact (for the life cycle stages referred).

East Florida, 1993 - 1995 Environmental Sensitivity Index Map

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

West Florida, 1993-1995 Environmental Sensitivity Index Map

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

South Florida, 1993-1995 Environmental Sensitivity Index Map

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

Lichen microalgae are sensitive to environmental concentrations of atrazine.

Science.gov (United States)

Traba, Helena Moreno; Domínguez-Morueco, Noelia; Barreno, Eva; Catalá, Myriam

2017-04-03

The identification of new organisms for environmental toxicology bioassays is currently a priority, since these tools are strongly limited by the ecological relevance of taxa used to study global change. Lichens are sensitive bioindicators of air quality and their microalgae are an untapped source for new low-cost miniaturized bioassays with ecological importance. In order to increase the availability of a wider range of taxa for bioassays, the sensitivity of two symbiotic lichen microalgae, Asterochloris erici and Trebouxia sp. TR9, to atrazine was evaluated. To achieve this goal, axenic cultures of these phycobionts in suspension were exposed to a range of environmental concentrations of the herbicide atrazine, a common water pollutant. Optical density and chlorophyll autofluorescence were used as endpoints of ecotoxicity and ecophysiology on cell suspensions. Results show that lichen microalgae show high sensitivity to very low doses of atrazine, being higher in Asterochloris erici than in Trebouxia sp. TR9. We conclude that environmental concentrations of atrazine could modify population dynamics probably through a shift in reproduction strategies of these organisms. This seminal work is a breakthrough in the use of lichen microalgae in the assessment of micropollution effects on biodiversity.

Comfort Indicators for the Assessment of Indoor Environmental Building Performance

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brohus, Henrik; Bendtsen, A.; Sørensen, M.

2006-01-01

Indoor environmental building performance assessment requires efficient indicators of the indoor comfort. In order to be effective and useful the comfort indicators must be able to include the temporal variation of indoor comfort as well as the degree of discomfort perceived by the occupants....... This paper discusses and presents a number of comfort indicators that includes both the temporal variation and the degree of discomfort in the calculations. A test case comprising a ventilated office building is used to show the application of the various comfort indices. It is found that the new comfort...

A Sensitivity Analysis Approach to Identify Key Environmental Performance Factors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xi Yu

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Life cycle assessment (LCA is widely used in design phase to reduce the product’s environmental impacts through the whole product life cycle (PLC during the last two decades. The traditional LCA is restricted to assessing the environmental impacts of a product and the results cannot reflect the effects of changes within the life cycle. In order to improve the quality of ecodesign, it is a growing need to develop an approach which can reflect the changes between the design parameters and product’s environmental impacts. A sensitivity analysis approach based on LCA and ecodesign is proposed in this paper. The key environmental performance factors which have significant influence on the products’ environmental impacts can be identified by analyzing the relationship between environmental impacts and the design parameters. Users without much environmental knowledge can use this approach to determine which design parameter should be first considered when (redesigning a product. A printed circuit board (PCB case study is conducted; eight design parameters are chosen to be analyzed by our approach. The result shows that the carbon dioxide emission during the PCB manufacture is highly sensitive to the area of PCB panel.

Environmental issues in planning building energy efficiency R and D

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Farhar, B.C.

1990-01-01

The US Department of Energy's Office of Building Technologies (OBT) has initiated analyses on the relationship and impact of buildings energy conservation on the environment. A plethora of activities involving DOE, its national laboratories and other organizations are addressing various aspects of global climate change, acid rain, stratospheric ozone depletion, and indoor air quality. Elements of the current task include (1) a literature review of buildings' contribution to these problems; (2) inventories of OBT studies directly and indirectly related to these environmental problems, and other germane DOE and non-DOE projects; (3) identifying OBT projects that should be done; and (4) analyzing differential impacts on the environment of alternative OBT planning strategies and varying National Energy Strategy scenarios. The success of this project relies, at least in part, on suggestions from the buildings research community on information sources, literature, and ideas that OBT should consider

Do Certified Buildings Enhance Indoor Environmental Quality and Performance of Office Work?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Da Silva, Nuno Alexandre Faria; Wargocki, Pawel

2014-01-01

With the growth of sustainability consciousness, the awareness of stakeholders for high performance buildings has also increased. The concept of green buildings has appeared. Several voluntary environmental rating schemes for buildings were created. Their focus has been energy conservation...... on productivity and that an average employee cost can be >10-100 times higher than the rental operation and maintenance costs (Morrell, 2005; Persramet al., 2007). There is however lack of consistent and systematic data benchmarking benefits of green building, in particular as regards IEQ and the effects...... (Lee, 2011), the green building do not have to necessarily meet this postulation. Quite limited numbers of credits for enhancing IEQ offered by the schemes will certainly not very much help that the high IEQ is guaranteed. The present paper surveyed literature on green buildings to examine whether...

Value of sensitive in-situ environmental assets in energy resource extraction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thampapillai, Dodo J.

2011-01-01

The extraction of energy resources and the preservation of sensitive in-situ environmental assets are invariably mutually exclusive alternatives. The opportunity cost value of preserving the environmental assets can be assessed by recourse to resource rent taxes, and threshold values. The case study analysis carried out in this paper suggests that the preservation of these assets could be justifiable on the grounds of “acceptable sacrifice”. - Highlights: ► Resource rents owed to the state from energy resource extraction can be significant. ► Benefits if mining energy resources are over-stated when the role of sensitive environmental assets is ignored. ► Threshold values could help to resolve conflicts between environmental preservation and resource extraction.

An analysis of students’ cognitive structures in relation to their environmental sensitivity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gercek Cem

2017-01-01

Full Text Available One of the basic aims of environment-related subjects included in the biology curriculum is to raise environmental awareness. Yet, the fact that the concepts taught especially in the context of environmental issues are abstract influences meaningful learning. This, in turn, influences behaviours displayed. Exhibiting students’ cognitive structures in assuring effective and meaningful concept teaching increases the importance of studies conducted. Unavailability of studies in the literature analysing students’ cognitive structures in relation to their sensitivity to the environment demonstrates the importance of this current study. This study aims to analyse students’ cognitive structures in relation to their environmental sensitivity. The study employs survey model- one of the qualitative research designs. The study group was composed of 56 high school students in the 2016-2017 academic year. The study group was formed through purposeful sampling. Word Association Test (WAT was prepared in order to uncover students’ cognitive structures in relation to their environmental sensitivity. Having transcribed the data obtained, they were put to content analysis and were transferred to the medium of computer. The results showed that students’ cognitive structure concerning their environmental sensitivity was divided into categories.

Environmental Conditions and Occupant Perceptions in European Office Buildings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stoops, J.L. [Chalmers Univ. of Tech., Goeteborg (Sweden). Dept. of Building Services Engineering

2003-03-01

This is a preliminary report regarding a portion of the environmental conditions and occupant comfort perceptions from a five nation, 26 building European field data collection effort. Approximately 1,000 participants were involved in this project which included twelve monthly visits to each building. Climate, building and cultural variation will be illustrated for the five countries involved - France, Greece, Portugal, Sweden and the United Kingdom (UK). Each country used identical instrumentation; questionnaires and experimental protocols imbedded in a custom hardware/software system. The comfort survey was based on the ASHRAE model. The physical measurements included air temperature, globe temperature, relative humidity, air movement, CO{sub 2}, light, and sound levels. Where possible, connections and explanations between variables are made. Potential energy and policy ramifications are illustrated. (The publication includes two reports from EU JOULE III projects JOE3CT970066 'Smart controls and thermal comfort project)

Environmental labelling of buildings and construction products: lessons for South Africa from global trends

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Ampofo-Anti, NL

2012-07-01

Full Text Available be informed by life cycle considerations. Environmental labelling in construction takes the form of whole building rating systems and construction product certification programmes. The First Generation building rating systems have to date experienced much...

Analysis of the most widely used Building Environmental Assessment methods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gu, Zhenhong; Wennersten, R.; Assefa, G.

2006-01-01

Building Environmental Assessment (BEA) is a term used for several methods for environmental assessment of the building environment. Generally, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is an important foundation and part of the BEA method, but current BEA methods form more comprehensive tools than LCA. Indicators and weight assignments are the two most important factors characterizing BEA. From the comparison of the three most widely used BEA methods, EcoHomes (BREEAM for residential buildings), LEED-NC and GBTool, it can be seen that BEA methods are shifting from ecological, indicator-based scientific systems to more integrated systems covering ecological, social and economic categories. Being relatively new methods, current BEA systems are far from perfect and are under continuous development. The further development of BEA methods will focus more on non-ecological indicators and how to promote implementation. Most BEA methods are developed based on regional regulations and LCA methods, but they do not attempt to replace these regulations. On the contrary, they try to extend implementation by incentive programmes. There are several ways to enhance BEA in the future: expand the studied scope from design levels to whole life-cycle levels of constructions, enhance international cooperation, accelerate legislation and standardize and develop user-oriented assessment systems

Environmental sensitivity: equivocal illness in the context of place.

Science.gov (United States)

Fletcher, Christopher M

2006-03-01

This article presents a phenomenologically oriented description of the interaction of illness experience, social context, and place. This is used to explore an outbreak of environmental sensitivities in Nova Scotia, Canada. Environmental Sensitivity (ES) is a popular designation for bodily reactions to mundane environmental stimuli that are insignificant for most people. Mainstream medicine cannot support the popular models of this disease process and consequently illness experience is subject to ambiguity and contestation. As an 'equivocal illness', ES generates considerable social action around the nature, meaning and validity of suffering. Sense of place plays an important role in this process. In this case, the meanings that accrue to illness experience and that produce salient popular disease etiology are grounded in the experience and social construction of the Nova Scotian landscape over time. Shifting representations of place are reflected in illness experience and the meanings that arise around illness are emplaced in landscape.

Satisfaction and self-estimated performance in relation to indoor environmental parameters and building features

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wargocki, Pawel; Frontczak, Monika; Schiavon, Stefano

2012-01-01

The paper examines how satisfaction with indoor environmental parameters and building features affects satisfaction and self-estimated job performance. The analyses used subjective responses from around 50, 000 occupants collected mainly in US office buildings using a web-based survey administered...

Indoor environmental quality and ventilation in U.S. office buildings: A view of current issues

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fisk, W.J.

1994-11-01

Much of the current focus on indoor environmental quality and ventilation in US office buildings is a response to sick building syndrome and occupant complaints about building-related health symptoms, poor indoor air quality, and thermal discomfort. The authors know that serious ``sick-building`` problems occur in a significant number of US office buildings and that a significant proportion of the occupants in many normal (non-sick) buildings report building-related health symptoms. Concerns about the health effects of environmental tobacco smoke have also focused attention on the indoor environment. The major responses of industry and governments, underway at the present time, are to restrict smoking in offices, to attempt to reduce the emissions of indoor pollutants, and to improve the operation of heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. Better air filtration, improved HVAC commissioning and maintenance, and increased provisions for individual control of HVAC are some of the improvements in HVAC that are currently being, evaluated. In the future, the potential for improved productivity and reduced airborne transmission of infectious disease may become the major driving force for improved indoor environments.

The Short Term Effectiveness of an Outdoor Environmental Education on Environmental Awareness and Sensitivity of In-Service Teachers

Science.gov (United States)

Okur-Berberoglu, Emel; Ozdilek, Hasan Göksel; Yalcin-Ozdilek, Sükran

2015-01-01

Outdoor education is mostly mentioned in terms of environmental education. The aim of this research is to determine the short term effectiveness of an outdoor environmental education program on biodiversity awareness, environmental awareness and sensitivity to natural environment. The data is collected from an outdoor environmental education…

Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) Atlas: American Samoa, 2004 (NODC Accession 0002827)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Currently, the most widely used approach to sensitive environment mapping in the United States is the NOAA Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI). This approach...

Environmental assessment in support of proposed voluntary energy conservation standard for new residential buildings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hadley, D.L.; Parker, G.B.; Callaway, J.W.; Marsh, S.J.; Roop, J.M.; Taylor, Z.T.

1989-06-01

The objective of this environmental assessment (EA) is to identify the potential environmental impacts that could result from the proposed voluntary residential standard (VOLRES) on private sector construction of new residential buildings. 49 refs., 15 tabs.

Exploration and production operations in an environmentally sensitive area

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barker, G.W.; Steele, E.J.; Robalino, J.; Baldwin, S.J.

1994-01-01

The Ecuadorian portion of the Amazon Basin, known locally as the Oriente, is the major oil producing region in Ecuador. The tropical rain forests of the Oriente contain some of the Earth's most biologically diverse and ecologically sensitive areas. In addition, the rain forest is home to several groups of indigenous peoples.When formulating an exploration plan and prior to beginning E and P activities in the Oriente, operators must understand the environmental and sociocultural issues in the region. These concerns are considered throughout the planning process, from project conception to project closure. An environmental management plan is adopted which addresses environmental and sociocultural concerns, minimizes environmental impact, prevents delays, and limits environmental liability

Environmental sensitivity of the coastal islands of Ubatuba, SP, Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Getulio Teixeira Batista

2008-08-01

Full Text Available The Environmental Sensitivity Index Maps for Oil Spills (ESI Maps, or SAO in Portuguese constitute an essential component and source of basic information for emergency planning, response decision support and damage evaluation in case of oil spills. This study aims at the elaboration of sensitivity maps for oil spills for the islands within the Ubatuba municipality, north coast of the State of São Paulo. The adopted methodology is based on the Technical Specifications for the production of Environmental Sensitivity Maps for oil spills (SAO maps proposed by the Brazilian Ministry of Environment. The study involved the gathering of secondary data, followed by field work carried out in the summer and winter periods of 2007; the elaboration of the cartographic base maps and, finally, the integration of the data to a GIS (Geographic Information System. As a result it was registered and mapped the physical (geology, geomorphology, oceanography and climatology, biological (fauna, flora and coastal environments and socioeconomic (anthropic influence, human use, artificial structures and impacts resources of Ubatuba coastal islands. Eleven beaches have been identified, located at six islands, with distinct topographic and geomorphologic features. The beaches were classified with sensitivity index 4, because they are sheltered from actions of waves and currents. Most of the mapped environments (44.8% were classified with sensitivity index 8, indicating high sensitivity of the islands. The oil spill impacts on coastal environments can be significantly minimized during the contingency actions when previous knowledge of the ecosystems that compose the islands environment is available, especially when it is integrated into GIS data basis, capable of displaying easy-to-use maps. The environmental sensitivity mapping is an important management instrument, especially when dealing with sensible and poorly studied areas such as the islands of Ubatuba.

Quantification of mold contamination in multi-level buildings using the Environmental Relative Moldiness Index

Science.gov (United States)

The goal of this study was to evaluate the possible use of the Environmental Relative Moldiness Index (ERMI) to quantify mold contamination in multi-level, office buildings. Settled-dust samples were collected in multi-level, office buildings and the ERMI value for each sample de...

EPA Region 1 Environmentally Sensitive Areas

Science.gov (United States)

This coverage represents polygon equivalents of environmentally sensitive areas (ESA) in EPA Region I. ESAs were developed as part of an EPA headquarters initiative based on reviews of various regulatory and guidance documents, as well as phone interviews with federal/state/local government agencies and private organizations. ESAs include, but are not limited to, wetlands, biological resources, habitats, national parks, archaeological/historic sites, natural heritage areas, tribal lands, drinking water intakes, marinas/boat ramps, wildlife areas, etc.

Economic and Environmental Impact of Energy Saving in Healthcare Buildings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Justo García-Sanz-Calcedo

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this article is to estimate the economic and environmental impacts of energy consumption derived from healthcare buildings and proposes several energy-saving options in the sector. An experimental energy consumption study was development between 2005 and 2013 in 12 hospitals and 70 healthcare centres in Spain, built between 1980 and 2005 through audits carried out between 2005 and 2012, performed by the Extremadura Energy Agency. The study focused on electric energy, HVAC, DWH, lighting systems, renewable energies, maintenance strategy, thermal insulation, and optimal building size. Specifically, the following parameters were evaluated: energy savings, investment emission of CO2, NO2, and SO2 gases, and payback. The results revealed that through an appropriate energy management of healthcare buildings it is possible to save up to 8.60 kWh/m2 per year, for buildings of less than 5000 m2 (with no beds, which represents an expense of 1.55 €/m2. In healthcare buildings larger than 5000 m2 (with beds, it was possible to save up to 6.88 kWh/m2 per year, which represents an expense of 1.25 €/m2.

Quantification of Improvement in Environmental Quality for Old Residential Buildings Using Life Cycle Assessment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jozef Mitterpach

2016-12-01

Full Text Available In Slovakia, 35% of buildings are older than 50 years but most newer buildings built before 1990 have greater energy consumption. Some other countries also have similar problems. The growing importance of energy saving in buildings can be, in the case of new and old residential buildings (RB, achieved by lowering thermal energy consumption most often by application of polystyrene insulation on the external walls and roof and the exchange of wood window frames for PVC (polyvinyl chloride windows. The novelty of the article for Slovakia and some other central European countries consists in using the life cycle assessment (LCA method for the objective assessment of the environmental benefits of the selected systems of wall insulation, as well as of energy savings in various time intervals of insulation functionality (up to 20 years. LCA software SimaPro (LE Amersfoort, The Netherlands was used with ReCiPe and IMPACT 2002+ assessment methods to quantify the total environmental impact at selected endpoints and midpoints (IMPACT 2002+ of basic structural materials of an RB and its energy demand—heat consumption (hot water heating, central heating before the application of insulation and thermal energy saving (TES after application of insulation to its external walls, roof, and the exchange of windows. The data we obtained confirmed that the environmental impact of the polystyrene insulation of external walls, roof, and exchange of windows of one residential building (RB in the first year after insulation is higher than the reduction caused by achieving a TES of 39%. When taking a lifespan of 20 years into consideration, the impact over the life cycle of the building materials is reduced by 25% (global warming: −4792 kg CO2 eq; production of carcinogens: −2479 kg C2H3Cl eq; acidification: −12,045 kg SO2 eq; and aquatic eutrophication: −257 kg PO4 P-lim. The verified LCA methodology will be used for comparative analysis of different variants

Reaching an agreement to build a new coal-fired power plant near a national park by mitigating potential environmental impacts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miller, R.L.; Ruppel, T.C.; Evans, E.W.; Heintz, S.J.

1994-01-01

This paper presents an interesting example of compromise through comprehensive environmental analysis and intensive negotiation to build a coal-fired power plant near an environmentally sensitive area. In December 1993, the US Department of Energy (DOE) completed the final environmental impact statement (EIS) for the Healy clean Coal Project (HCCP), a proposed demonstration project that would be cost- shared by DOE and the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA). The HCCP would be built adjacent to the existing coal-fired Golden Valley Electric Association, Inc. (GVEA) Unit No. 1 in Healy, Alaska, about 4 miles north of Denali National Park and Preserve (DNPP). In response to US Department of the Interior (DOI) concerns about potential air quality related impacts on DNPP, DOE facilitated negotiations among DOE, AIDEA, and GVEA which overcame a ''stalemate'' situation. A Memorandum of Agreement was signed by all four parties, enabling DOI to withdraw its objections. The cornerstone of the Agreement is the planned retrofit of Unit No. 1 to reduce emissions of sulfur dioxide and oxides of nitrogen. If the demonstration technologies operate as expected, combined emissions from the Healy site would increase by only about 8% but electrical generation would triple. The Agreement is a ''win/win'' outcome: DOE can demonstrate the new technologies, AIDEA can build a new power plant for GVEA to operate, and DOE can safeguard the pristine environment DNPP

Economic, Environmental and Health Implications of Enhanced Ventilation in Office Buildings.

Science.gov (United States)

MacNaughton, Piers; Pegues, James; Satish, Usha; Santanam, Suresh; Spengler, John; Allen, Joseph

2015-11-18

Current building ventilation standards are based on acceptable minimums. Three decades of research demonstrates the human health benefits of increased ventilation above these minimums. Recent research also shows the benefits on human decision-making performance in office workers, which translates to increased productivity. However, adoption of enhanced ventilation strategies is lagging. We sought to evaluate two of the perceived potential barriers to more widespread adoption-Economic and environmental costs. We estimated the energy consumption and associated per building occupant costs for office buildings in seven U.S. cities, representing different climate zones for three ventilation scenarios (standard practice (20 cfm/person), 30% enhanced ventilation, and 40 cfm/person) and four different heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system strategies (Variable Air Volume (VAV) with reheat and a Fan Coil Unit (FCU), both with and without an energy recovery ventilator). We also estimated emissions of greenhouse gases associated with this increased energy usage, and, for comparison, converted this to the equivalent number of vehicles using greenhouse gas equivalencies. Lastly, we paired results from our previous research on cognitive function and ventilation with labor statistics to estimate the economic benefit of increased productivity associated with increasing ventilation rates. Doubling the ventilation rate from the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers minimum cost less than $40 per person per year in all climate zones investigated. Using an energy recovery ventilation system significantly reduced energy costs, and in some scenarios led to a net savings. At the highest ventilation rate, adding an ERV essentially neutralized the environmental impact of enhanced ventilation (0.03 additional cars on the road per building across all cities). The same change in ventilation improved the performance of workers by 8

Economic, Environmental and Health Implications of Enhanced Ventilation in Office Buildings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Piers MacNaughton

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Current building ventilation standards are based on acceptable minimums. Three decades of research demonstrates the human health benefits of increased ventilation above these minimums. Recent research also shows the benefits on human decision-making performance in office workers, which translates to increased productivity. However, adoption of enhanced ventilation strategies is lagging. We sought to evaluate two of the perceived potential barriers to more widespread adoption—Economic and environmental costs. Methods: We estimated the energy consumption and associated per building occupant costs for office buildings in seven U.S. cities, representing different climate zones for three ventilation scenarios (standard practice (20 cfm/person, 30% enhanced ventilation, and 40 cfm/person and four different heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC system strategies (Variable Air Volume (VAV with reheat and a Fan Coil Unit (FCU, both with and without an energy recovery ventilator. We also estimated emissions of greenhouse gases associated with this increased energy usage, and, for comparison, converted this to the equivalent number of vehicles using greenhouse gas equivalencies. Lastly, we paired results from our previous research on cognitive function and ventilation with labor statistics to estimate the economic benefit of increased productivity associated with increasing ventilation rates. Results: Doubling the ventilation rate from the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers minimum cost less than $40 per person per year in all climate zones investigated. Using an energy recovery ventilation system significantly reduced energy costs, and in some scenarios led to a net savings. At the highest ventilation rate, adding an ERV essentially neutralized the environmental impact of enhanced ventilation (0.03 additional cars on the road per building across all cities. The same change in ventilation

Puerto Rico ESI and RSI: ESI (Environmental Sensitivity Index Shoreline Types) / RSI (Reach Sensitivity Index River and Stream Types)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set comprises the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) and Reach Sensitivity Index (RSI) data for Puerto Rico. ESI data characterize estuarine...

West Peninsular Florida I 1996 Environmental Sensitivity Index Map

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

Energy-efficient buildings are environmentally friendly, architecturally attractive and economically compelling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wafa, Latifa Mohamed

2006-01-01

Standard building construction is wasteful, toxic, and is destroying the environment. It produced buildings that operate independently of its natural surrounding and depended heavily on mechanical systems that run with fossil fuel to create comfortable indoor environment. These buildings caused a wide range of health and environmental problems. The concern about the consequences of standard building construction have prompted countless experiments and design improvements to make built environment more energy efficient, less reliant on potentially limited fossil fuels and more reliant on renewable energy resources. The application of energy efficient technologies can make significant contribution to meeting the building and construction sector's energy demand, while at the same time providing better built environment, offering more comfortable living and working conditions for the users, cleaner and healthier in-outdoor environment, and cost no more to build. The proposes of the paper are to: 1-Promote the implementation of Energy-Efficient buildings through vigorous efforts, by engaging government agencies, design professions, engineers, and construction industry in the task of radically improving the performance of our buildings, neighborhoods, and cities. 2-Educate the general public (the consumers) that Energy-Efficient Building is good for their well-being, to their pocket and to the environment.3-Demonstrate that Energy-efficient Building are with highest standards of architecture design, the highest quality living and working environment and within a reasonable budget. The paper describes the technological options available for dealing sensibly with energy and focuses on the important areas of new building constructions and building refurbishment together with its specific energy requirements. The approach presented in this paper is just one of many methods of planning energy efficient buildings.This paper is part of the effort to promote Energy

Indoor environmental quality in French dwellings and building characteristics

Science.gov (United States)

Langer, Sarka; Ramalho, Olivier; Derbez, Mickaël; Ribéron, Jacques; Kirchner, Severine; Mandin, Corinne

2016-03-01

A national survey on indoor environmental quality covering 567 residences in mainland France was performed during 2003-2005. The measured parameters were temperature, relative humidity, CO2, and the indoor air pollutants: fourteen individual volatile organic compounds (VOC), four aldehydes and particulate matter PM10 and PM2.5. The measured indoor concentrations were analyzed for correlations with the building characteristics: type of dwelling, period of construction, dwelling location, type of ventilation system, building material, attached garage and retrofitting. The median night time air exchange rate (AER) for all dwellings was 0.44 h-1. The night time AER was higher in apartments (median = 0.49 h-1) than in single-family houses (median = 0.41 h-1). Concentration of formaldehyde was approximately 30% higher in dwellings built after 1990 compared with older ones; it was higher in dwellings with mechanical ventilation and in concrete buildings. The VOC concentrations depended on the building characteristics to various extents. The sampling season influenced the majority of the indoor climate parameters and the concentrations of the air pollutants to a higher degree than the building characteristics. Multivariate linear regression models revealed that the indoor-outdoor difference in specific humidity, a proxy for number of occupants and their indoor activities, remained a significant predictor for most gaseous and particulate air pollutants. The other strong predictors were outdoor concentration, smoking, attached garage and AER (in descending order).

Making the Case for Green Building: Cataloging the Benefits of Environmentally Responsible Design & Construction

Science.gov (United States)

Wilson, Alex

2008-01-01

To those entrenched in the green building world, the benefits seem obvious. Why would anyone choose to build in a way that isn't comfortable, healthy, energy efficient, and environmentally responsible? Even within a single college or university project, different team members often have different reasons for promoting a green agenda. Architects…

An overview of solar energy applications in buildings in Greece

Science.gov (United States)

Papamanolis, Nikos

2016-09-01

This work classifies and describes the main fields of solar energy exploitation in buildings in Greece, a country with high solar energy capacities. The study focuses on systems and technologies that apply to residential and commercial buildings following the prevailing design and construction practices (conventional buildings) and investigates the effects of the architectural and constructional characteristics of these buildings on the respective applications. In addition, it examines relevant applications in other building categories and in buildings with increased ecological sensitivity in their design and construction (green buildings). Through its findings, the study seeks to improve the efficiency and broaden the scope of solar energy applications in buildings in Greece to the benefit of their energy and environmental performance.

Human comfort and self-estimated performance in relation to indoor environmental parameters and building features

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Frontczak, Monika Joanna

The main objective of the Ph.D. study was to examine occupants’ perception of comfort and self-estimated job performance in non-industrial buildings (homes and offices), in particular how building occupants understand comfort and which parameters, not necessarily related to indoor environments...... and storage, noise level and visual privacy. However, if job performance is considered, then satisfaction with the main indoor environmental parameters should be addressed first as they affected self-estimated job performance to the highest extent. The present study showed that overall satisfaction...... with personal workspace affected significantly the self-estimated job performance. Increasing overall satisfaction with the personal workspace by about 15% would correspond to an increase of self-estimated job performance by 3.7%. Among indoor environmental parameters and building features, satisfaction...

Balanced Evaluation of Structural and Environmental Performances in Building Design

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marco Lamperti Tornaghi

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The design of new buildings, and even more the rehabilitation of existing ones, needs to satisfy modern criteria in terms of energy efficiency and environmental performance, within the context of adequate safety requirements. Tackling all these needs at the same time is cumbersome, as demonstrated by several experiences during recent earthquakes, where the improvement of energy performance vanished by seismic-induced damages. The costs of energy retrofitting must be added to the normal losses caused by the earthquake. Even though the minimum safety requirements are met (no collapse, the damage due to earthquake might be enough to waste the investment made to improve energy efficiency. Since these measures are often facilitated by corresponding incentives, the use of public funding is not cost effective. The application of the existing impact assessment methods is typically performed at the end of the architectural and structural design process. Thus, no real optimisation can be achieved, because a good structural solution could correspond to a poor environmental performance and vice versa. The proposed Sustainable Structural Design method (SSD considers both environmental and structural parameters in the life cycle perspective. The integration of environmental data in the structural performance is the focus of the method. Structural performances are considered in a probabilistic approach, through the introduction of a simplified Performance Based Assessment method. Finally, the SSD method is implemented with a case-study of an office-occupancy building, both for precast and cast-in-situ structural systems, with the aim to find the best solution in terms of sustainability and structural performance for the case at hand.

Lessons for South Africa from global trends in environmental labelling of buildings and construction products

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Ampofo-Anti, NL

2012-02-01

Full Text Available This chapter examines the international state-of-the-art of environmental labelling of buildings and construction products; and discusses ways in which the emerging South African framework for environmental labelling could benefit from the lessons...

Economical and environmental assessment of an optimized solar cooling system for a medium-sized benchmark office building in Los Angeles, California

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hang, Yin; Qu, Ming [School of Civil Engineering, Purdue University, CIVL G243, 550 Stadium Mall Drive, West Lafayette, IN 47907 (United States); Zhao, Fu [School of Mechanical Engineering, Purdue University (United States)

2011-02-15

This paper presents a systematic energetic, economical, and environmental assessment on a solar cooling system for a medium-sized office building in Los Angeles, California by means of system modeling. The studied solar cooling system primarily consists of evacuated tube solar collectors, a hot water storage tank, a single-effect LiBr-H{sub 2}O absorption chiller, and a gas-fired auxiliary heater. System performance optimization and sensitivity analysis were conducted by varying two major parameters (i.e. storage tank volume and collector area). The results suggest that a trade-off exists between economic performance indicated by the equivalent uniform annual cost (EUAC) and the energetic/environmental performance indicated by the solar fraction and CO{sub 2} reduction percentage, respectively. The cost of carbon footprint reduction was defined and served as an indicator for the overall system performance. Based on this indicator, the optimal system design could be found for a solar cooling system. The approach adapted in this study can be applied to other buildings located in different climate zones to reveal the cost and benefits of solar cooling technologies and facilitate decision-making. (author)

Energy and Environmental Performance of Multi-Story Apartment Buildings Built in Timber Construction Using Passive House Principles

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria Wall

2013-03-01

Full Text Available This paper presents energy and environmental performance analyses, a study of summer indoor temperatures and occupant behavior for an eight story apartment building, with the goal to combine high energy efficiency with low environmental impact, at a reasonable cost. Southern Portvakten building is built with prefabricated timber elements using passive house principles in the North European climate. Energy performance was analyzed through parametric studies, as well as monitored energy data, and complemented with analysis of occupant behavior during one year. Results show that airtight, low-energy apartment buildings can be successfully built with prefabricated timber elements in a cold climate. The monitored total energy use was 47.6 kWh/m2, excluding household electricity (revised to a normal year, which is considerably lower than of a standard building built today in Sweden—90 kWh/m2. However, the occupancy level was low during the analyzed year, which affects the energy use compared to if the building had been fully occupied. Environmental analysis shows that the future challenges lie in lowering the household and common electricity use, as well as in improving the choices of materials. More focus should also lie on improving occupant behavior and finding smart solar shading solutions for apartment buildings.

Comparing non-specific physical symptoms in environmentally sensitive patients: prevalence, duration, functional status and illness behavior.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Baliatsas, C.; Kamp, I. van; Hooiveld, M.; Yzermans, J.; Lebret, E.

2014-01-01

Objective: Little is known about the potential clinical relevance of non-specific physical symptoms (NSPS) reported by patients with self-reported environmental sensitivities. This study aimed to assess NSPS in people with general environmental sensitivity (GES) and idiopathic environmental

Design of environmentally friendly calcium sulfate-based building materials : towards an improved indoor air quality

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Yu, Q.

2012-01-01

This thesis addresses the performance based design and development of an environmentally friendly calcium sulfate-based indoor building product towards an improved indoor air quality. Here "environmental friendly" is referred to the environment related subjects including: (1) the selection of raw

Influence of construction and demolition waste management on the environmental impact of buildings.

Science.gov (United States)

Coelho, André; de Brito, Jorge

2012-03-01

The purpose of this study is to quantify comparable environmental impacts within a Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) perspective, for buildings in which the first (Materials) and last (End of Life) life cycle stages are adjusted to several waste/material management options. Unlike most LCAs, the approach is "top-down" rather than "bottom-up", which usually involves large amounts of data and the use of specific software applications. This approach is considered appropriate for a limited but expedient LCA designed to compare the environmental impacts of different life cycle options. Present results, based on real buildings measurements and demolition contractor activities, show that shallow, superficial, selective demolition may not result in reduced environmental impacts. Calculations actually show an increase (generally less than 5%) in most impact categories for the Materials and End of Life stages because of extra transportation needs. However, core material separation in demolition operations and its recycling and/or reuse does bring environmental benefits. A reduction of around 77% has been estimated in the climate change impact category, 57% in acidification potential and 81% in the summer smog impact (for the life cycle stages referred). Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Integrating Environmentally Responsive Elements in Buildings

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Heiselberg, Per

2006-01-01

Significant improvement have been achieved on efficiency improvements of specific building elements like the building envelope and building equipment and services and whilst most building elements still offer opportunities for efficiency improvements, the greatest future potential lie with techno......Significant improvement have been achieved on efficiency improvements of specific building elements like the building envelope and building equipment and services and whilst most building elements still offer opportunities for efficiency improvements, the greatest future potential lie...

Personal, Psychosocial and Environmental Factors Related to Sick Building Syndrome in Official Employees of Taiwan

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chung-Yen Lu

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Sick building syndrome (SBS is a combination of symptoms that can be attributed to exposure to specific building conditions. The present study recruited 389 participants aged 20–65 years from 87 offices of 16 institutions to examine if personal factors, work-related psychosocial stress, and work environments, were associated with five groups of SBS symptoms, including symptoms for eyes, upper respiratory tract, lower respiratory tract, skin, and non-specific systems. Indoor environmental conditions were monitored. Data were analyzed using multivariate logistic regression (MLR analyses and were reported as adjusted Odds Ratios (aOR. SBS symptoms for eyes were associated with older age, sensitivity to tobacco, and low indoor air flow. Upper respiratory symptoms were related to smoking, low social support, longer work days, and dry air. High indoor air flow was associated with reduced upper respiratory symptoms (aOR = 0.29; 95% confidence interval (CI = 0.13–0.67. Lower respiratory symptoms were associated with high work pressure, longer work hours, chemical exposure, migraine, and exposure to new interior painting. Recent interior painting exposure was associated with a high estimated relative risk of low respiratory symptoms (aOR = 20.6; 95% CI = 2.96–143. Smoking, longer work days, low indoor air flow, indoor dryness, and volatile organics exposure, were associated with other non-specified symptoms including headache, tiredness, difficulty concentrating, anger, and dizziness. In conclusion, there are various SBS symptoms associated with different personal characteristics, psychosocial, and environmental factors. Psychosocial factors had stronger relationships with lower respiratory symptoms than with other types of SBS symptoms. Good ventilation could reduce risk factors and may relieve SBS symptoms.

Illustrating sensitivity in environmental fate models using partitioning maps - application to selected contaminants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Meyer, T.; Wania, F. [Univ. of Toronto at Scarborough - DPES, Toronto (Canada)

2004-09-15

Generic environmental multimedia fate models are important tools in the assessment of the impact of organic pollutants. Because of limited possibilities to evaluate generic models by comparison with measured data and the increasing regulatory use of such models, uncertainties of model input and output are of considerable concern. This led to a demand for sensitivity and uncertainty analyses for the outputs of environmental fate models. Usually, variations of model predictions of the environmental fate of organic contaminants are analyzed for only one or at most a few selected chemicals, even though parameter sensitivity and contribution to uncertainty are widely different for different chemicals. We recently presented a graphical method that allows for the comprehensive investigation of model sensitivity and uncertainty for all neutral organic chemicals simultaneously. This is achieved by defining a two-dimensional hypothetical ''chemical space'' as a function of the equilibrium partition coefficients between air, water, and octanol (K{sub OW}, K{sub AW}, K{sub OA}), and plotting sensitivity and/or uncertainty of a specific model result to each input parameter as function of this chemical space. Here we show how such sensitivity maps can be used to quickly identify the variables with the highest influence on the environmental fate of selected, chlorobenzenes, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs) and brominated flame retardents (BFRs).

Influence of alloying elements on the irradiation hardening and environmental sensitivity of zirconium alloys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pettersson, K.; Hallstadius, L.; Bergqvist, H.; Nylund, A.; Wikstroem, C.

1992-01-01

Ten different alloys of zirconium have been tested with regard to the effect of irradiation on their mechanical properties and their sensitivity to environmentally induced failure. Two different environments were used: iodine vapour and liquid cesium with an addition of 2% cadmium. The neutron dose was 10 21 n/cm 2 (E>1MeV) and the irradiation temperature was about 300 degrees C. All alloy additions increased the irradiation hardening. Especially notable was the large effect of titanium and tin on irradiation hardening. A limited amount of transmission electron microscopy was carried out in order to find an explanation to the effects. The testing in different environments showed that there is no clear correlation between environmental sensitivity and yield stress. For materials of similar yield stress an alloyed material tends to be more sensitive to environmental cracking than a material which only contains oxygen as an impurity. There also seems to be an effect of oxygen on the environmental cracking sensitivity. A material with 910 ppm oxygen was considerably more sensitive to cracking than a material with 470 ppm oxygen despite the fact that the yield stress values differed by only 90 MPa

Electrical Procedures and Environmental Control Systems. Building Maintenance. Module IV. Instructor's Guide.

Science.gov (United States)

Sloan, Garry

This curriculum guide, one of six modules keyed to the building maintenance competency profile developed by industry and education professionals, provides materials for two units on electrical procedures and environmental control systems. Unit 1, on electrical procedures, includes the following lessons: electrical safety; troubleshooting and…

Quantitative relationships between occupant satisfaction and aspects of indoor environmental quality and building design

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Frontczak, Monika Joanna; Schiavon, Stefano; Goins, John

2011-01-01

The paper examines which indoor environmental parameters and building features contribute occupants’ satisfaction in office buildings. The study analyzed data from a web-based survey administered to 52,980 occupants in 351 office buildings over ten years at the Center for the Built Environment...... parameters listed in the survey contributed to overall workspace satisfaction. The most important parameters were: satisfaction with amount of space (odds ratio OR 1.57), noise (OR 1.27) and visual privacy (OR 1.26). Satisfaction with amount of space was not noticeably affected by size of workspace...

ECOSUSTAINABLE HIGH-RISE : The Environmentally Conscious Architecture of Skyscraper

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jimmy Priatman

2000-01-01

Full Text Available The term " green architecture " is related to evolving architecture which is sensitive to the environment and emerges from the environmental awareness due to the effects of destruction of air, water, energy and earth. It is characterized by improving energy efficiency, sustainability concept and holistic approach of the entire building enterprise, where all of the environmental factors are regarded as an objective. Although there are many of environmentally conscious architectural works today, but most of the building designers prefer to deal primarily with small-scale buildings (low to medium rise and often only in greenfield, rural or suburban sites. All those large scale, high-rise or tall buildings located in dense urban areas are regarded as avoidable objects that consumes a lot of energy, uses huge amounts of materials, and produces massive volumes of waste discharge into the environment. These intensive buildings deserve greater attention and should be designed by greater part of our expertise and effort to ecologically design than the smaller buildings with fewer problems. The paper discusses "green" dimensions applied to tall buildings/high-rise buildings with their innovative approach that leads to ecosustainable tall buildings.

Non-Destructive Current Sensing for Energy Efficiency Monitoring in Buildings with Environmental Certification.

Science.gov (United States)

Mota, Lia Toledo Moreira; Mota, Alexandre de Assis; Coiado, Lorenzo Campos

2015-07-10

Nowadays, buildings environmental certifications encourage the implementation of initiatives aiming to increase energy efficiency in buildings. In these certification systems, increased energy efficiency arising from such initiatives must be demonstrated. Thus, a challenge to be faced is how to check the increase in energy efficiency related to each of the employed initiatives without a considerable building retrofit. In this context, this work presents a non-destructive method for electric current sensing to assess implemented initiatives to increase energy efficiency in buildings with environmental certification. This method proposes the use of a sensor that can be installed directly in the low voltage electrical circuit conductors that are powering the initiative under evaluation, without the need for reforms that result in significant costs, repair, and maintenance. The proposed sensor consists of three elements: an air-core transformer current sensor, an amplifying/filtering stage, and a microprocessor. A prototype of the proposed sensor was developed and tests were performed to validate this sensor. Based on laboratory tests, it was possible to characterize the proposed current sensor with respect to the number of turns and cross-sectional area of the primary and secondary coils. Furthermore, using the Least Squares Method, it was possible to determine the efficiency of the air core transformer current sensor (the best efficiency found, considering different test conditions, was 2%), which leads to a linear output response.

Non-Destructive Current Sensing for Energy Efficiency Monitoring in Buildings with Environmental Certification

Science.gov (United States)

Mota, Lia Toledo Moreira; Mota, Alexandre de Assis; Coiado, Lorenzo Campos

2015-01-01

Nowadays, buildings environmental certifications encourage the implementation of initiatives aiming to increase energy efficiency in buildings. In these certification systems, increased energy efficiency arising from such initiatives must be demonstrated. Thus, a challenge to be faced is how to check the increase in energy efficiency related to each of the employed initiatives without a considerable building retrofit. In this context, this work presents a non-destructive method for electric current sensing to assess implemented initiatives to increase energy efficiency in buildings with environmental certification. This method proposes the use of a sensor that can be installed directly in the low voltage electrical circuit conductors that are powering the initiative under evaluation, without the need for reforms that result in significant costs, repair, and maintenance. The proposed sensor consists of three elements: an air-core transformer current sensor, an amplifying/filtering stage, and a microprocessor. A prototype of the proposed sensor was developed and tests were performed to validate this sensor. Based on laboratory tests, it was possible to characterize the proposed current sensor with respect to the number of turns and cross-sectional area of the primary and secondary coils. Furthermore, using the Least Squares Method, it was possible to determine the efficiency of the air core transformer current sensor (the best efficiency found, considering different test conditions, was 2%), which leads to a linear output response. PMID:26184208

Non-Destructive Current Sensing for Energy Efficiency Monitoring in Buildings with Environmental Certification

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lia Toledo Moreira Mota

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Nowadays, buildings environmental certifications encourage the implementation of initiatives aiming to increase energy efficiency in buildings. In these certification systems, increased energy efficiency arising from such initiatives must be demonstrated. Thus, a challenge to be faced is how to check the increase in energy efficiency related to each of the employed initiatives without a considerable building retrofit. In this context, this work presents a non-destructive method for electric current sensing to assess implemented initiatives to increase energy efficiency in buildings with environmental certification. This method proposes the use of a sensor that can be installed directly in the low voltage electrical circuit conductors that are powering the initiative under evaluation, without the need for reforms that result in significant costs, repair, and maintenance. The proposed sensor consists of three elements: an air-core transformer current sensor, an amplifying/filtering stage, and a microprocessor. A prototype of the proposed sensor was developed and tests were performed to validate this sensor. Based on laboratory tests, it was possible to characterize the proposed current sensor with respect to the number of turns and cross-sectional area of the primary and secondary coils. Furthermore, using the Least Squares Method, it was possible to determine the efficiency of the air core transformer current sensor (the best efficiency found, considering different test conditions, was 2%, which leads to a linear output response.

Mining Association Rules Between Credits in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for New Construction (LEED-NC) Green Building Assessment System

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Thomas, Benjamin J

2008-01-01

The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Building Assessment System is a performance-based tool for determining the environmental impact of a facility from the whole-building perspective...

A program-level management system for the life cycle environmental and economic assessment of complex building projects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Chan-Joong; Kim, Jimin; Hong, Taehoon; Koo, Choongwan; Jeong, Kwangbok; Park, Hyo Seon

2015-01-01

Climate change has become one of the most significant environmental issues, of which about 40% come from the building sector. In particular, complex building projects with various functions have increased, which should be managed from a program-level perspective. Therefore, this study aimed to develop a program-level management system for the life-cycle environmental and economic assessment of complex building projects. The developed system consists of three parts: (i) input part: database server and input data; (ii) analysis part: life cycle assessment and life cycle cost; and (iii) result part: microscopic analysis and macroscopic analysis. To analyze the applicability of the developed system, this study selected ‘U’ University, a complex building project consisting of research facility and residential facility. Through value engineering with experts, a total of 137 design alternatives were established. Based on these alternatives, the macroscopic analysis results were as follows: (i) at the program-level, the life-cycle environmental and economic cost in ‘U’ University were reduced by 6.22% and 2.11%, respectively; (ii) at the project-level, the life-cycle environmental and economic cost in research facility were reduced 6.01% and 1.87%, respectively; and those in residential facility, 12.01% and 3.83%, respective; and (iii) for the mechanical work at the work-type-level, the initial cost was increased 2.9%; but the operation and maintenance phase was reduced by 20.0%. As a result, the developed system can allow the facility managers to establish the operation and maintenance strategies for the environmental and economic aspects from a program-level perspective. - Highlights: • A program-level management system for complex building projects was developed. • Life-cycle environmental and economic assessment can be conducted using the system. • The design alternatives can be analyzed from the microscopic perspective. • The system can be used to

A program-level management system for the life cycle environmental and economic assessment of complex building projects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Chan-Joong [Parsons Brinckerhoff, Seoul 135-763 (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Jimin; Hong, Taehoon; Koo, Choongwan; Jeong, Kwangbok; Park, Hyo Seon [Department of Architectural Engineering, Yonsei University, Seoul 120-749 (Korea, Republic of)

2015-09-15

Climate change has become one of the most significant environmental issues, of which about 40% come from the building sector. In particular, complex building projects with various functions have increased, which should be managed from a program-level perspective. Therefore, this study aimed to develop a program-level management system for the life-cycle environmental and economic assessment of complex building projects. The developed system consists of three parts: (i) input part: database server and input data; (ii) analysis part: life cycle assessment and life cycle cost; and (iii) result part: microscopic analysis and macroscopic analysis. To analyze the applicability of the developed system, this study selected ‘U’ University, a complex building project consisting of research facility and residential facility. Through value engineering with experts, a total of 137 design alternatives were established. Based on these alternatives, the macroscopic analysis results were as follows: (i) at the program-level, the life-cycle environmental and economic cost in ‘U’ University were reduced by 6.22% and 2.11%, respectively; (ii) at the project-level, the life-cycle environmental and economic cost in research facility were reduced 6.01% and 1.87%, respectively; and those in residential facility, 12.01% and 3.83%, respective; and (iii) for the mechanical work at the work-type-level, the initial cost was increased 2.9%; but the operation and maintenance phase was reduced by 20.0%. As a result, the developed system can allow the facility managers to establish the operation and maintenance strategies for the environmental and economic aspects from a program-level perspective. - Highlights: • A program-level management system for complex building projects was developed. • Life-cycle environmental and economic assessment can be conducted using the system. • The design alternatives can be analyzed from the microscopic perspective. • The system can be used to

DEVELOPMENT OF AN ENVIRONMENTAL RATING TOOL FOR BUILDINGS THROUGH A NEW KIND OF DIALOGUE BETWEEN STAKEHOLDERS AND RESEARCHERS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mauritz Glaumann

2009-03-01

Full Text Available Buildings need to be more environmentally benign since the building sector is responsible for about 40% of all of energy and material use in Sweden. For this reason a unique cooperation between companies, municipalities and the Government called “Building- Living and Property Management for the future”, in short “The Building Living Dialogue” has going on since 2003. The project focuses on: a healthy indoor environment, b efficient use of energy, and c efficient resource management. In accordance with the dialogue targets, two research projects were initiated aiming at developing an Environmental rating tool taking into accounts both building sector requirements and expectations and national and international research findings. This paper describes the first phase in the development work where stakeholders and researchers cooperate. It includes results from inventories and based on this experience discusses procedures for developing assessment tools and what the desirable features of a broadly accepted building rating tool could be.

Diagnostic herd sensitivity using environmental samples

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vigre, Håkan; Josefsen, Mathilde Hartmann; Seyfarth, Anne Mette

either at farm or slaughter. Three sample matrices were collected; dust samples (5 environmental swabs), nasal swabs (10 pools with 5 animals per pool) and air samples (1 filter). Based on the assumption that MRSA occurred in all 48 herds the overall herd sensitivity was 58% for nasal swabs, 33% for dust....... In our example, the prevalence of infected pigs in each herd was estimated from the pooled samples of nasal swabs. Logistic regression was used to estimate the effect of animal prevalence on the probability to detect MRSA in the dust and air samples at herd level. The results show a significant increase...

Building form and environmental performance: archetypes, analysis and an arid climate

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ratti, C.; Raydan, D.; Steemers, K. [Department of Architecture, The Martin Centre for Architectural and Urban Studies, University of Cambridge, Cambridge (United Kingdom)

2002-07-01

Leslie Martin and others at Cambridge University addressed the question 'What building forms make the best use of land?' in a number of influential papers published in the late 1960s. They selected six simplified urban arrays based on archetypal building forms. Then they analysed and compared the archetypes in terms of built potential and day lighting criteria, eventually reaching the conclusion that courtyards perform best. Their results, which inspired a generation of designers, are briefly reviewed here and reassessed in environmental terms using innovative computer analysis techniques. Furthermore, the implications of their question, which to date has not addressed the link with climate, are explored using a case study in a hot-arid region. (author)

Environmental sustainability assessment of buildings in hot climates: the case of the UAE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

AboulNaga, Mohsen M.; Elsheshtawy, Yasser H.

2001-01-01

Sustainability has acquired great importance due to the negative impact of various developments on the environment. The rapid growth during the last decade has been accompanied by active construction which, in some instances, neglected the impact on the environment and human activities. The impact of developments on the traditional heritage has not been taken into consideration although the latter represents a rich resource for sustainable building practices. The study aims at examining these developments in the UAE using an assessment tool that measures the performance of buildings in terms of their sustainability. This study attempts to: (a) develop a comprehensive definition of sustainability to suit UAE needs; (b) classify sustainable building practices at international and regional levels; (c) assess building performance in the UAE; and (d) establish guidelines for future sustainable architecture. T-Sol software was used to predict the CO 2 emission level in selected buildings in the UAE. Results illustrate that average energy use/area in domestic buildings is high (213 kWh/m 2 ) and public buildings showed less sustainable measures in terms of energy features, energy performance and environmental features. Issues considered in the assessment of buildings such as energy use per square metre and CO 2 emission are alarming. Traditional buildings in the UAE were more sustainable than contemporary buildings, however. (Author)

Wireless data management system for environmental monitoring in livestock buildings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

James Gray

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The impact of air quality on the health, welfare and productivity of livestock needs to be considered, especially when livestock are kept in enclosed buildings. The monitoring of such environmental factors allows for the development of appropriate strategies to reduce detrimental effects of sub-optimal air quality on the respiratory health of both livestock and farmers. In 2009, an environmental monitoring system was designed, developed and tested that allowed for the monitoring of a number of airborne pollutants. One limitation of the system was the manual collection of logged data from each unit. This paper identifies limitations of the current environmental monitoring system and suggests a range of networking technologies that can be used to increase usability. Consideration is taken for the networking of environmental monitoring units, as well as the collection of recorded data. Furthermore, the design and development of a software system that is used to collate and store recorded environmental data from multiple farms is explored. In order to design such a system, simplified software engineering processes and methodologies have been utilised. The main steps taken in order to complete the project were requirements elicitation with clients, requirements analysis, system design, implementation and finally testing. The outcome of the project provided a potential prototype for improving the environmental monitoring system and analysis informing the benefit of the implementation.

The associations between noise sensitivity, reported physical and mental health, perceived environmental quality, and noise annoyance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dirk Schreckenberg

2010-01-01

Full Text Available One hundred and ninety residents around Frankfurt Airport (46% female; 17-80 years were interviewed concerning noise annoyance due to transportation noise (aircraft, road traffic, perceived mental and physical health, perceived environmental quality, and noise sensitivity. The aim of the analyses was to test whether noise sensitivity reflects partly general environmental sensitivity and is associated with an elevated susceptibility for the perception of mental and physical health. In this study, the reported physical and mental health variables were not associated with noise exposure but with noise annoyance, and were interpreted to reflect nonspecific codeterminants of annoyance rather than noise effects. Noise sensitivity was found to influence total noise annoyance and aircraft noise annoyance but to a lesser degree annoyance due to road traffic noise. Noise sensitivity was associated with reported physical health, but not with reported mental health. Noise-sensitive persons reported poorer environmental quality in their residential area than less sensitive persons in particular with regard to air traffic (including the facets noise, pollution, and contaminations and quietness. Other aspects of the perceived quality of the environment were scarcely associated with noise sensitivity. This indicates that noise sensitivity is more specific and a reliable predictor of responses to noise from the dominant source (in this case air traffic rather than a predictor of the individual perception of the environmental quality in general.

Energy and environmental quality of buildings and open space. Public administration regulations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1998-01-01

Residential sector is responsible of a third of total energy consumption in Italy and 30-40% of CO 2 emission. An energy efficient buildings reduce cost and save energy and emission. The energy recovery is possible also with bioclimatic architecture that represents a contribution at the economic and environmental balance [it

Insulation Cork Boards—Environmental Life Cycle Assessment of an Organic Construction Material

Science.gov (United States)

Silvestre, José D.; Pargana, Nuno; de Brito, Jorge; Pinheiro, Manuel D.; Durão, Vera

2016-01-01

Envelope insulation is a relevant technical solution to cut energy consumption and reduce environmental impacts in buildings. Insulation Cork Boards (ICB) are a natural thermal insulation material whose production promotes the recycling of agricultural waste. The aim of this paper is to determine and evaluate the environmental impacts of the production, use, and end-of-life processing of ICB. A “cradle-to-cradle” environmental Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was performed according to International LCA standards and the European standards on the environmental evaluation of buildings. These results were based on site-specific data and resulted from a consistent methodology, fully described in the paper for each life cycle stage: Cork oak tree growth, ICB production, and end-of-life processing-modeling of the carbon flows (i.e., uptakes and emissions), including sensitivity analysis of this procedure; at the production stage—the modeling of energy processes and a sensitivity analysis of the allocation procedures; during building operation—the expected service life of ICB; an analysis concerning the need to consider the thermal diffusivity of ICB in the comparison of the performance of insulation materials. This paper presents the up-to-date “cradle-to-cradle” environmental performance of ICB for the environmental categories and life-cycle stages defined in European standards. PMID:28773516

Insulation Cork Boards-Environmental Life Cycle Assessment of an Organic Construction Material.

Science.gov (United States)

Silvestre, José D; Pargana, Nuno; de Brito, Jorge; Pinheiro, Manuel D; Durão, Vera

2016-05-20

Envelope insulation is a relevant technical solution to cut energy consumption and reduce environmental impacts in buildings. Insulation Cork Boards (ICB) are a natural thermal insulation material whose production promotes the recycling of agricultural waste. The aim of this paper is to determine and evaluate the environmental impacts of the production, use, and end-of-life processing of ICB. A "cradle-to-cradle" environmental Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was performed according to International LCA standards and the European standards on the environmental evaluation of buildings. These results were based on site-specific data and resulted from a consistent methodology, fully described in the paper for each life cycle stage: Cork oak tree growth, ICB production, and end-of-life processing-modeling of the carbon flows ( i.e. , uptakes and emissions), including sensitivity analysis of this procedure; at the production stage-the modeling of energy processes and a sensitivity analysis of the allocation procedures; during building operation-the expected service life of ICB; an analysis concerning the need to consider the thermal diffusivity of ICB in the comparison of the performance of insulation materials. This paper presents the up-to-date "cradle-to-cradle" environmental performance of ICB for the environmental categories and life-cycle stages defined in European standards.

Insulation Cork Boards—Environmental Life Cycle Assessment of an Organic Construction Material

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

José D. Silvestre

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Envelope insulation is a relevant technical solution to cut energy consumption and reduce environmental impacts in buildings. Insulation Cork Boards (ICB are a natural thermal insulation material whose production promotes the recycling of agricultural waste. The aim of this paper is to determine and evaluate the environmental impacts of the production, use, and end-of-life processing of ICB. A “cradle-to-cradle” environmental Life Cycle Assessment (LCA was performed according to International LCA standards and the European standards on the environmental evaluation of buildings. These results were based on site-specific data and resulted from a consistent methodology, fully described in the paper for each life cycle stage: Cork oak tree growth, ICB production, and end-of-life processing-modeling of the carbon flows (i.e., uptakes and emissions, including sensitivity analysis of this procedure; at the production stage—the modeling of energy processes and a sensitivity analysis of the allocation procedures; during building operation—the expected service life of ICB; an analysis concerning the need to consider the thermal diffusivity of ICB in the comparison of the performance of insulation materials. This paper presents the up-to-date “cradle-to-cradle” environmental performance of ICB for the environmental categories and life-cycle stages defined in European standards.

Sensitivity to Peer Evaluation and Its Genetic and Environmental Determinants: Findings from a Population-Based Twin Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Klippel, Annelie; Reininghaus, Ulrich; Viechtbauer, Wolfgang; Decoster, Jeroen; Delespaul, Philippe; Derom, Cathérine; de Hert, Marc; Jacobs, Nele; Menne-Lothmann, Claudia; Rutten, Bart; Thiery, Evert; van Os, Jim; van Winkel, Ruud; Myin-Germeys, Inez; Wichers, Marieke

2018-02-23

Adolescents and young adults are highly focused on peer evaluation, but little is known about sources of their differential sensitivity. We examined to what extent sensitivity to peer evaluation is influenced by interacting environmental and genetic factors. A sample of 354 healthy adolescent twin pairs (n = 708) took part in a structured, laboratory task in which they were exposed to peer evaluation. The proportion of the variance in sensitivity to peer evaluation due to genetic and environmental factors was estimated, as was the association with specific a priori environmental risk factors. Differences in sensitivity to peer evaluation between adolescents were explained mainly by non-shared environmental influences. The results on shared environmental influences were not conclusive. No impact of latent genetic factors or gene-environment interactions was found. Adolescents with lower self-rated positions on the social ladder or who reported to have been bullied more severely showed significantly stronger responses to peer evaluation. Not genes, but subjective social status and past experience of being bullied seem to impact sensitivity to peer evaluation. This suggests that altered response to peer evaluation is the outcome of cumulative sensitization to social interactions.

Relationship between Quality of Building Maintenance Management Services for Indoor Environmental Quality and Occupant Satisfaction: Case Study of Bus Terminal Buildings in Penang

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Full Chong Choon

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Maintenance is often defined as the series of activities undertaken to take care of the building structure and services to ensure the intended functions and optimal performance of a building life cycle. The management department of a building is usually responsible for the enhancement of the indoor environment quality by service delivery and for boosting occupant productivity and satisfaction. Thus, a salient point of this study is to determine the current level of the building’s maintenance management service for indoor environmental quality in Penang bus terminals, along with its occupant satisfaction with regards to the services provided in the building. The assessment of the indoor environmental quality includes the evaluation of thermal comfort, lighting condition, air quality and cleanliness. Apart from that, qualitative and quantitative methodologies were applied during the process of data collection and analysis. A questionnaire survey was distributed to 500 of the targeted population for each bus terminal, including passengers and the staff. In this study, the conclusion was drawn in which the maintenance management service level of the bus terminal was directly proportional to occupant satisfaction. However, the current quality of maintenance management services in the bus terminals are still not up to the level of the occupants’ satisfaction.

Energy policy for integrating the building environmental performance model of an air conditioned building in a subtropical climate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mui, K.W.

2006-01-01

For an air conditioned building, the major electricity consumption is by the heating, and air conditioning (HVAC) system. As energy saving strategies may be in conflict with the criteria of indoor air quality and thermal comfort, a concept of the building environmental performance model (BEPM) has been developed to optimize energy consumption in HVAC systems without any deterioration of the indoor air quality and thermal comfort. The BEPM is divided into two main modules: the adaptive comfort temperature (ACT) module and the new demand control ventilation (nDCV) module. This study aims to enhance and prompt the conventional operation of the air side systems by incorporating temperature reset with the adaptive comfort temperature control and the new demand control ventilation system in high rise buildings in Hong Kong. A new example weather year (1991) was established as a reference to compute the energy use of HVAC systems in buildings in order to obtain more representative data for predicting annual energy consumption. A survey of 165 Hong Kong office buildings was conducted and it provided valuable information on the existing HVAC design values in different grades of private commercial buildings in Hong Kong. It was found that the actual measured values of indoor temperature were lower than the design ones. Furthermore, with the new example weather year and the integration of the BEPM into Grade A private office buildings in Hong Kong, the total energy saving of the air conditioning systems was calculated (i.e. a saving of HK$122 million in electrical consumption per year) while the thermal comfort for the occupants was also maintained

Final environmental assessment: TRU waste drum staging building, Technical Area 55, Los Alamos National Laboratory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-01-01

Much of the US Department of Energy's (DOE's) research on plutonium metallurgy and plutonium processing is performed at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), in Los Alamos, New Mexico. LANL's main facility for plutonium research is the Plutonium Facility, also referred to as Technical Area 55 (TA-55). The main laboratory building for plutonium work within the Plutonium Facility (TA-55) is the Plutonium Facility Building 4, or PF-4. This Environmental Assessment (EA) analyzes the potential environmental effects that would be expected to occur if DOE were to stage sealed containers of transuranic (TRU) and TRU mixed waste in a support building at the Plutonium Facility (TA-55) that is adjacent to PF-4. At present, the waste containers are staged in the basement of PF-4. The proposed project is to convert an existing support structure (Building 185), a prefabricated metal building on a concrete foundation, and operate it as a temporary staging facility for sealed containers of solid TRU and TRU mixed waste. The TRU and TRU mixed wastes would be contained in sealed 55-gallon drums and standard waste boxes as they await approval to be transported to TA-54. The containers would then be transported to a longer term TRU waste storage area at TA-54. The TRU wastes are generated from plutonium operations carried out in PF-4. The drum staging building would also be used to store and prepare for use new, empty TRU waste containers

Virginia ESI: ESI (Environmental Sensitivity Index Shoreline Types - Lines and Polygons)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set contains vector lines and polygons representing the shoreline and coastal habitats for Virginia, classified according to the Environmental Sensitivity...

Maryland ESI: ESI (Environmental Sensitivity Index Shoreline Types - Lines and Polygons)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set contains vector lines and polygons representing the shoreline and coastal habitats for Maryland, classified according to the Environmental Sensitivity...

Prince William Sound, Alaska ESI: ESI (Environmental Sensitivity Index Shoreline Types)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set comprises the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) data for Prince William Sound, Alaska. ESI data characterize estuarine environments and wildlife by...

Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) Atlas: Upper Texas Coast (NODC Accession 0046089)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This CD-ROM product from the NOAA National Ocean Service Hazardous Materials Response and Assessment Division contains the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) data...

Environmental medicine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Steneberg, A.

1996-01-01

'Environmental medicine' deals with the manifold health problems from environmental factors of chemical, physical and psychosocial origin that are possible or have been observed. The book gives insight into the current state of knowledge of environmental medicine institutions, possibilities of diagnosis and therapeutic methods. It offers a systematic overview of pollutant sources and pollutant effects and points out, inter alia, syndromes that are discussed in connection with environmental factors: not only allergies and carcinogenous diseases but also symptom complexes that are hard to diagnose by ordinary methods such as the sick-building syndrome, multiple sensitivity to chemicals, electrosensitivity, amalgam intoxications, disorders due to wood preservatives and fungal diseases. The lingering course of a disease and a set of symptoms varying from one patient to another are the rule, not the exception, because environmental diseases are due above all to the chronic uptake of low pollutant doses (orig./MG) [de

Environmental sensitivity of a tropical coastline (Trinidad, West Indies) to oil spills

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nansingh, Permanand; Jurawan, Shari

1999-01-01

In the wider Caribbean region, Trinidad has been classified as a high risk areas for oil spills by the Intergovernmental Marine Consultative Organisation. In order to develop an oil spill environmental sensitivity index, the inter tidal zones of fifteen representative coastal sites were monitored for physical and biological parameters during the dry and wet seasons. On a scale of 1-10, sheltered habitats with high productivity are the most sensitive to spilt oil with an index value of 10. Exposed habitats with low productivity are the least sensitive with a value of 1. The index applied to coastal habitats in Trinidad is as follows: mangrove swamps (10), coral-algal reefs (9), sheltered rocky coasts (8), sheltered tidal flats (7), mixed sand and gravel beaches (6), sheltered fine to medium-grained sand beaches (5), exposed rocky shores (4), exposed tidal flats (3), exposed medium to coarse-grained sand beaches (2) and eroding wavecut platforms (1). This study demonstrates an approach to effectively combine biological and physical parameters into a single environmental sensitivity index to oil spills. (Author)

ESI-07 Rose Atoll, American Samoa 2003 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-PR21, Ciales, Puerto Rico 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-PR22, Corozal, Puerto Rico 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-PR64, Guayama, Puerto Rico 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-PR41 Naguabo, Puerto Rico 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-PR29, Mayaguez, Puerto Rico 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-PR30, Rosario, Puerto Rico 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-PR20, Florida, Puerto Rico 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-PR09, Manati, Puerto Rico 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-PR46, Yauco, Puerto Rico 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-PR11, Bayamon, Puerto Rico 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-PR18 Bayaney, Puerto Rico 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-PR56, Parguera, Puerto Rico 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-PR07, Arecibo, Puerto Rico 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-08,Swains Island, American Samoa 2003 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-PR13, Carolina, Puerto Rico 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-PR39 Juncos, Puerto Rico 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-PR35, Orocovis, Puerto Rico 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-PR06, Camuy, Puerto Rico 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-PR02, Aguadilla, Puerto Rico 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

Environmentally assisted cracking of non-sensitized stainless steels - possible affecting phenomena

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ehrnsten, Ulla; Haenninen, Hannu

2006-09-01

Intergranular, environmentally assisted cracking (EAC) has been observed, not only in sensitized austenitic stainless steels, but also in non-sensitized stainless steels. This type of cracking has so far been connected to cold-worked stainless steels and it has been reported to occur in the oxidising environments, but it may also be a potential degradation mode in non-oxidising environments (i.e., both in BWR and PWR conditions). Localisation of plastic deformation and the interactions between oxidation and strain localisation are most probably playing the key role in cracking of cold-worked stainless steels. In this paper, the possible affecting phenomena are reviewed with the main emphasis on dynamic strain ageing. However, also environmentally enhanced creep, dynamic recovery, microstructures of the cold-worked austenitic stainless steels and relaxation are briefly discussed. Mechanistic understanding of the effects of these main factors affecting intergranular stress corrosion cracking of cold-worked, non-sensitized austenitic stainless steels is important, especially as the trend in the NDE inspection strategy is moving towards risk informed inspection. (authors)

Human comfort and self-estimated performance in relation to indoor environmental parameters and building features

OpenAIRE

Frontczak, Monika Joanna; Wargocki, Pawel

2011-01-01

The main objective of the Ph.D. study was to examine occupants’ perception of comfort and self-estimated job performance in non-industrial buildings (homes and offices), in particular how building occupants understand comfort and which parameters, not necessarily related to indoor environments, influence the perception of comfort.To meet the objective, the following actions were taken: (1) a literature survey exploring which indoor environmental parameters (thermal, acoustic, visualenvironmen...

Healthy Buildings and Green Building Rating Systems; Gezond bouwen en duurzaamheidslabels

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bergs, J.; Renes, S. [BenR Adviseurs voor duurzaamheid, Amersfoort (Netherlands)

2010-11-15

The awareness of health issues related to buildings has heightened past decades. Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) has been addressed in most Green Building Rating Systems nowadays. This article analyses the scope of IEQ (Indoor Environmental Quality) within Rating Systems GPR Gebouw, BREEAM-NL (Dutch version of Building Research Establishment's Environmental Assessment Method) and LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). Each Rating System allocates health aspects. However, none of these Rating Systems addresses a complete set of relevant aspects. High ratings do not guarantee healthy buildings. It is concluded that, in general, credits for energy efficiency do not interfere with credits for enhanced indoor environmental quality. [Dutch] Gezondheidsaspecten van gebouwen hebben afgelopen decennia steeds meer en integraler aandacht gekregen. In de instrumenten GPR Gebouw, BREEAM-NL (Nederlandse versien van 'Building Research Establishment's Environmental Assessment Method') en LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is gezondheid 1 van de duurzaamheidsthema's, in dit artikel wordt geconcludeerd dat deze instrumenten veel gezondheidsaspecten dekken maar dat geen enkel instrument echt volledig is. De 1 legt meer accent op gezondheid, de ander meer op comfort. Een hoog label biedt geen garantie voor een gezond gebouw. De instrumenten bevatten weinig potentieel strijdige aspecten. Gezond en energiezuinig bouwen gaan volgens deze instrumenten goed samen.

Environmental assessment for the proposed CMR Building upgrades at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico. Final document

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1997-01-01

In order to maintain its ability to continue to conduct uninterrupted radioactive and metallurgical research in a safe, secure, and environmentally sound manner, the US Department of Energy (DOE) proposes to upgrade the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) Chemistry and Metallurgy Research (CMR) Building. The building was built in the early 1950s to provide a research and experimental facility for analytical chemistry, plutonium and uranium chemistry, and metallurgy. Today, research and development activities are performed involving nuclear materials. A variety of radioactive and chemical hazards are present. The CMR Building is nearing the end of its original design life and does not meet many of today's design codes and standards. The Proposed Action for this Environmental Assessment (EA) includes structural modifications to some portions of the CMR Building which do not meet current seismic criteria for a Hazard Category 2 Facility. Also included are upgrades and improvements in building ventilation, communications, monitoring, and fire protection systems. This EA analyzes the environmental effects of construction of the proposed upgrades. The Proposed Action will have no adverse effects upon agricultural and cultural resources, wetlands and floodplains, endangered and threatened species, recreational resources, or water resources. The Proposed Action would have negligible effects on human health and transportation, and would not pose a disproportionate adverse health or environmental impact on minority or low-income populations within an 80 kilometer (50 mile) radius of the CMR Building

Environmental assessment for the proposed CMR Building upgrades at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico. Final document

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1997-02-04

In order to maintain its ability to continue to conduct uninterrupted radioactive and metallurgical research in a safe, secure, and environmentally sound manner, the US Department of Energy (DOE) proposes to upgrade the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) Chemistry and Metallurgy Research (CMR) Building. The building was built in the early 1950s to provide a research and experimental facility for analytical chemistry, plutonium and uranium chemistry, and metallurgy. Today, research and development activities are performed involving nuclear materials. A variety of radioactive and chemical hazards are present. The CMR Building is nearing the end of its original design life and does not meet many of today`s design codes and standards. The Proposed Action for this Environmental Assessment (EA) includes structural modifications to some portions of the CMR Building which do not meet current seismic criteria for a Hazard Category 2 Facility. Also included are upgrades and improvements in building ventilation, communications, monitoring, and fire protection systems. This EA analyzes the environmental effects of construction of the proposed upgrades. The Proposed Action will have no adverse effects upon agricultural and cultural resources, wetlands and floodplains, endangered and threatened species, recreational resources, or water resources. The Proposed Action would have negligible effects on human health and transportation, and would not pose a disproportionate adverse health or environmental impact on minority or low-income populations within an 80 kilometer (50 mile) radius of the CMR Building.

Predicted and actual indoor environmental quality: Verification of occupants' behaviour models in residential buildings

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Rune Korsholm; Fabi, Valentina; Corgnati, Stefano P.

2016-01-01

with the building controls (windows, thermostats, solar shading etc.). During the last decade, studies about stochastic models of occupants' behaviour in relation to control of the indoor environment have been published. Often the overall aim of these models is to enable more reliable predictions of building...... performance using building energy performance simulations (BEPS). However, the validity of these models has only been sparsely tested. In this paper, stochastic models of occupants' behaviour from literature were tested against measurements in five apartments. In a monitoring campaign, measurements of indoor....... However, comparisons of the average stochastic predictions with the measured temperatures, relative humidity and CO2 concentrations revealed that the models did not predict the actual indoor environmental conditions well....

Environmental assessment of low-energy social housing, Boatemah Walk building, Brixton

Science.gov (United States)

Vargas, Lidia Johansen

interviews. There is a wide difference between tenants in terms of their environmental concern and attitudes, which is reflected in the overall performance of the building. One of the most successful aspects of this development is probably the effect it is having in the community. The tenants are highly satisfied with the building in various aspects, and the ones who used to live in Angell Town before the regeneration have experienced a very positive change in their quality of life and a sense of pride about their community.

University Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design: How Postsecondary Institutions Use the LEEDRTM Green Building Rating System

Science.gov (United States)

Chance, Shannon Massie

2010-01-01

This descriptive, exploratory study focused on how institutions of higher education have used the United States Green Building Council's (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED[R]) Green Building Rating system. It employed statistical methods to assess which types of universities have used LEED, what ratings they earned, and…

Economic–Environmental Sustainability in Building Projects: Introducing Risk and Uncertainty in LCCE and LCCA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elena Fregonara

2018-06-01

Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to propose a methodology for supporting decision-making in the design stages of new buildings or in the retrofitting of existing heritages. The focus is on the evaluation of economic–environmental sustainability, considering the presence of risk and uncertainty. An application of risk analysis in conjunction with Life-Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA is proposed for selecting the preferable solution between technological options, which represents a recent and poorly explored context of analysis. It is assumed that there is a presence of uncertainty in cost estimating, in terms of the Life-Cycle Cost Estimates (LCCEs and uncertainty in the technical performance of the life-cycle cost analysis. According to the probability analysis, which was solved through stochastic simulation and the Monte Carlo Method (MCM, risk and uncertainty are modeled as stochastic variables or as “stochastic relevant cost drivers”. Coherently, the economic–financial and energy–environmental sustainability is analyzed through the calculation of a conjoint “economic–environmental indicator”, in terms of the stochastic global cost. A case study of the multifunctional building glass façade project in Northern Italy is proposed. The application demonstrates that introducing flexibility into the input data and the duration of the service lives of components and the economic and environmental behavior of alternative scenarios can lead to opposite results compared to a deterministic analysis. The results give full evidence of the environmental variables’ capacity to significantly perturb the model output.

Building a Leadership Culture for Environmental Health in a Nurse-Led Clinic

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shanda L Demorest

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Climate change is the biggest global health threat of the 21st century (Costello et al., 2009. Temperature shifts caused by greenhouse gases have negative health impacts such as worsening of chronic diseases and increases in vector-borne diseases (American Public Health Association, 2016, which nurses are ethically responsible to address (American Nurses Association, 2015. At an interdisciplinary nurse-led clinic, staff were not prepared to assist patients in building resiliency related to the health impacts of climate change or to implement environmental sustainability in their workplace. Based on principles of partnership-based healthcare (Eisler & Potter, 2014, this project included Climate Conversations - sharing stories, values, and knowledge about climate change – (Minnesota Interfaith Power & Light, 2010 and evidence-based transformational leadership. The Nurses’ Environmental Awareness Tool (Schenk et al., 2015 was used to survey staff before and after they participated in behavioral interventions to incorporate environmental sustainability at their workplace. Compared to baseline, staffs’ knowledge of environmental sustainability increased significantly (pp

Environmental Assessment for the proposed Induction Linac System Experiments in Building 51B at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1995-08-01

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has prepared an Environmental Assessment (EA), (DOE/EA-1087) evaluating the proposed action to modify existing Building 51B at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) to install and conduct experiments on a new Induction Linear Accelerator System. LBNL is located in Berkeley, California and operated by the University of California (UC). The project consists of placing a pre-fabricated building inside Building 51B to house a new 10 MeV heavy ion linear accelerator. A control room and other support areas would be provided within and directly adjacent to Building 51B. The accelerator system would be used to conduct tests, at reduced scale and cost, many features of a heavy-ion accelerator driver for the Department of Energy's inertial fusion energy program. Based upon information and analyses in the EA, the DOE has determined that the proposed action is not a major Federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment within the meaning of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. Therefore, an Environmental Impact Statement is not required. This report contains the Environmental Assessment, as well as the Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI)

Analysis of environmental contamination resulting from catastrophic incidents: part 2. Building laboratory capability by selecting and developing analytical methodologies.

Science.gov (United States)

Magnuson, Matthew; Campisano, Romy; Griggs, John; Fitz-James, Schatzi; Hall, Kathy; Mapp, Latisha; Mullins, Marissa; Nichols, Tonya; Shah, Sanjiv; Silvestri, Erin; Smith, Terry; Willison, Stuart; Ernst, Hiba

2014-11-01

Catastrophic incidents can generate a large number of samples of analytically diverse types, including forensic, clinical, environmental, food, and others. Environmental samples include water, wastewater, soil, air, urban building and infrastructure materials, and surface residue. Such samples may arise not only from contamination from the incident but also from the multitude of activities surrounding the response to the incident, including decontamination. This document summarizes a range of activities to help build laboratory capability in preparation for sample analysis following a catastrophic incident, including selection and development of fit-for-purpose analytical methods for chemical, biological, and radiological contaminants. Fit-for-purpose methods are those which have been selected to meet project specific data quality objectives. For example, methods could be fit for screening contamination in the early phases of investigation of contamination incidents because they are rapid and easily implemented, but those same methods may not be fit for the purpose of remediating the environment to acceptable levels when a more sensitive method is required. While the exact data quality objectives defining fitness-for-purpose can vary with each incident, a governing principle of the method selection and development process for environmental remediation and recovery is based on achieving high throughput while maintaining high quality analytical results. This paper illustrates the result of applying this principle, in the form of a compendium of analytical methods for contaminants of interest. The compendium is based on experience with actual incidents, where appropriate and available. This paper also discusses efforts aimed at adaptation of existing methods to increase fitness-for-purpose and development of innovative methods when necessary. The contaminants of interest are primarily those potentially released through catastrophes resulting from malicious activity

Environmental context determines community sensitivity of freshwater zooplankton to a pesticide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stampfli, Nathalie C.; Knillmann, Saskia; Liess, Matthias; Beketov, Mikhail A.

2011-01-01

The environment is currently changing worldwide, and ecosystems are being exposed to multiple anthropogenic pressures. Understanding and consideration of such environmental conditions is required in ecological risk assessment of toxicants, but it remains basically limited. In the present study, we aimed to determine how and to what extent alterations in the abiotic and biotic environmental conditions can alter the sensitivity of a community to an insecticide, as well as its recovery after contamination. We conducted an outdoor microcosm experiment in which zooplankton communities were exposed to the insecticide esfenvalerate (0.03, 0.3, and 3 μg/L) under different regimes of solar radiation and community density, which represented different levels of food availability and competition. We focused on the sensitivity of the entire community and analysed it using multivariate statistical methods, such as principal response curves and redundancy analysis. The results showed that community sensitivity varied markedly between the treatments. In the experimental series with the lowest availability of food and strongest competition significant effects of the insecticide were found at the concentration of 0.03 μg/L. In contrast, in the series with relatively higher food availability and weak competition such effects were detected at 3 μg/L only. However, we did not find significant differences in the community recovery rates between the experimental treatments. These findings indicate that environmental context is more important for ecotoxicological evaluation than assumed previously.

See-Through Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells: Photonic Reflectors for Tandem and Building Integrated Photovoltaics

KAUST Repository

Heiniger, Leo-Philipp

2013-08-21

See-through dye-sensitized solar cells with 1D photonic crystal Bragg reflector photoanodes show an increase in peak external quantum efficiency of 47% while still maintaining high fill factors, resulting in an almost 40% increase in power conversion efficiency. These photoanodes are ideally suited for tandem and building integrated photovoltaics. © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Quantitative relationships between occupant satisfaction and satisfaction aspects of indoor environmental quality and building design.

Science.gov (United States)

Frontczak, M; Schiavon, S; Goins, J; Arens, E; Zhang, H; Wargocki, P

2012-04-01

The article examines which subjectively evaluated indoor environmental parameters and building features mostly affect occupants' satisfaction in mainly US office buildings. The study analyzed data from a web-based survey administered to 52,980 occupants in 351 office buildings over 10 years by the Center for the Built Environment. The survey uses 7-point ordered scale questions pertaining to satisfaction with indoor environmental parameters, workspace, and building features. The average building occupant was satisfied with his/her workspace and building. Proportional odds ordinal logistic regression shows that satisfaction with all 15 parameters listed in the survey contributed significantly to overall workspace satisfaction. The most important parameters were satisfaction with amount of space (odds ratio OR 1.57, 95% CI: 1.55-1.59), noise level (OR 1.27, 95% CI: 1.25-1.29), and visual privacy (OR 1.26, 95% CI: 1.24-1.28). Satisfaction with amount of space was ranked to be most important for workspace satisfaction, regardless of age group (below 30, 31-50 or over 50 years old), gender, type of office (single or shared offices, or cubicles), distance of workspace from a window (within 4.6 m or further), or satisfaction level with workspace (satisfied or dissatisfied). Satisfaction with amount of space was not related to the gross amount of space available per person. To maximize workspace satisfaction, designer should invest in aspects that increase satisfaction with amount of space and storage, noise level, and visual privacy. Office workers will be most satisfied with their workspace and building when located close to a window in a private office. This may affect job satisfaction, work performance, and personal and company productivity. © 2011 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

Analysis of potential energy, economic and environmental savings in residential buildings: Solar collectors combined with microturbines

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suárez, I.; Prieto, M.M.; Fernández, F.J.

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► Centralization of energy systems for a group of buildings improves profitability. ► Thermal solar systems are economically interesting even in low radiation locations. ► Regulations currently in force determine the feasibility of high efficiency energy systems. - Abstract: This paper presents an analysis of a combined solar-cogeneration installation for providing energy services in a set of four residential buildings. Different configurations as regards the number of collectors and their orientation, the number of buildings grouped together, the type of microturbines used in the cogeneration system and their daily and annual operating period are studied from the legal, economic and environmental perspectives. The installation that fulfils the minimum requirements of the solar system coverage and the cogeneration system efficiency currently in force, and simultaneously leads to the highest energy, economic and environmental savings is the one that integrates both technologies and centralises the installation for the four buildings together. A payback period lower than 8 years is obtained that makes this investment recommendable, but it is also concluded that maintaining the existing subsidies for these technologies and lowering the costs of the equipment, are essential factors to ensure the feasibility of this type of installations

The healthy building intervention study: Objectives, methods and results of selected environmental measurements

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fisk, W.J.; Faulkner, D.; Sullivan, D. [and others

1998-02-17

To test proposed methods for reducing SBS symptoms and to learn about the causes of these symptoms, a double-blind controlled intervention study was designed and implemented. This study utilized two different interventions designed to reduce occupants` exposures to airborne particles: (1) high efficiency filters in the building`s HVAC systems; and (2) thorough cleaning of carpeted floors and fabric-covered chairs with an unusually powerful vacuum cleaner. The study population was the workers on the second and fourth floors of a large office building with mechanical ventilation, air conditioning, and sealed windows. Interventions were implemented on one floor while the occupants on the other floor served as a control group. For the enhanced-filtration intervention, a multiple crossover design was used (a crossover is a repeat of the experiment with the former experimental group as the control group and vice versa). Demographic and health symptom data were collected via an initial questionnaire on the first study week and health symptom data were obtained each week, for eight additional weeks, via weekly questionnaires. A large number of indoor environmental parameters were measured during the study including air temperatures and humidities, carbon dioxide concentrations, particle concentrations, concentrations of several airborne bioaerosols, and concentrations of several microbiologic compounds within the dust sampled from floors and chairs. This report describes the study methods and summarizes the results of selected environmental measurements.

A New Computationally Frugal Method For Sensitivity Analysis Of Environmental Models

Science.gov (United States)

Rakovec, O.; Hill, M. C.; Clark, M. P.; Weerts, A.; Teuling, R.; Borgonovo, E.; Uijlenhoet, R.

2013-12-01

Effective and efficient parameter sensitivity analysis methods are crucial to understand the behaviour of complex environmental models and use of models in risk assessment. This paper proposes a new computationally frugal method for analyzing parameter sensitivity: the Distributed Evaluation of Local Sensitivity Analysis (DELSA). The DELSA method can be considered a hybrid of local and global methods, and focuses explicitly on multiscale evaluation of parameter sensitivity across the parameter space. Results of the DELSA method are compared with the popular global, variance-based Sobol' method and the delta method. We assess the parameter sensitivity of both (1) a simple non-linear reservoir model with only two parameters, and (2) five different "bucket-style" hydrologic models applied to a medium-sized catchment (200 km2) in the Belgian Ardennes. Results show that in both the synthetic and real-world examples, the global Sobol' method and the DELSA method provide similar sensitivities, with the DELSA method providing more detailed insight at much lower computational cost. The ability to understand how sensitivity measures vary through parameter space with modest computational requirements provides exciting new opportunities.

Science supporting the economic and environmental benefits of using wood and wood products in green building construction

Science.gov (United States)

Michael A. Ritter; Kenneth Skog; Richard Bergman

2011-01-01

The objective of this report is to summarize the scientific findings that support the environmental and economic benefits of using wood and wood products in green building construction. Despite documented advantages in many peer-reviewed scientific articles, most building professionals and members of the public do not recognize wood as a renewable resource or the role...

Application of environmental sensitivity theories in personalized prevention for youth substance abuse: a transdisciplinary translational perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Thibodeau, Eric L; August, Gerald J; Cicchetti, Dante; Symons, Frank J

2016-03-01

Preventive interventions that target high-risk youth, via one-size-fits-all approaches, have demonstrated modest effects in reducing rates of substance use. Recently, substance use researchers have recommended personalized intervention strategies. Central to these approaches is matching preventatives to characteristics of an individual that have been shown to predict outcomes. One compelling body of literature on person × environment interactions is that of environmental sensitivity theories, including differential susceptibility theory and vantage sensitivity. Recent experimental evidence has demonstrated that environmental sensitivity (ES) factors moderate substance abuse outcomes. We propose that ES factors may augment current personalization strategies such as matching based on risk factors/severity of problem behaviors (risk severity (RS)). Specifically, individuals most sensitive to environmental influence may be those most responsive to intervention in general and thus need only a brief-type or lower-intensity program to show gains, while those least sensitive may require more comprehensive or intensive programming for optimal responsiveness. We provide an example from ongoing research to illustrate how ES factors can be incorporated into prevention trials aimed at high-risk adolescents.

Integrating Responsive Building Elements in Buildings

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Haase, Matthias; Amato, Alex; Heiselberg, Per

2006-01-01

energy strategies to develop guidelines and procedures for estimation of environmental performance of responsive building elements and integrated building concepts This paper introduces the ideas of this collaborative work and discusses its usefulness for Hong Kong and China. Special focus was put...

Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) Atlas: South Florida, July 1996 (NODC Accession 0006539)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set comprises the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps in Portable Document Format (.PDF) for the shoreline of South Florida (to encompass the...

The energy-environmental profile of building bio-materials. A decision-making model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beccali, G.; Cellura, M.; Lo Cicero

2000-01-01

In this article it is presented a reckoning model used for comparing concrete blocks made with recycled aggregates with blocks realised with quarry inerts. Both algorithm and procedural passages are easily transferable to handmade products having different characteristics. From the results one can infer how an open circuit recycling process allows to improve energy-environmental performances of the handmade product even when the technological performances of the blocks are essentially similar. This underlines the importance of a procedural approach taking into account environmental design right from the start of the planning process, also as far as the final fate of the building material at the end of its useful life is concerned [it

Environmental gram-positive mastitis treatment: in vitro sensitivity and bacteriologic cure.

Science.gov (United States)

Cattell, M B; Dinsmore, R P; Belschner, A P; Carmen, J; Goodell, G

2001-09-01

A clinical trial was conducted in a large dairy herd to determine the efficacy of intramammary pirlimycin hydrochloride administration during lactation for bacteriologic clearance of gram-positive environmental clinical and subclinical mastitis infections. Quarters infected with environmental streptococci that received pirlimycin therapy (13/28) were 1.8 times more likely to resolve infection than untreated quarters (5/14). The small numbers of quarters infected with coagulase-negative staphylococci resulted in inadequate power to assess treatment differences in cure rate. Although the association was not statistically significant, quarters from cows with sensitive environmental streptococci isolates from composite samples (8/13) resolved infection with treatment at approximately twice the rate of treated quarters with resistant isolates (3/10).

Fieldwork measurement of indoor environmental quality (IEQ) in Malaysian platinum-rated green office buildings

Science.gov (United States)

Tharim, Asniza Hamimi Abdul; Samad, Muna Hanim Abdul; Ismail, Mazran

2017-10-01

An Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) fieldwork assessment was conducted in the Platinum-rated GBI office building located in Putrajaya Malaysia. The aim of the study is to determine the current indoor performance of the selected green office building. The field measurement consists of several IEQ parameters counted under the GBI Malaysia namely the Thermal Comfort of temperature, relative humidity, air movement and heat transfer as well as solar radiation. This field measurement also comprises of the measurement for the background noise, visual lighting and Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) focusing on the aspect of carbon dioxide concentration. All the selected indoor parameters were measured for the period of five working days and the results were compared to the Malaysian Standard. Findings of the field measurement show good indoor performance of the Platinum rated office building that complies with the GBI standard. It is hoped that the research findings will be beneficial for future design and construction of office building intended to be rated under the GBI Malaysia.

ESI-05, Ofu & Olosega Islands, American Samoa 2003 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-PR61, Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-PR26, El Yunque, Puerto Rico 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI95 Midway Islands, NWHI, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-PR12, San Juan, Puerto Rico 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-PR65, Punta Tuna, Puerto Rico 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI90 Gardner Pinnacles, NWHI, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI92 Laysan Island, NWHI, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI91 Maro Reef, NWHI, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-03, Tutuila Island - South, American Samoa 2003 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

Tinian, Commonwealth of the Nothern Mariana Islands, 2006 Environmental Sensitivity Index Map

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-PR43, Puerto Real, Puerto Rico 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-PR59, Punta Cuchara , Puerto Rico 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI93 Lisianski Island, NWHI, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-PR24, Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-PR55, Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-PR49, Rio Descalabrado, Puerto Rico 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

Rota, Commonwealth of the Nothern Mariana Islands, 2006 Environmental Sensitivity Index Map

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) Atlas: Great Lakes, 1995-1998 (NODC Accession 0013820)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set comprises the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps in .PDF format for the following Great Lakes and associated waterways: north, east, and west...

Aguijan, Commonwealth of the Nothern Mariana Islands, 2006 Environmental Sensitivity Index Map

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

Saipan, Commonwealth of the Nothern Mariana Islands, 2006 Environmental Sensitivity Index Map

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

MATHEMATICAL MODEL DESIGNATED FOR THE ASSESSMENT OF THE INTEGRATED ENVIRONMENTAL LOAD PRODUCED BY A BUILDING PROJECT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lapidus Azariy Abramovich

2012-10-01

The theoretical background of the proposed approach consists in an integrated methodology implemented in the system engineering of construction projects. A building system may be represented as the aggregate of all stages of construction works and participants involved in them. The building system is object-oriented, and it is implemented under the impact of pre-determined environmental factors. The core constituent of the building system represents a Production Technology Module (PTM, or summarized groups of processes. The model formula designated for the assessment of the intensity of the ecological load produced by the construction project onto the environment may be represented as follows:

Unmet health care needs for persons with environmental sensitivity

OpenAIRE

Gibson, Pamela Reed; Kovach, Shannon; Lupfer, Alexis

2015-01-01

Pamela Reed Gibson, Shannon Kovach, Alexis LupferDepartment of Psychology, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA, USAAbstract: Studies of unmet health care needs have shown that women, people with poor health, and people with lower socioeconomic status are more likely to report having unmet health care needs. In this study, we examined the types of and reasons for unmet health care needs in 465 people with environmental sensitivities. A second area of inquiry involved negative reactions ...

Scalable geocomputation: evolving an environmental model building platform from single-core to supercomputers

Science.gov (United States)

Schmitz, Oliver; de Jong, Kor; Karssenberg, Derek

2017-04-01

There is an increasing demand to run environmental models on a big scale: simulations over large areas at high resolution. The heterogeneity of available computing hardware such as multi-core CPUs, GPUs or supercomputer potentially provides significant computing power to fulfil this demand. However, this requires detailed knowledge of the underlying hardware, parallel algorithm design and the implementation thereof in an efficient system programming language. Domain scientists such as hydrologists or ecologists often lack this specific software engineering knowledge, their emphasis is (and should be) on exploratory building and analysis of simulation models. As a result, models constructed by domain specialists mostly do not take full advantage of the available hardware. A promising solution is to separate the model building activity from software engineering by offering domain specialists a model building framework with pre-programmed building blocks that they combine to construct a model. The model building framework, consequently, needs to have built-in capabilities to make full usage of the available hardware. Developing such a framework providing understandable code for domain scientists and being runtime efficient at the same time poses several challenges on developers of such a framework. For example, optimisations can be performed on individual operations or the whole model, or tasks need to be generated for a well-balanced execution without explicitly knowing the complexity of the domain problem provided by the modeller. Ideally, a modelling framework supports the optimal use of available hardware whichsoever combination of model building blocks scientists use. We demonstrate our ongoing work on developing parallel algorithms for spatio-temporal modelling and demonstrate 1) PCRaster, an environmental software framework (http://www.pcraster.eu) providing spatio-temporal model building blocks and 2) parallelisation of about 50 of these building blocks using

Green Buildings and Health.

Science.gov (United States)

Allen, Joseph G; MacNaughton, Piers; Laurent, Jose Guillermo Cedeno; Flanigan, Skye S; Eitland, Erika Sita; Spengler, John D

2015-09-01

Green building design is becoming broadly adopted, with one green building standard reporting over 3.5 billion square feet certified to date. By definition, green buildings focus on minimizing impacts to the environment through reductions in energy usage, water usage, and minimizing environmental disturbances from the building site. Also by definition, but perhaps less widely recognized, green buildings aim to improve human health through design of healthy indoor environments. The benefits related to reduced energy and water consumption are well-documented, but the potential human health benefits of green buildings are only recently being investigated. The objective of our review was to examine the state of evidence on green building design as it specifically relates to indoor environmental quality and human health. Overall, the initial scientific evidence indicates better indoor environmental quality in green buildings versus non-green buildings, with direct benefits to human health for occupants of those buildings. A limitation of much of the research to date is the reliance on indirect, lagging and subjective measures of health. To address this, we propose a framework for identifying direct, objective and leading "Health Performance Indicators" for use in future studies of buildings and health.

Sustainable Building Assessment of Colonial Shophouses after Adaptive Reuse in Kuala Lumpur

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Karam M. Al-Obaidi

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Kuala Lumpur, as a major capital city, has undergone a drastic transformation in the past ten years. Many heritage buildings have been sacrificed for urban renewal projects. Those located in the touristic heritage zones within Kuala Lumpur were being converted by their owners into hotels and cafés to meet current demands to sustain their incomes. This approach, however, creates several physical and environmental issues within the new adaptation. The aim of this study is to evaluate the building performance of heritage shophouses that were adapted into budget hotels. The research focuses on two case studies in a strategic and historical location of Jalan Sultan, Kuala Lumpur. At the initial stage, interviews and physical surveys were done to determine the context of this study. The authors of this research then used a triangulation method through indoor environmental condition assessment, measurements of indoor environmental conditions and occupant survey to determine the indoor building performance after the adaption. Results showed that adaptive reuse heritage buildings can perform and meet new indoor environmental requirements, but many sensitive design judgments need to be made before the adaptive reuse renovation. The research found that the use of natural light, natural ventilation, recycled materials and water efficiency have been neglected and thus, they should be prioritized and preserved to ensure a successful change of use. Conserving existing heritage buildings, while incorporating new usages with acceptable comfort, is in line with the principle of sustainability.

SOFIAS – Software for life-cycle assessment and environmental rating of buildings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oregi Isasi, X.

2016-06-01

Full Text Available This paper describes the development process of a new software tool, called SOFIAS (Software for a Sustainable Architecture, funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitivenes. Following CEN/TC 350 standard on environmental assessment of buildings, the tool aims at assisting building professionals on reducing the life-cycle environmental impact through the design of new buildings and the refurbishment of existing ones. In addition, SOFIAS provides a rating system based on the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA methodology. This paper explains the innovative aspects of this software, the working methodology and the different type of results that can be obtained using SOFIAS.Este artículo describe el proceso de desarrollo de la nueva herramienta informática SOFIAS (Software de Funciones Integradas para una Arquitectura Sostenible, financiado por el Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad del Gobierno de España. En base al estandar de la evaluación ambiental de los edificios definido por el CEN/TC 350, esta nueva herramienta tiene como objetivo ayudar a los técnicos de la construcción en reducir el impacto ambiental durante el ciclo de vida a través del diseño optimizado de nuevos edificios o edificios rehabilitados. De forma paralela, SOFIAS proporciona un nuevo sistema de calificación basado en la metodología del Análisis de Ciclo de Vida (ACV. Este artículo expone los aspectos innovadores de esta herramienta informática, la metodología de trabajo y los diferentes tipos de resultados que se pueden obtener tras su aplicación.

Environmental Impact Assessment of a School Building in Iceland Using LCA-Including the Effect of Long Distance Transport of Materials

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nargessadat Emami

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Buildings are the key components of urban areas and society as a complex system. A life cycle assessment was applied to estimate the environmental impacts of the resources applied in the building envelope, floor slabs, and interior walls of the Vættaskóli-Engi building in Reykjavik, Iceland. The scope of this study included four modules of extraction and transportation of raw material to the manufacturing site, production of the construction materials, and transport to the building site, as described in the standard EN 15804. The total environmental effects of the school building in terms of global warming potential, ozone depletion potential, human toxicity, acidification, and eutrophication were calculated. The total global warming potential impact was equal to 255 kg of CO2 eq/sqm, which was low compared to previous studies and was due to the limited system boundary of the current study. The effect of long-distance overseas transport of materials was noticeable in terms of acidification (25% and eutrophication (31% while it was negligible in other impact groups. The results also concluded that producing the cement in Iceland caused less environmental impact in all five impact categories compared to the case in which the cement was imported from Germany. The major contribution of this work is that the environmental impacts of different plans for domestic production or import of construction materials to Iceland can be precisely assessed in order to identify effective measures to move towards a sustainable built environment in Iceland, and also to provide consistent insights for stakeholders.

Environmental sensitivity studies for Gen-IV roadmap DUPIC scenario

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jeong, Chang Joon

2004-03-01

The environmental effect of the DUPIC (Direct Use of Spent PWR Fuel in CANDU Reactors) fuel cycle, which is considered as one of the partial recycle scenario in Gen-IV roadmap, has been analyzed by using the dynamic analysis method. Through the parametric calculations for the DUPIC fuel cycle deployment time and the fraction of the DUPIC reactors, the environmental effects of the fuel cycle for important parameters such as the amount of spent fuel and the combined amounts of plutonium and minor actinides were estimated and compared to those of the once-through LWR fuel cycle. The results of the sensitivity calculations showed that an early deployment of the DUPIC fuel cycle with a high DUPIC reactor fraction can reduce the accumulation of spent fuel by up to 40%. More important is the associated reduction in the combined amount of plutonium and minor actinides, which may reduce the key repository parameter (long term decay heat). Therefore it is expected that favorable environmental effects will be the outcome of the implementation of the DUPIC fuel cycle

Genetic variability of environmental sensitivity revealed by phenotypic variation in body weight and (its correlations to physiological and behavioral traits.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Delphine Lallias

Full Text Available Adaptive phenotypic plasticity is a key component of the ability of organisms to cope with changing environmental conditions. Fish have been shown to exhibit a substantial level of phenotypic plasticity in response to abiotic and biotic factors. In the present study, we investigate the link between environmental sensitivity assessed globally (revealed by phenotypic variation in body weight and more targeted physiological and behavioral indicators that are generally used to assess the sensitivity of a fish to environmental stressors. We took advantage of original biological material, the rainbow trout isogenic lines, which allowed the disentangling of the genetic and environmental parts of the phenotypic variance. Ten lines were characterized for the changes of body weight variability (weight measurements taken every month during 18 months, the plasma cortisol response to confinement stress (3 challenges and a set of selected behavioral indicators. This study unambiguously demonstrated the existence of genetic determinism of environmental sensitivity, with some lines being particularly sensitive to environmental fluctuations and others rather insensitive. Correlations between coefficient of variation (CV for body weight and behavioral and physiological traits were observed. This confirmed that CV for body weight could be used as an indicator of environmental sensitivity. As the relationship between indicators (CV weight, risk-taking, exploration and cortisol was shown to be likely depending on the nature and intensity of the stressor, the joint use of several indicators should help to investigate the biological complexity of environmental sensitivity.

Strategic Behavior in Certifying Green Buildings: An Inquiry of the Non-building Performance Value.

Science.gov (United States)

Chiang Hsieh, Lin-Han; Noonan, Douglas

2017-08-01

This study determines the magnitude of the market signaling effect arising from Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification for green buildings and explores the mechanisms behind the signaling effect. Previous studies have shown that signaling or marketability plays an important role in the pursuit for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and equivalent green-building certification. By analyzing all new construction projects receiving Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification from 2000 to 2012 in the US, this study estimates the relative importance of 'green' signaling. This broad perspective using project-level data enables an analysis of some drivers of signaling and the pursuit of marketing benefits. The roles of local competition and market conditions, as well as municipal regulations are examined, especially as they differ between types of building owners (e.g., for-profit firms, governments, nonprofits). The results indicate that the non-building performance value-value captured by Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design signals above and beyond the specific building attributes that Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certifies-dominates the attainment of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design scores around certification tier thresholds. Further, strong evidence of spatial clustering of this non-building performance value for some owner types indicates that for-profit owners may be more responsive to local competition than non-profit owners. Local legislative mandates predict greater signaling intensity by government-owned buildings, as expected, but for-profit-owned projects tend to signal less, even after controls for local conditions. The results highlight the importance of local conditions, including peer effects and regulations, in driving non-building performance values across a wide range of green buildings.

The effect of environmental regulation on firms' competitive performance: the case of the building & construction sector in some EU regions.

Science.gov (United States)

Testa, Francesco; Iraldo, Fabio; Frey, Marco

2011-09-01

There is a considerable debate on the effects of environmental regulation on competitive performance. Based on survey data, this paper analyzes the two main research questions, derived from literature, on the links between environmental regulation and competitiveness, by focusing on firms operating in the building and construction sector, i.e.: 1) whether environmental policy stringency affects the competitive performance of firms in the building and construction sector 2) and how a specific form of environmental regulation (direct regulation, economic instruments and soft instruments) affects this performance? By applying a regression analysis, we find that a more stringent environmental regulation, measured by inspection frequency, provides a positive impulse for increasing investments in advanced technological equipment and innovative products and on business performance. Moreover, a well-designed "direct regulation" appears to be the most effective policy instrument for prompting the positive impact of environmental policies on innovation and intangible performance while economic instruments do negatively affect business performance. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Hackathons as A Capacity Building Tool for Environmental Applications

Science.gov (United States)

Bye, B. L.; Mildorf, T.; Charvat, K.; Berre, A. J.

2017-12-01

Today's society requires easy, reliable and quick access to environmental information published by various organizations and initiatives. The environment questions require many activities that produce various sorts of data; by authorities through operation of instruments such as satellites, and through informal local and community activities producing videos, photos or oral stories. The collected information can contribute to up-to-date data. Volunteered geographic information (VGI) is the harnessing of tools to create, assemble, and disseminate geographic data provided voluntarily by individuals. Under the INSPIRE (Infrastructure for spatial information in Europe) umbrella, a number of EU projects co-organize hackathons - the INSPIRE Hack. The INSPIRE Hack focuses on methods where citizens are able to contribute to different environmental and societal issues through smart phones and other sensors. The INSPIRE Hack supports creativity, innovation, technical capabilities and knowledge sharing by combining open data, VGI, and data from citizens observatories or other citizen science activities. This presentation offer a capacity building perspective on the INSPIRE hackathons, the co-design aspects and the argility with respect to the accelerating technological and social innovations, and effective up-take in societal use. Starting in Europe, the concept can be broadened to encompass all continents.

Building products for sustainable buildings; Bauprodukte fuer nachhaltige Gebaeude

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Blumberg, Martin; Urbanek, Anja [brands und values GmbH, Bremen (Germany)

2013-04-15

In the light of the energy efficiency, sustainability and the increasing distribution of buildings certifications environmental product declarations have grown in significance. The environmental product declaration program for building products was organized by the Institute Construction and Environment e.V. (Koenigswinter, Federal Republic of Germany). Beside the definition of the product group specific requirements and certifications as well as an independent review process of the completed environmental product declarations, the Advisory Council guarantees that the program rules of the Institute Construction and Environment e.V. continue to develop in conformity to international standards.

Staphylococcal Bap Proteins Build Amyloid Scaffold Biofilm Matrices in Response to Environmental Signals.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Agustina Taglialegna

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Biofilms are communities of bacteria that grow encased in an extracellular matrix that often contains proteins. The spatial organization and the molecular interactions between matrix scaffold proteins remain in most cases largely unknown. Here, we report that Bap protein of Staphylococcus aureus self-assembles into functional amyloid aggregates to build the biofilm matrix in response to environmental conditions. Specifically, Bap is processed and fragments containing at least the N-terminus of the protein become aggregation-prone and self-assemble into amyloid-like structures under acidic pHs and low concentrations of calcium. The molten globule-like state of Bap fragments is stabilized upon binding of the cation, hindering its self-assembly into amyloid fibers. These findings define a dual function for Bap, first as a sensor and then as a scaffold protein to promote biofilm development under specific environmental conditions. Since the pH-driven multicellular behavior mediated by Bap occurs in coagulase-negative staphylococci and many other bacteria exploit Bap-like proteins to build a biofilm matrix, the mechanism of amyloid-like aggregation described here may be widespread among pathogenic bacteria.

Environmentally Sensitive Fluorescent Sensors Based on Synthetic Peptides

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Laurence Choulier

2010-03-01

Full Text Available Biosensors allow the direct detection of molecular analytes, by associating a biological receptor with a transducer able to convert the analyte-receptor recognition event into a measurable signal. We review recent work aimed at developing synthetic fluorescent molecular sensors for a variety of analytes, based on peptidic receptors labeled with environmentally sensitive fluorophores. Fluorescent indicators based on synthetic peptides are highly interesting alternatives to protein-based sensors, since they can be synthesized chemically, are stable, and can be easily modified in a site-specific manner for fluorophore coupling and for immobilization on solid supports.

Childhood quality influences genetic sensitivity to environmental influences across adulthood: A life-course Gene × Environment interaction study.

Science.gov (United States)

Keers, Robert; Pluess, Michael

2017-12-01

While environmental adversity has been shown to increase risk for psychopathology, individuals differ in their sensitivity to these effects. Both genes and childhood experiences are thought to influence sensitivity to the environment, and these factors may operate synergistically such that the effects of childhood experiences on later sensitivity are greater in individuals who are more genetically sensitive. In line with this hypothesis, several recent studies have reported a significant three-way interaction (Gene × Environment × Environment) between two candidate genes and childhood and adult environment on adult psychopathology. We aimed to replicate and extend these findings in a large, prospective multiwave longitudinal study using a polygenic score of environmental sensitivity and objectively measured childhood and adult material environmental quality. We found evidence for both Environment × Environment and Gene × Environment × Environment effects on psychological distress. Children with a poor-quality material environment were more sensitive to the negative effects of a poor environment as adults, reporting significantly higher psychological distress scores. These effects were further moderated by a polygenic score of environmental sensitivity. Genetically sensitive children were more vulnerable to adversity as adults, if they had experienced a poor childhood environment but were significantly less vulnerable if their childhood environment was positive. These findings are in line with the differential susceptibility hypothesis and suggest that a life course approach is necessary to elucidate the role of Gene × Environment in the development of mental illnesses.

Global Sensitivity Analysis of Environmental Models: Convergence, Robustness and Validation

Science.gov (United States)

Sarrazin, Fanny; Pianosi, Francesca; Khorashadi Zadeh, Farkhondeh; Van Griensven, Ann; Wagener, Thorsten

2015-04-01

Global Sensitivity Analysis aims to characterize the impact that variations in model input factors (e.g. the parameters) have on the model output (e.g. simulated streamflow). In sampling-based Global Sensitivity Analysis, the sample size has to be chosen carefully in order to obtain reliable sensitivity estimates while spending computational resources efficiently. Furthermore, insensitive parameters are typically identified through the definition of a screening threshold: the theoretical value of their sensitivity index is zero but in a sampling-base framework they regularly take non-zero values. There is little guidance available for these two steps in environmental modelling though. The objective of the present study is to support modellers in making appropriate choices, regarding both sample size and screening threshold, so that a robust sensitivity analysis can be implemented. We performed sensitivity analysis for the parameters of three hydrological models with increasing level of complexity (Hymod, HBV and SWAT), and tested three widely used sensitivity analysis methods (Elementary Effect Test or method of Morris, Regional Sensitivity Analysis, and Variance-Based Sensitivity Analysis). We defined criteria based on a bootstrap approach to assess three different types of convergence: the convergence of the value of the sensitivity indices, of the ranking (the ordering among the parameters) and of the screening (the identification of the insensitive parameters). We investigated the screening threshold through the definition of a validation procedure. The results showed that full convergence of the value of the sensitivity indices is not necessarily needed to rank or to screen the model input factors. Furthermore, typical values of the sample sizes that are reported in the literature can be well below the sample sizes that actually ensure convergence of ranking and screening.

Environmental assessment for the proposed construction and operation of a Genome Sequencing Facility in Building 64 at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, Berkeley, California

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1995-04-01

This document is an Environmental Assessment (EA) for a proposed project to modify 14,900 square feet of an existing building (Building 64) at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (LBL) to operate as a Genome Sequencing Facility. This EA addresses the potential environmental impacts from the proposed modifications to Building 64 and operation of the Genome Sequencing Facility. The proposed action is to modify Building 64 to provide space and equipment allowing LBL to demonstrate that the Directed DNA Sequencing Strategy can be scaled up from the current level of 750,000 base pairs per year to a facility that produces over 6,000,000 base pairs per year, while still retaining its efficiency.

Environmentally-sound building technologies

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schmid, P.

1998-01-01

Referring to numbers of international scientific reports it arises that Sustainable Building Constructions are the only acceptable possibilities yet. The Sustainability of a construction deals with responsible choices of materials and energies as well as similar choices of production and execution.

Technological retrofit of existing buildings: dwelling quality, environmental sustainability, economic rising

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mariangela Bellomo

2011-04-01

Full Text Available Redevelopment can stand as an effective response to the converging ecological, energy and economic crises if the energy efficiency of the built heritage can be enhanced using renewable energy and innovative technologies with a low environmental impact. To this end, the Research Unit Technology and Environment, University of Naples Federico II, is undertaking a structured set of studies addressing the issue of retrofit technology of buildings in Campania put up in the second half of the 20th century to help in defining best practices for planning, design and production.

Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) Atlas: Guam - 2005 maps and geographic information systems data (NODC Accession 0033616)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The most widely used approach to sensitive environment mapping in the U.S. is NOAA's Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI). This approach systematically complies...

Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) Atlas: Hawaii - 2001, maps and geographic information systems data (NODC Accession 0033632)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The most widely used approach to sensitive environment mapping in the U.S. is NOAA's Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI). This approach systematically complies...

Papercrete brick as an alternate building material to control Environmental Pollution

Science.gov (United States)

Sudarsan, J. S.; Ramesh, S.; Jothilingam, M.; Ramasamy, Vishalatchi; Rajan, Rajitha J.

2017-07-01

Utilization of concrete in the construction industry is increasing day by day. The increasing demand for concrete in the future is the major issue, for which an alternate option is to find out at a reduced or no additional cost and to reduce the environmental impact due to increase of cement industries that are important ingredient to economic development. It turns out urgent to find out alternate for the partial replacement of concrete and cement, as natural sources of aggregates are becoming exhausted. As large quantity of paper waste is generated from different countries all over the world which causes serious environmental problems, So in this present study abandoned paper waste was used as a partial replacement material in concrete,. Study indicates that 80% of the construction cost of a building was contributed by building material and still millions of people in developing countries like India are not able to afford the cost of construction of house. This study is based on potential use of light weight composite brick as a building material and potential use of paper waste for producing at low-cost. Experimental investigation was carried out to analyse optimization of mix for papercrete bricks depending upon the water absorption, compressive strength and unit weight. Papercrete bricks were prepared out of waste paper, and quarry dust with partial replacement of cement by another industrial by-product Fly Ash in varying proportions of 25%, 40% and 55%. The properties like mechanical strength, standard quality comparisons with the conventional bricks through standard tests like hardness, soundness, fire resistance and Cost-Benefit Analysis were performed and studied. The specimens of dimension 230mm x 110mm x 80mm were subjected to 7 Days and 28 days air curing and sun drying before tests were performed on them. Based on the study it was found that for non-load bearing walls papercrete bricks are best suited.

An evaluation of the MEDALUS ESA index (environmental sensitivity to land degradation), from regional to plot scale

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lavado Contador, J. J.; Schnabel, S.; Gomez Gutierrez, A.

2009-01-01

An assessment of the sensitivity to land degradation have been carried out for the region of Extramadura, Sw Spain, by means of the modelling approach developed in the European Commission funded MEDALUS project (Mediterranean Desertification and Land Use) which identifies such areas on the basis of an index (ESA index) that incorporates data on environmental quality (climate, vegetation, soil) as well as on anthropogenic factors (management). Two maps of environmental sensitivity to degradation with different legend resolution (4 and 8 classes of sensitivity) have been made. (Author) 6 refs.

Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) Atlas: Hawaii, December 2001, 2002, Volume 1 and 2 (NODC Accession 0002828)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Currently, the most widely used approach to sensitive environment mapping in the United States is the NOAA Environmental Sensitivity Index or ESI. This approach...

Golfo de Fonseca ESI; Honduras and Nicaragua: ESI (Environmental Sensitivity Index Shoreline Types)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set comprises the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) data for Golfo de Fonseca. ESI data characterize estuarine environments and wildlife by their...

Environmental sensitivity studies for Gen-IV roadmap fast reactor scenario

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jeong, Chang Joon

2004-03-01

The environmental effect of the self-sufficient fast reactor scenario, which is considered as one of the full fissile plutonium and transuranic recycle scenario in Gen-IV roadmap, has been analyzed by using the dynamic analysis method. Through the parametric calculations for the fast reactor deployment time and capacity, the environmental effects of the fuel cycle for important parameters such as the amount of spent fuel and the combined amounts of plutonium and minor actinides were estimated and compared to those of the once-through LWR fuel cycle. The results of the sensitivity calculations showed that an early deployment of the fast reactor with a high capacity can reduce the accumulation of spent fuel by up to 37%. Furthermore, the recycling of plutonium and minor actinides can reduce the key repository parameter (long term decay heat). Therefore the favorable environmental effects can be expected with the implementation of the symbiotic fast reactor scenario

Molecular building blocks and their architecture in biologically/environmentally compatible soft matter chemical machinery.

Science.gov (United States)

Toyota, Taro; Banno, Taisuke; Nitta, Sachiko; Takinoue, Masahiro; Nomoto, Tomonori; Natsume, Yuno; Matsumura, Shuichi; Fujinami, Masanori

2014-01-01

This review briefly summarizes recent developments in the construction of biologically/environmentally compatible chemical machinery composed of soft matter. Since environmental and living systems are open systems, chemical machinery must continuously fulfill its functions not only through the influx and generation of molecules but also via the degradation and dissipation of molecules. If the degradation or dissipation of soft matter molecular building blocks and biomaterial molecules/polymers can be achieved, soft matter particles composed of them can be used to realize chemical machinery such as selfpropelled droplets, drug delivery carriers, tissue regeneration scaffolds, protocell models, cell-/tissuemarkers, and molecular computing systems.

Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) Atlas: West Peninsular Florida Volume 1 (NODC Accession 0006377)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set comprises the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps in Portable Document Format (.PDF) for the shoreline of West Peninsular Florida (to encompass...

Green buildings pay

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Naboni, Emanuele; Edwards, Brian

The new edition of ‘Green Buildings Pay’ authored by Brian Edwards and Emanuele Naboni explores the business and professional benefits which derive from architectural design driven by sustainability. With a new sub-title ‘Green Buildings Pay: design, productivity and ecology’ the book argues...... that environmental design has altered how we design, construct and manage buildings. The book has relevance to those who not only design and engineer buildings but to those who commission architecture and those who occupy the products of this process. Hence, the user is a key consideration. The book examines via...... a number of LEED and BREEAM cases the buildings which flow from corporate environmental responsibility. A number of office and university buildings are examined from three main perspectives- the architect, client and user. One key finding is that architectural innovation has been driven by ecological...

ESI-HI27 Kawaihae, Island of Hawaii, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI23 Makalawena, Island of Hawaii, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI49 Paia, Island of Maui, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI45 Lahaina, Island of Maui, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-PR67, Isla De Vieques, Puerto Rico 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI65 Ewa, Island of Oahu, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI73 Kaneohe, Island of Oahu, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI69 Waimea, Island of Oahu, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI01 Hilo, Island of Hawaii, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI33 Honokaa, Island of Hawaii, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI71 Hauula, Island of Oahu, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI82 Hanalei, Island of Kauai, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI10 Pahala, Island of Hawaii, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-VI14, Anegada U.K. Virgin Islands 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-VI11, Tortola, U.K. Virgin Islands 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI63 Waipahu, Island of Oahu, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI29 Mahukona, Island of Hawaii, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI11 Punaluu, Island of Hawaii, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI21 Kailua, Island of Hawaii, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI74 Mokapu, Island of Oahu, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI46 Napili, Island of Maui, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI17 Milolii, Island of Hawaii, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI38 Kipahulu, Island of Maui, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI67 Kaena, Island of Oahu, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI43 Maalaea, Island of Maui, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI76 Lihue, Island of Kauai, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI72 Kahana, Island of Oahu, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI06 Kalapana, Island of Hawaii, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI44 Olowalu, Island of Maui, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI19 Honaunau, Island of Hawaii, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-PR16, Central La Plata, Puerto Rico 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI66 Waianae, Island of Oahu, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI37 Hana, Island of Maui, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI47 Kahakuloa, Island of Maui, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI48 Wailuku, Island of Maui, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI68 Haleiwa, Island of Oahu, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

Corrective Action Decision Document, Area 15 Environmental Protection Agency Farm Laboratory Building, Corrective Action Unit No. 95, Revision 0

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1997-08-18

This report is the Corrective Action Decision Document (CADD) for the Nevada Test Site (NTS) Area 15 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Farm, Laboratory Building (Corrective Action Unit [CAU] No. 95), at the Nevada Test Site, Nye County, Nevada. The scope of this CADD is to identify and evaluate potential corrective action alternatives for the decommissioning and decontamination (D and D) of the Laboratory Building, which were selected based on the results of investigative activities. Based on this evaluation, a preferred corrective action alternative is recommended. Studies were conducted at the EPA Farm from 1963 to 1981 to determine the animal intake and retention of radionuclides. The main building, the Laboratory Building, has approximately 370 square meters (4,000 square feet) of operational space. Other CAUS at the EPA Farm facility that will be investigated and/or remediated through other environmental restoration subprojects are not included in this CADD, with the exception of housekeeping sites. Associated structures that do not require classification as CAUS are considered in the evaluation of corrective action alternatives for CAU 95.

Corrective Action Decision Document, Area 15 Environmental Protection Agency Farm Laboratory Building, Corrective Action Unit No. 95, Revision 0

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1997-01-01

This report is the Corrective Action Decision Document (CADD) for the Nevada Test Site (NTS) Area 15 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Farm, Laboratory Building (Corrective Action Unit [CAU] No. 95), at the Nevada Test Site, Nye County, Nevada. The scope of this CADD is to identify and evaluate potential corrective action alternatives for the decommissioning and decontamination (D and D) of the Laboratory Building, which were selected based on the results of investigative activities. Based on this evaluation, a preferred corrective action alternative is recommended. Studies were conducted at the EPA Farm from 1963 to 1981 to determine the animal intake and retention of radionuclides. The main building, the Laboratory Building, has approximately 370 square meters (4,000 square feet) of operational space. Other CAUS at the EPA Farm facility that will be investigated and/or remediated through other environmental restoration subprojects are not included in this CADD, with the exception of housekeeping sites. Associated structures that do not require classification as CAUS are considered in the evaluation of corrective action alternatives for CAU 95

High sensitivity neutron activation analysis of environmental and biological standard reference materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Greenberg, R.R.; Fleming, R.F.; Zeisler, R.

1984-01-01

Neutron activation analysis is a sensitive method with unique capabilities for the analysis of environmental and biological samples. Since it is based upon the nuclear properties of the elements, it does not suffer from many of the chemical effects that plague other methods of analysis. Analyses can be performed either with no chemical treatment of the sample (instrumentally), or with separations of the elements of interest after neutron irradiation (radiochemically). Typical examples of both types of analysis are discussed, and data obtained for a number of environmental and biological SRMs are presented. (author)

SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS OF BUILDING STRUCTURES WITHIN THE SCOPE OF ENERGY, ENVIRONMENT AND INVESTMENT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

František Kulhánek

2015-10-01

Full Text Available The primary objective of this paper is to prove the feasibility of sensitivity analysis with dominant weight method for structure parts of envelope of buildings inclusive of energy; ecological and financial assessments, and determination of different designs for same structural part via multi-criteria assessment with theoretical example designs ancillary. Multi-criteria assessment (MCA of different structural designs or in other word alternatives aims to find the best available alternative. The application of sensitivity analysis technique in this paper bases on dominant weighting method. In this research, to choose the best thermal insulation design in the case of that more than one projection, simultaneously, criteria of total thickness (T; heat transfer coefficient (U through the cross section; global warming potential (GWP; acid produce (AP; primary energy content (PEI non renewable and cost per m2 (C are investigated for all designs via sensitivity analysis. Three different designs for external wall (over soil which are convenient with regard to globally suggested energy features for passive house design are investigated through the mentioned six projections. By creating a given set of scenarios; depending upon the importance of each criterion, sensitivity analysis is distributed. As conclusion, uncertainty in the output of model is attributed to different sources in the model input. In this manner, determination of the best available design is achieved. The original outlook and the outlook afterwards the sensitivity analysis are visualized, that enables easily to choose the optimum design within the scope of verified components.

Application of radiophotoluminescence dosemeters for environmental monitoring

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mihara, A.; Tamura, T.; Mochizuki, T.; Numakunai, T.; Yoshida, Y.; Ohi, Y.

1993-01-01

Feasibility study has been made on the radiofluorescence glass (RPL) dosemeters for environmental radiation monitoring. Main items in the laboratory tests are batch uniformities of pre-dose and sensitivity, build-up characteristics of RPL intensity, energy and angular responses, stabilities for RPL reading, anneal cycling and climatic conditional changes. We have determined self-irradiation dose and cosmic ray contribution. Radiation monitoring field test for the RPL dosemeters has been conducted in comparison with the present TLD systems. A procedure manual for the environmental monitoring by the use of RPL dosemeters is in preparation

Impact of ventilation systems and energy savings in a building on the mechanisms governing the indoor radon activity concentration.

Science.gov (United States)

Collignan, Bernard; Powaga, Emilie

2017-11-23

For a given radon potential in the ground and a given building, the parameters affecting the indoor radon activity concentration (IRnAC) are indoor depressurization of a building and its air change rate. These parameters depend mainly on the building characteristics, such as airtightness, and on the nature and performances of the ventilation system. This study involves a numerical sensitivity assessment of the indoor environmental conditions on the IRnAC in buildings. A numerical ventilation model has been adapted to take into account the effects of variations in the indoor environmental conditions (depressurization and air change rate) on the radon entry rate and on the IRnAC. In the context of the development of a policy to reduce energy consumption in a building, the results obtained showed that IRnAC could be strongly affected by variations in the air permeability of the building associated with the ventilation regime. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Advanced digital I ampersand C systems in nuclear power plants: Risk- sensitivities to environmental stressors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hassan, M.; Vesely, W.E.

1996-01-01

Microprocessor-based advanced digital systems are being used for upgrading analog instrumentation and control (I ampersand C) systems in nuclear power plants (NPPs) in the United States. A concern with using such advanced systems for safety-related applications in NPPs is the limited experience with this equipment in these environments. In this study, we investigate the risk effects of environmental stressors by quantifying the plant's risk-sensitivities to them. The risk- sensitivities are changes in plant risk caused by the stressors, and are quantified by estimating their effects on I ampersand C failure occurrences and the consequent increase in risk in terms of core damage frequency (CDF). We used available data, including military and NPP operating experience, on the effects of environmental stressors on the reliability of digital I ampersand C equipment. The methods developed are applied to determine and compare risk-sensitivities to temperature, humidity, vibration, EMI (electromagnetic interference) from lightning and smoke as stressors in an example plant using a PRA (Probabilistic Risk Assessment). Uncertainties in the estimates of the stressor effects on the equipment's reliability are expressed in terms of ranges for risk-sensitivities. The results show that environmental stressors potentially can cause a significant increase in I ampersand C contributions to the CDF. Further, considerable variations can be expected in some stressor effects, depending on where the equipment is located

Building the green way.

Science.gov (United States)

Lockwood, Charles

2006-06-01

Just five or six years ago, the term "green building" evoked visions of barefoot, tie-dyed, granola-munching denizens. There's been a large shift in perception. Of course, green buildings are still known for conserving natural resources by, for example, minimizing on-site grading, using alternative materials, and recycling construction waste. But people now see the financial advantages as well. Well-designed green buildings yield lower utility costs, greater employee productivity, less absenteeism, and stronger attraction and retention of workers than standard buildings do. Green materials, mechanical systems, and furnishings have become more widely available and considerably less expensive than they used to be-often cheaper than their standard counterparts. So building green is no longer a pricey experiment; just about any company can do it on a standard budget by following the ten rules outlined by the author. Reliable building-rating systems like the U.S. Green Building Council's rigorous Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program have done much to underscore the benefits of green construction. LEED evaluates buildings and awards points in several areas, such as water efficiency and indoor environmental quality. Other rating programs include the UK's BREEAM (Building Research Establishment's Environmental Assessment Method) and Australia's Green Star. Green construction is not simply getting more respect; it is rapidly becoming a necessity as corporations push it fully into the mainstream over the next five to ten years. In fact, the author says, the owners of standard buildings face massive obsolescence. To avoid this problem, they should carry out green renovations. Corporations no longer have an excuse for eschewing environmental and economic sustainability. They have at their disposal tools proven to lower overhead costs, improve productivity, and strengthen the bottom line.

Environmental assessment in support of proposed interim energy conservation voluntary performance standards for new non-federal residential buildings: Volume 7

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1989-09-01

The objective of this environmental assessment (EA) is to identify the potential environmental impacts that could result from the proposed voluntary residential standard (VOLRES) on private sector construction of new residential buildings. In this report, the scope, objectives, and approach of this EA are presented.

Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) Atlas: Bristol Bay, Alaska, maps and geographic information systems data (NODC Accession 0033382)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The most widely used approach to sensitive environment mapping in the United States is the NOAA Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI). This approach systematically...

Final Environmental Assessment for the construction and operation of an office building at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center. Part 2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1995-08-01

The Department of Energy (DOE) has prepared an Environmental Assessment (EA), DOE/EA-1107, analyzing the environmental effects relating to the construction and operation of an office building at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC). SLAC is a national facility operated by Stanford University, California, under contract with DOE. The center is dedicated to research in elementary particle physics and in those fields that make use of its synchrotron facilities. The objective for the construction and operation of an office building is to provide adequate office space for existing SLAC Waste Management (WM) personnel, so as to centralize WM personnel and to make WM operations more efficient and effective. Based on the analyses in the EA, the DOE has determined that the proposed action does not constitute a major Federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment within the meaning of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). Therefore, the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement is not required. This report contains the Environmental Assessment, as well as the Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI)

Environmentally Sensitive Areas Surveys Program threatened and endangered species survey: Progress report. Environmental Restoration Program

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

King, A.L.; Awl, D.J.; Gabrielsen, C.A.

1994-09-01

The Endangered Species Act (originally passed in 1973) is a Federal statute that protects both animal and plant species. The Endangered Species Act identifies species which are, without careful management, in danger of becoming extinct and species that are considered threatened. Along with the designation of threatened or endangered, the Endangered Species Act provides for the identification of appropriate habitat for these species. Since 1993, the United States Department of Energy`s (DOE) Environmental Restoration (ER) Program has supported a program to survey the Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR) for threatened and endangered species. The Environmentally Sensitive Areas Surveys Program initiated vascular plant surveys during fiscal year 1993 and vertebrate animal surveys during fiscal year 1994 to determine the baseline condition of threatened and endangered species on the ORR at the present time. Data collected during these surveys are currently aiding Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) Remedial Investigations on the ORR. They also provide data for ER and Waste Management decision documents, ensure that decisions have technical and legal defensibility, provide a baseline for ensuring compliance with principal legal requirements and will increase public confidence in DOE`s adherence to all related environmental resources rules, laws, regulations, and instructions. This report discusses the progress to date of the threatened and endangered species surveys of the ORR.

The Impact of Subsidies on the Prevalence of Climate-Sensitive Residential Buildings in Malaysia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David T. Tan

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Dependence on air-conditioning (AC for residential cooling and ventilation is a health and sustainability challenge. In hot temperatures, climate-sensitive buildings (CSB can complement and/or substitute for AC usage in achieving thermal comfort. Many countries facing such conditions—particularly in tropical climates—are developing quickly, with rising populations and income creating demand for new housing and AC. This presents a window for adoption of CSB but could also result in long term lock-in of AC-dependent buildings. Here, a simple system dynamics model is used to explore the potential and limitations of subsidies to affect futures of housing stock and night-time AC usage in Malaysia. The effectiveness of subsidies in achieving high uptake of CSB and resulting health benefits is highly dependent on homebuyer willingness to pay (WTP. A detailed understanding of WTP in the Malaysian context and factors that can shift WTP is necessary to determine if CSB subsidies can be a good policy mechanism for achieving CSB uptake.

Building Evidence for Health: Green Buildings, Current Science, and Future Challenges.

Science.gov (United States)

Cedeño-Laurent, J G; Williams, A; MacNaughton, P; Cao, X; Eitland, E; Spengler, J; Allen, J

2018-04-01

Civilizational challenges have questioned the status quo of energy and material consumption by humans. From the built environment perspective, a response to these challenges was the creation of green buildings. Although the revolutionary capacity of the green building movement has elevated the expectations of new commercial construction, its rate of implementation has secluded the majority of the population from its benefits. Beyond reductions in energy usage and increases in market value, the main strength of green buildings may be the procurement of healthier building environments. Further pursuing the right to healthy indoor environments could help the green building movement to attain its full potential as a transformational public health tool. On the basis of 40 years of research on indoor environmental quality, we present a summary of nine environment elements that are foundational to human health. We posit the role of green buildings as a critical research platform within a novel sustainability framework based on social-environmental capital assets.

Contribution of Gaz de France offers to the environmental quality of buildings; Les offres de Gaz de France au service de la qualite environnementale des batiments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2003-07-01

Cegibat, the information-recommendation agency of Gaz de France for building engineering professionals, has organized this conference meeting to present the contributions of Gaz de France offers in the improvement of the environmental quality of residential and tertiary buildings: environmental quality in France and in Europe, Gaz de France and the 'high environmental quality' (HQE) approach, experience feedback: combined solar-gas systems, examples of realizations. (J.S.)

Environmental issues and solutions for exploratory drilling in sensitive areas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smith, R.M.

1995-01-01

Chevron USA Production Company (CPDN), the National Forest Service (FS) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) successfully utilized a multi-disciplinary team approach to design and implement innovative environmental solutions to drill the 8,000 foot deep, Hunter Creek exploratory well. The project was located in the Bridger-Teton National Forest, less than 20 miles from Grand Teton National Park. Acquiring permission from the FS, the BLM, and ultimately, the public to drill the Hunter Creek well involved substantial teamwork in identifying many potential, environmental pitfalls. Creative, workable and cost-effective mitigation measures employed at Hunter Creek included: utilizing a helicopter and limiting vehicle use of an existing road, conducting environmental and safety training, an erosion control and reclamation plan, designing an environmentally friendly, near-zero-discharge drilling location, initiating a water quality monitoring program to establish baseline data and to ensure protection of surface and ground water, designing a waste minimization plan, identifying threatened and endangered and special status species possibly affected by project activities, and ensuring compliance with all mitigation measures and Federal and State regulations. The Hunter Creek project successfully demonstrates that oil and gas exploration can be conducted with a soft footprint in environmentally sensitive areas if mitigation measures are front-end loaded in the project and honored by all personnel involved. Teamwork, training and communication were found to be indispensable components of achieving success at Hunter Creek

Economic and Environmental Assessment of a 1 MW Grid Connected Rooftop Solar PV System for Energy Efficient Building in Bangladesh

Science.gov (United States)

Chakraborty, Sanjib; Hosain, Rubayet; Rahman, Toufiqur; Rabbi, Ahmead Fazle

This paper evaluates the potentiality of a 1 MW grid connected rooftop solar PV system for an Energy Efficient Building in Bangladesh, which was estimated by utilizing NASA SSE solar radiation data, PVsyst simulation software and RETScreen simulation software. Economic and environmental viability for a ten-storied building with roof area of 6,500 m2 in the Capital City of Bangladesh, Dhaka was assessed by using the RETScreen simulation software. The yearly electricity production of the proposed system was 1,581 MWh estimated by PVsyst where the technical prospective of gird-connected solar PV in Bangladesh was calculated as about 50,174 MW. The economic assessments were determined the simple payback in such a way that the generated electricity first fulfills the demand of the building, and then the rest of the energy is supplied to the grid. The result indicates that the roof top solar PV system for an Energy efficient building in Dhaka city has a favorable condition for development both in economic and environmental point of view.

Sensitivity of the Early Development of Ramshorn Snail, Marisa cornuarietis (Ampullariidae) to Environmental Chemicals

OpenAIRE

Sawasdee, Banthita

2011-01-01

In this study, the suitability of the M. cornuarietis embryo toxicity test (MariETT) for environmental chemicals was investigated. The purpose of this study was to determine the sensitivity of the recently introduced M. cornuarietis embryo toxicity test (MariETT) using selected metals (inorganic pollutants) and pesticides (organic pollutants), and to compare its sensitivity and practicability to other established bioassay. The following endpoints were observed: mortality, formation of tentacl...

Environmental impacts of adobe as a building material: The north cyprus traditional building case

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A.P. Olukoya Obafemi

2016-06-01

Summarily, this paper posits that the successful fusion of traditional building materials such as Adobe and modern design construct will not only give birth to earth conscious building, but will also be energy efficient. Moreover, it will be a substitute building material the building industry can adopt at as a contributing solution to the omniscient global warming malady.

ESI-HI54 Lanai South, Island of Lanai, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI26 Puu Hinai, Island of Hawaii, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI57 Molokai Airport, Island of Molokai, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI02 Keaau Ranch, Island of Hawaii, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI28 Keawanui Bay, Island of Hawaii, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI09 Naliikakani Point, Island of Hawaii, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI60 Molokai East, Island of Molokai, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI75 Koko head, Island of Oahu, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI62 Pearl Harbor, Island of Oahu, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI94 Pearl and Hermes Atoll, NWHI, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-VI12 Beef Island, U.K. Virgin Islands 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI08 Kau Desert, Island of Hawaii, Hawaii 2001 ( Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-VI9, Peter Island, U.K. Virgin Islands 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-VI13, Virgin Gorda, U.K. Virgin Islands 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI07 Makaopuhi Crater, Island of Hawaii, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

Research on Building Urban Sustainability along the Coastal Area in China

OpenAIRE

Sun Jiaojiao; Fu Jiayan

2015-01-01

At present, in China, the research about the urban sustainability construction is still in the exploratory stage. The ecological problems of the coastal area are more sensitive and complicated. In the background of global warming with serious ecological damage, this paper deeply researches on the main characteristics of urban sustainability and measures how to build urban sustainability. Through combining regional environmental with economic ability along the coastal area...

Case study of a not-so-ordinary building - the Cowra Shire administration building ESD refurbishment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Halperin, M.; Arch, B. [Mahalath Halperin Architects Pty Ltd., Armidale (Australia). RAIA Country Division

2004-07-01

In refurbishing the Cowra Administration Building, Mahalath Halperin Architects transformed a concrete and glass building of the 1960s into an energy efficient and environmentally responsible building, yet looks to all intents and purposes like an 'ordinary building'. To some, it is simply a newer, nicer building with bright colours, open spaces and a pleasant work environment. But whilst not necessarily being outwardly different in issues of being a 'green building', the resultant building shows that there are many small yet easily achievable ways to be green. That it is not hard, and is in fact beneficial, to reduce energy consumption and overheads, take advantage of the sun (despite its poor orientation) and take on environmental responsibility. (orig.)

Researching Complex Heat, Air and Moisture Interactions for a Wide-Range of Building Envelope Systems and Environmental Loads

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Karagiozis, A.N.

2007-05-15

This document serves as the final report documenting work completed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and the Fraunhofer Institute in Building Physics (Holzkirchen, Germany) under an international CRADA No. 0575 with Fraunhofer Institute of Bauphysics of the Federal Republic of Germany for Researching Complex Heat, Air and Moisture Interactions for a Wide Range of Building Envelope Systems and Environmental Loads. This CRADA required a multi-faceted approach to building envelope research that included a moisture engineering approach by blending extensive material property analysis, laboratory system and sub-system thermal and moisture testing, and advanced moisture analysis prediction performance. The Participant's Institute for Building physics (IBP) and the Contractor's Buildings Technology Center (BTC) identified potential research projects and activities capable of accelerating and advancing the development of innovative, low energy and durable building envelope systems in diverse climates. This allowed a major leverage of the limited resources available to ORNL to execute the required Department of Energy (DOE) directives in the area of moisture engineering. A joint working group (ORNL and Fraunhofer IBP) was assembled and a research plan was executed from May 2000 to May 2005. A number of key deliverables were produced such as adoption of North American loading into the WUFI-software. in addition the ORNL Weather File Analyzer was created and this has been used to address environmental loading for a variety of US climates. At least 4 papers have been co-written with the CRADA partners, and a chapter in the ASTM Manual 40 on Moisture Analysis and Condensation Control. All deliverables and goals were met and exceeded making this collaboration a success to all parties involves.

Modeling the Sensitivity of Field Surveys for Detection of Environmental DNA (eDNA.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martin T Schultz

Full Text Available The environmental DNA (eDNA method is the practice of collecting environmental samples and analyzing them for the presence of a genetic marker specific to a target species. Little is known about the sensitivity of the eDNA method. Sensitivity is the probability that the target marker will be detected if it is present in the water body. Methods and tools are needed to assess the sensitivity of sampling protocols, design eDNA surveys, and interpret survey results. In this study, the sensitivity of the eDNA method is modeled as a function of ambient target marker concentration. The model accounts for five steps of sample collection and analysis, including: 1 collection of a filtered water sample from the source; 2 extraction of DNA from the filter and isolation in a purified elution; 3 removal of aliquots from the elution for use in the polymerase chain reaction (PCR assay; 4 PCR; and 5 genetic sequencing. The model is applicable to any target species. For demonstration purposes, the model is parameterized for bighead carp (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis and silver carp (H. molitrix assuming sampling protocols used in the Chicago Area Waterway System (CAWS. Simulation results show that eDNA surveys have a high false negative rate at low concentrations of the genetic marker. This is attributed to processing of water samples and division of the extraction elution in preparation for the PCR assay. Increases in field survey sensitivity can be achieved by increasing sample volume, sample number, and PCR replicates. Increasing sample volume yields the greatest increase in sensitivity. It is recommended that investigators estimate and communicate the sensitivity of eDNA surveys to help facilitate interpretation of eDNA survey results. In the absence of such information, it is difficult to evaluate the results of surveys in which no water samples test positive for the target marker. It is also recommended that invasive species managers articulate concentration

An Investigation into the Environmental Sensitivity and Awareness Level-A Case Study of Sarayönü District, Konya

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Muhammed Kamil Öden

2015-10-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study is to determine the environmental sensitivity and awareness level of the inhabitants in Konya, Sarayönü districts. In today’s world, the environment is rapidly being polluted and pollution rate is being increased by human beings. In this regards, the viewpoints of Sarayönü people on the environment and environmental elements are revealed. For this purpose, a research include variables such as gender, age, job and education level was carried out by using a questionnaire made up of 16 questions. The questionnaire was applied to 314 males and 286 females, totaling 600 participants. The research serves to raise an awareness of environment and environmental sensitivity. The findings showed that the people in Sarayönü have a high level of environmental sensitivity. Females tended to reflect a higher level of sensivitiy to the environment than males. The participants opted for air pollution as being the most important environmental element among the air, water, soil etc. pollution.

Indoor Environmental Quality in Mechanically Ventilated, Energy-Efficient Buildings vs. Conventional Buildings.

Science.gov (United States)

Wallner, Peter; Munoz, Ute; Tappler, Peter; Wanka, Anna; Kundi, Michael; Shelton, Janie F; Hutter, Hans-Peter

2015-11-06

Energy-efficient buildings need mechanical ventilation. However, there are concerns that inadequate mechanical ventilation may lead to impaired indoor air quality. Using a semi-experimental field study, we investigated if exposure of occupants of two types of buildings (mechanical vs. natural ventilation) differs with regard to indoor air pollutants and climate factors. We investigated living and bedrooms in 123 buildings (62 highly energy-efficient and 61 conventional buildings) built in the years 2010 to 2012 in Austria (mainly Vienna and Lower Austria). Measurements of indoor parameters (climate, chemical pollutants and biological contaminants) were conducted twice. In total, more than 3000 measurements were performed. Almost all indoor air quality and room climate parameters showed significantly better results in mechanically ventilated homes compared to those relying on ventilation from open windows and/or doors. This study does not support the hypothesis that occupants in mechanically ventilated low energy houses are exposed to lower indoor air quality.

Indoor environmental quality differences between office types in LEED-certified buildings in the US

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Young S. [School of Planning, Design, and Construction, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48823 (United States); Guerin, Denise A. [College of Design, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, MN 55108 (United States)

2010-05-15

The study compared IAQ, thermal quality, and lighting quality between 5 different office types in LEED-certified buildings in relation to employees' environmental satisfaction and their job performance. This was to provide workplaces where workers in each specific office environment could be provided with appropriate office settings regarding these IEQ criteria when organizations comply with LEED standards. The five types of office included private enclosed, private shared, open-plan with high cubicle over 5', open-plan with low cubicle lower than 5', and open-plan with no partitions (bullpen) offices. The study found IAQ enhanced workers' job performance in enclosed private offices more than both high cubicles and low cubicles. All four office types had higher satisfaction with the amount of light and visual comfort of light as well as more enhancement with job performance due to lighting quality than high cubicles. There was no difference in thermal quality between the five office types. IAQ and lighting quality were not different between enclosed private, enclosed shared, and bullpen office types, either. The study findings suggest a careful workplace design considering the height of partitions in LEED-certified buildings to improve employee's environmental satisfaction and job performance. (author)

Proceedings of the workshop on the dynamic response of environmental control processes in buildings, Lafayette, Indiana, March 13-15, 1979

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tree, D.R.; McBride, M.F. (eds.)

1979-01-01

The purpose of this workshop was to consider how energy use in buildings can be reduced while maintaining the comfort of the occupants. It was postulated that optimization of energy use in buildings can be achieved through the use of operating strategies which consider the dynamic characteristics of comfort, the design and construction of the building, and the environmental control system. Working sessions were presented on equipment, controls, structures, human factors, circulation/distribution, design, operation and use pattern, management and codes, and energy storage. (LCL)

Green building challenge 2002 in Canada : an overview

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2002-02-01

The Green Building Challenge (GBC) in Canada was launched to help the building community meet environmental challenges and improve the environmental performance of buildings. Tools have been made available to the building industry to make informed environmental choices during the conception design stage of a project. The tools help architects, researchers and policy analysts in choosing material mixes and other design options that will minimize a building's potential life cycle environmental impacts and promote sustainable development. Green buildings involve the complete structure and envelope, including cladding, insulation, gypsum wall board, roofing and windows. The type of building and its location is also considered. Long term sustainability also considers energy use and emissions related to a building's energy system. This presentation described the following 3 projects which were selected for assessment in the GBC-2002: (1) the Mayo School in Mayo, Yukon Territory, (2) the Jackson-Triggs Winery in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, and (3) the Red River College in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The GBC-2002 Canadian Team nominated them as the best buildings being designed in Canada.10 figs.

Assessment Framework of Building Facade in Optimizing Indoor Thermal Comfort of Green Building Index (GBI Certified Office Building

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abdul Tharim Asniza Hamimi

2016-01-01

Full Text Available During the past decade, the construction industry has seen a new trend in the development of “green” or “sustainable” construction concept around the world with vast support from prominent organization, together with the introduction of sustainable building codes. The establishment of green building certification systems worldwide is seen as one of the most efforts in the emerging green building movement. In order to support the development of the “green” and “sustainable” concept in Malaysia, Green Building Index (GBI was launched by the government on 21 May 2009 that created to promote sustainability in the built environment and raise awareness of environmental issues. However, the construction industry seems to have focused only on findings the “right mechanism” for an environmentally sustainable “final result” in order for the building to be certified as green with the lacking of continuous assessment on the building performance after the certifications. This study is purposely conducted to investigate the performance of various rated Green Building Index (GBI Non-Residential New Construction office buildings and the influence on Indoor Thermal Comfort (ITC of the selected buildings. The aim is to develop an assessment framework for optimum green building architectural façade to be used for office buildings in Malaysia as well as to analyse the occupants’ perception, satisfaction and performance in the selected Green Building Index (GBI rated office indoor environment. This research is still in its infancy; therefore the paper is focused on research aims, research scope and methodology, and expected deliverables for the proposed research.

Convex Programming and Bootstrap Sensitivity for Optimized Electricity Bill in Healthcare Buildings under a Time-Of-Use Pricing Scheme

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rodolfo Gordillo-Orquera

2018-06-01

Full Text Available Efficient energy management is strongly dependent on determining the adequate power contracts among the ones offered by different electricity suppliers. This topic takes special relevance in healthcare buildings, where noticeable amounts of energy are required to generate an adequate health environment for patients and staff. In this paper, a convex optimization method is scrutinized to give a straightforward analysis of the optimal power levels to be contracted while minimizing the electricity bill cost in a time-of-use pricing scheme. In addition, a sensitivity analysis is carried out on the constraints in the optimization problems, which are analyzed in terms of both their empirical distribution and their bootstrap-estimated statistical distributions to create a simple-to-use tool for this purpose, the so-called mosaic-distribution. The evaluation of the proposed method was carried out with five-year consumption data on two different kinds of healthcare buildings, a large one given by Hospital Universitario de Fuenlabrada, and a primary care center, Centro de Especialidades el Arroyo, both located at Fuenlabrada (Madrid, Spain. The analysis of the resulting optimization shows that the annual savings achieved vary moderately, ranging from −0.22 % to +27.39%, depending on the analyzed year profile and the healthcare building type. The analysis introducing mosaic-distribution to represent the sensitivity score also provides operative information to evaluate the convenience of implementing energy saving measures. All this information is useful for managers to determine the appropriate power levels for next year contract renewal and to consider whether to implement demand response mechanisms in healthcare buildings.

Radon as an environmental risk: concentration measurements in family buildings at Cordoba city

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bonzi, A.; Murua, C.; Martin, H.R.

1992-01-01

Measurements of radon concentration at homes are usual activities in the last years at the countries with uranium in their soils. On the other hand, the man's radiological protection about radiation is related to the environmental actions for a healthy life, but not much known for a public. The great quantities of ore with uranium can be an important source of irradiation when they are used as building materials. The soils are important too for the emanations of radon in the interior of buildings and for these reasons, the radon concentration measurements in Cordoba familiar houses were implemented in the summer of 1991. The Alpha Track Technique and the results obtained indicate the need of other measurements and a winter measurement for investigation variations of radon concentration. The typical values measured were low, about 4.13 Bq/m 3 if they are compared with other Argentine values measured. This paper discusses the procedure, techniques and criteria used in the work held in Cordoba city, Argentina. (Author)

Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) Atlas: Georgia, maps and geographic information systems data (NODC Accession 0013780)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set comprises the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps for the shoreline of Georgia. ESI data characterize estuarine environments and wildlife by...

Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) Atlas: Kodiak, maps and geographic information systems data (NODC Accession 0026418)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set comprises the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps for the shoreline of Kodiak Island and Shelikof Strait, Alaska. ESI data characterize...

U.S. Virgin Islands and British Virgin Islands ESI: ESI (Environmental Sensitivity Index Shoreline Types)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set comprises the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) data for the Virgin Islands. ESI data characterize estuarine environments and wildlife by their...

Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) Atlas: Mississippi, maps and geographic information systems data (NODC Accession 0013801)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set comprises the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps for the shoreline of Mississippi. ESI data characterize coastal environments and wildlife by...

Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) Atlas: Louisiana maps and geographic information systems data (NODC Accession 0013802)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set comprises the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps for the shoreline of Louisiana. ESI data characterize estuarine environments and wildlife by...

Effect of UV on building materials in New Zealand

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bennett, A.F.

1993-01-01

Building materials can be divided into two main classes; organic or polymeric based and inorganic materials. Inorganic materials are in most cases largely unaffected by UV radiation. Many common polymers have bonds sensitive to radiation in the UV region. Absorption of radiation of these wavelengths will lead to excitation of electrons which can lead to isomerisation, chain scissors, cross linking and free radical formation. It is worth noting that the effects of UV radiation are always acting synergistically with other environmental effects. (author). 4 refs., 2 tabs

Influence of interaction of environmental risk factors and sensitization in young asthmatic children.

Science.gov (United States)

Lindfors, A; van Hage-Hamsten, M; Rietz, H; Wickman, M; Nordvall, S L

1999-10-01

The increasing prevalence of asthma and allergy in many countries demands evaluation of potential risk factors to improve the possibility of prevention. We studied the association between exposure to cat and dog allergen and allergic sensitization in young children with asthma and interactions with potential environmental risk factors. One hundred eighty-nine young children with asthma were evaluated. IgE antibodies to cat and dog were analyzed. Questionnaires were filled in focusing on exposure to cats and dogs, environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), and signs of home dampness as indicated by window pane condensation (WPC) during the first years of life. House dust was analyzed for content of cat (Fel d 1) and dog (Can f 1) allergen. There was a strong association between the degree of reported exposure to cat and dog and the concentration of the respective allergens in floor dust. A dose-response relationship was found between cat exposure, measured as either reported degree of cat exposure or cat allergen levels in dust, and sensitization both to cat and dog. No such relationship was found between exposure and sensitization to dog. WPC increased the risk for sensitization to cat (odds ratio = 2.6, 95% confidence interval 1.2-5.8), whereas ETS strongly tended to do so both to cat and dog. Interaction was found between exposure to ETS, WPC, and high levels of cat allergen (>8 microg/g dust). The presence of all 3 risk factors revealed a multiplicative interaction with a high risk of sensitization to cat (odds ratio = 42.0, 95% confidence interval 3.7-472.8). Keeping cats indoors may be a health hazard for infants and young children at risk for development of asthma, particularly when they live in a damp house and their parents smoke.

Environmental sensitive road planning and transportation techniques in forest engineering

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H. Hulusi Acar

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Forestry management has activities dealing with technical, economic, social and environmental services. Forestry operations which are carried out on forest areas , an important part of the ecosistem are materialized in open space. This forestry activities on large areas and high sloping generally, include many different techniques. It is needed primarily to the forest road network in terms of forest management. Determining the approriate route in the natural environment, planning and road construction affairs for forest roads which are necessary accessing in forest areas, is also of great importance from an environmental viewpoint as well as technical and economic manner. Forest road planning which can not be changed later and left a permanent mark on the natural environment carries much more importance to the environment especially on sloping land. This is because, it is important choosing correct type of roaf structure, and doing periodic maintenance of the roads. Skidding activities, after wood production, is important in terms of its impact on forest soil and by means of effects on saplings and trees on the releated forest areas.The development of environmental sensitive techniques is difficult, limited or expensive for this wood extraction works which are made more difficult conditons in the sloping terrain. Therefore, especially in using some silvicultural methods wood extraction damages are even greater. In this study; some road planning, road construction and wood extraction techniques which performed by me have been made to examine the environmental aspects. Environment-friendly forest roads and primary transport techniques on the forest ecosystem are briefly explained and discussed in the frame of the environmental aspects.

INL High Performance Building Strategy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jennifer D. Morton

2010-02-01

High performance buildings, also known as sustainable buildings and green buildings, are resource efficient structures that minimize the impact on the environment by using less energy and water, reduce solid waste and pollutants, and limit the depletion of natural resources while also providing a thermally and visually comfortable working environment that increases productivity for building occupants. As Idaho National Laboratory (INL) becomes the nation’s premier nuclear energy research laboratory, the physical infrastructure will be established to help accomplish this mission. This infrastructure, particularly the buildings, should incorporate high performance sustainable design features in order to be environmentally responsible and reflect an image of progressiveness and innovation to the public and prospective employees. Additionally, INL is a large consumer of energy that contributes to both carbon emissions and resource inefficiency. In the current climate of rising energy prices and political pressure for carbon reduction, this guide will help new construction project teams to design facilities that are sustainable and reduce energy costs, thereby reducing carbon emissions. With these concerns in mind, the recommendations described in the INL High Performance Building Strategy (previously called the INL Green Building Strategy) are intended to form the INL foundation for high performance building standards. This revised strategy incorporates the latest federal and DOE orders (Executive Order [EO] 13514, “Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy, and Economic Performance” [2009], EO 13423, “Strengthening Federal Environmental, Energy, and Transportation Management” [2007], and DOE Order 430.2B, “Departmental Energy, Renewable Energy, and Transportation Management” [2008]), the latest guidelines, trends, and observations in high performance building construction, and the latest changes to the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design

The concept of Dessak: development of environmental decision support for radio-ecologically sensitive areas in Kuwait

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shuhaibar, B.; Jakes, J. [Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (Kuwait); Semioshkina, N. [Helmholtz-Zentrum Muenchen - HMGU (Germany); Voigt, G. [International Atomic Energy Agency (International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA))

2014-07-01

The Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR) is implementing the 'Nuclear Program for Peaceful Applications (NPPA)', a research program focused on supporting the promotion of applications in nuclear techniques and methods in various sectors and industries of Kuwait. One of the components of this program is the establishment of research and training facilities to support the protection of the population and the environment and to reduce the risk of harmful exposures. One major component of the NPPA it the development of an environmental decision support system (EDSS) for radio-ecologically sensitive areas in Kuwait (DESSAK). The aim of this project is to be able to integrate information in a spatial and temporal resolution which will then be combined with radioecological transfer models. This allows for the identification of critical pathways to protect the environment and humans from unexpectedly elevated and routine releases of radioactivity during the operation of a nuclear power plant, research reactor or any other nuclear application. The sensitivity of the Arabian Gulf region, with its very special marine and terrestrial environmental conditions, is a driving force to keep balance between the industrial use and the preservation of nature for a sustainable development and exploitation of natural resources. This specifically applies to regions where in the past no nuclear activities have been conducted e.g. Kuwait, and which are now considered for any activity involving the nuclear fuel cycle. The situation in Kuwait specifically is to be considered as challenging: with the introduction of nuclear activities which might include the building of a Neutron Generating Facility (NGF), the necessary measures need to be established e.g. the legal and administrative formalities for nuclear safety and security, the human and administrative capabilities and capacities, and so on. In addition, a number of neighbouring or regional countries have already

ESI-HI42 Puu O Kali, Island of Maui, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) Atlas: Virginia, maps and geographic information systems data (NODC Accession 0014794)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set comprises the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) data for Virginia from 1998 to 2004 (vs. 2 GDB). ESI data characterize estuarine environments and...

ESI-VI6, Eastern St Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-PR1 Isla Mona and Isla Desecheo, Puerto Rico 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-VI10 Jost Van Dyke, U.K. Virgin Islands 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-VI5, Central St Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-VI4 Western St.Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-VI7, Western St John, U.S. Virgin Islands 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-VI2, Christiansted, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-V1 Frederiksted, St. Croix., U.S. Virgin Islands 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

The exploitation of biomass for building space heating in Greece: Energy, environmental and economic considerations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Michopoulos, A.; Skoulou, V.; Voulgari, V.; Tsikaloudaki, A.; Kyriakis, N.A.

2014-01-01

Highlights: • The oil substitution with biomass residues for heating buildings is examined. • Primary energy consumption from biomass results increased by 3–4% as compared to diesel oil. • CO 2 and SO 2 emissions are significantly higher with biomass than with diesel oil. • The examined substitution is economically attractive for the final consumers. - Abstract: The exploitation of forest and agricultural biomass residues for energy production may offer significant advantages to the energy policy of the relevant country, but it strongly depends on a number of financial, technological and political factors. The work in hand focuses on the investigation of the energy, environmental and financial benefits, resulting from the exploitation of forest and agricultural biomass residues, fully substituting the conventional fuel (diesel oil) for building space heating in Greece. For this investigation, the energy needs of a representative building are determined using the EnergyPlus software, assuming that the building is located across the various climate zones of Greece. Based on the resulting thermal energy needs, the primary energy consumption and the corresponding emissions are determined, while an elementary fiscal analysis is also performed. The results show that significant financial benefits for the end-user are associated with the substitution examined, even though increased emissions and primary energy consumption have been derived

Gulf-Wide Information System, Environmental Sensitivity Index Polygons, Geographic NAD83, LDWF (2001) [esip_LDWF_2001

Data.gov (United States)

Louisiana Geographic Information Center — This data set contains polygons representing the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) classification of coastal Louisiana. The ESI is a classification and ranking...

Energy and Environmental Research in the Building Area; Forschen und Bauen im Kontext von Energie und Umwelt

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Binz, A. [Fachhochschule Nordwestschweiz (HABG-IEB), Muttenz (Switzerland); Chianese, D. [Scuola Universitaria Professionale della Svizzera Italiana, Dipartimento Ambiente Costruzioni e Design, Instituto di Sostenibilita Applicata all' Ambiente Costruito (SUPSI-DACD-ISAAC), Canobbio (Switzerland); Filleux, Ch. [Basler und Hofmann, Zuerich (Switzerland); Gaegauf, Ch. [Oekozentrum Langenbruck, Langenbruck (Switzerland); Gugerli, H. [Amt fuer Hochbauten der Stadt Zuerich, Zuerich (Switzerland); Menti, U.-P. [Hochschule Luzern, Technik und Architektur, Horw (Switzerland); Rommel, M. [Hochschule fuer Technik, Institut fuer Solartechnik (SPF), Rapperswil (Switzerland); Schwehr, P. [brenet, building and renewable energies network of technology, HTA Luzern, Horw (Switzerland); Zimmermann, M. [Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research (EMPA), Duebendorf (Switzerland)

2010-07-01

These proceedings of the 16{sup th} Swiss Status Seminar held in September 2010 at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology ETH in Zurich, Switzerland, present a comprehensive overview of the two-day event on Swiss energy and environmental topics in the building area. A total of 55 lectures in ten sessions covered architectural and building topics. The main lectures at the beginning of the seminar covered models for sustainable city development, building for the 2000-watt society and design principles. Also the 'Tropical House' project, the 'Self' autonomous house, the new Monte Rosa mountaineers hut and the Swiss Village project in Masdar were presented. The presentations were divided into nine thematic areas: The house as a 'power station', building renewal, energy management, heat pumps, processes, innovative building and renovation, city districts, building technologies, ventilation and the building as a system. Twenty poster contributions completed the seminar. Themes addressed in the 'house as a power station' set looked at the local generation of power, buildings that generate or even export energy and low-energy consumption buildings. Building renewal topics discussed included grey energy and legal topics, energy management contributions dealt with control, hot water preparation and energy efficiency. The heat pump section dealt with theory and practice of heating and cooling, multi-functional and low-exergy systems and related calculation aids. The processes section included contributions on infra-red analysis, solar-assisted systems, modelling, eco-balances and the City of Zurich's resource strategy for mineral building materials. Innovative building and renovation topics included renovation with prefabricated elements, integrated photovoltaic modules, retrofits as well as financing topics. The topics covered in the district development set included contributions on sustainable (re-)development, the 2000-watt

Indoor Environmental Risk Factors for Occupant Symptoms in 100U.S. Office Buildings: Summary of Three Analyses from the EPA BASEStudy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mendell, M.J.; Lei-Gomez, Q.; Cozen, M.; Brightman, H.S.; Apte,M.; Erdmann, C.A.; Brunner, G.; Girman, J.R.

2006-02-01

This paper summarizes three analyses of data on building-related environmental factors and occupant symptoms collected from 100 representative large U.S. office buildings. Using multivariate logistic regression models, we found increased occupant symptoms associated with a number of building-related factors, including lower ventilation rates even at the current guideline levels, lack of scheduled cleaning for air-conditioning drain pans and cooling coils, poor condition of cooling coils, poorly maintained humidification systems, and lower outdoor air intake height. Some expected relationships were not found, and several findings were opposite of expected. Although requiring replication, these findings suggest preventive actions to reduce occupant symptoms in office buildings.

Building Green: The Adoption Process of LEED- and Energy Star-Rated Office Buildings

Science.gov (United States)

Malkani, Arvin P.

2012-01-01

There are opportunities for green building technology in office buildings to produce energy savings and cost efficiencies that can produce a positive economic and environmental impact. In order for these opportunities to be realized, however, decision makers must appreciate the value of green building technology. The objective of this research is…

Investigating the presence of hazardous materials in buildings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gustitus, D.A.; Blaisdell, P.M.

1996-01-01

Environmental hazards in buildings can be found in the air, on exposed surfaces, or hidden in roofs, walls, and systems. They can exist in buildings in solid, liquid, and gaseous states. A sound methodology for investigating the presence of environmental hazards in buildings should include several components. The first step in planning an investigation of environmental hazards in buildings is to ascertain why the investigation is to be performed. Research should be performed to review available documentation on the building. Next, a visual inspection of the building should be performed to identify and document existing conditions, and all suspect materials containing environmental hazards. Lastly, samples of suspect materials should be collected for testing. It is important to sample appropriate materials, based on the information obtained during the previous steps of the investigation. It is also important to collect the samples using standard procedures. Pollutants of concern include asbestos, lead, PCBs, and radon

Solar energy in buildings solved by building information modeling

Science.gov (United States)

Chudikova, B.; Faltejsek, M.

2018-03-01

Building lead us to use renewable energy sources for all types of buildings. The use of solar energy is the alternatives that can be applied in a good ratio of space, price, and resultant benefits. Building Information Modelling is a modern and effective way of dealing with buildings with regard to all aspects of the life cycle. The basis is careful planning and simulation in the pre-investment phase, where it is possible to determine the effective result and influence the lifetime of the building and the cost of its operation. By simulating, analysing and insert a building model into its future environment where climate conditions and surrounding buildings play a role, it is possible to predict the usability of the solar energy and establish an ideal model. Solar systems also very affect the internal layout of buildings. Pre-investment phase analysis, with a view to future aspects, will ensure that the resulting building will be both low-energy and environmentally friendly.

Sustainable Buildings: An Ever Evolving Target

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guillermo Quesada

2011-02-01

Full Text Available Environmental considerations have called for new developments in building technologies to bridge the gap between this need for lower impacts on the environment and ever increasing comfort. These developments were generally directed at the reduction of the energy consumption during operations. While this was indeed a mandatory first step, complete environmental life cycle analysis raises new questions. For instance, for a typical low thermal energy consumption building, the embodied energy of construction materials now becomes an important component of the environmental footprint. In addition, the usual practice in life cycle analysis now appears to call for some adaptation—due to variable parameters in time—to be implemented successfully in building analysis. These issues bring new challenges to reach the goal of integrated design, construction, commissioning, operation, maintenance, and decommissioning of sustainable buildings.

Evaluating national environmental sustainability: performance measures and influential factors for OECD-member countries featuring Canadian performance and policy implications

OpenAIRE

Calbick, Kenneth Stuart

2011-01-01

This research reviews five studies that evaluate national environmental sustainability with composite indices; performs uncertainty and sensitivity analyses of techniques for building a composite index; completes principal components factor analysis to help build subindices measuring waste and pollution, sustainable energy, sustainable food, nature conservation, and sustainable cities (Due to its current importance, the greenhouse gases (GHG) indicator is included individually as another poli...

A managed approach to achieve a safe, cost effective, and environmentally sound demolition of a plutonium-238 contaminated building

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jaeger, Ralph R.; Geichman, Jack R.; Keener, Douglas E.; Farmer, Billy M.

1992-01-01

DOE's Mound Plant has the problem of demolishing a former plutonium-238 processing facility, the Special Metallurgical (SM) Building. The building is located within 200 feet of a major public road and golf course. Previous removal efforts on appendages to the building used the technique of tenting small segments and used labor intensive segment-by-segment removal with expendable hand tools. This approach was very slow and costly, but offered good environmental control of radioactive contamination. It was realized that this method, when applied to the entire structure of the building, would not only be very costly, but would also be of high risk to worker safety and worker exposure to contamination. The new approach to overcome these problems is to dismantle the building structure using a rotating grapple to hold sections of the building structure while a portable rotating shear cuts the steel beams into appropriate lengths for loading directly into large waste containers. By the former method, the cut jagged steel would be size reduced with hand tools and loaded into waste containers manually. The additional handling has a high probability of producing minor, yet potentially contaminated, skin lacerations. The shear and grapple method eliminates this hazard. To apply this safer and more cost effective technology, Mound had to assure that the method would be environmentally sound and that neither onsite workers or the general public would be exposed to radioactivity. The Annex was decontaminated to as low as reasonably possible and the contaminated interior painted. However, there were numerous areas where contamination could be trapped. Mound conducted a formal sampling of these areas and had the results modeled for potential release during demolition. The results of this sampling and modeling effort showed that the building could be dismantled using this technology without producing a harmful effect on the environment. Application of this managed approach to the

Calculation of Environmental Conditions in NEK Intermediate Building Following HELB

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grgic, D.; Spalj, S.; Basic, I.

1998-01-01

The purpose of Equipment Qualification (EQ) in nuclear power plants is to ensure the capability of safety related equipment to perform its function on demand under postulated service conditions, including harsh accident environment (e.g. Loss of Coolant Accident - LOCA, High Energy Line Break - HELB). The determination of the EQ conditions and zones is one of the basic steps in the frame of the overall EQ project. The EQ parameters (temperature, pressure, relative humidity, chemical spray, submergence, radiation) should be defined for all locations of the plant containing equipment important to safety. This paper presents the calculation of thermohydraulic environmental parameters (pressure and temperature) inside Intermediate Building (IB) of Krsko NPP after the postulated HELB. The RELAP5/mod2 computer code was used for the determination of HELB mass and energy release and computer code GOTHIC was used to calculate pressure and temperature profiles inside NPP Krsko IB. (author)

Sensitivity analysis of specific activity model parameters for environmental transport of 3H and dose assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rout, S.; Mishra, D.G.; Ravi, P.M.; Tripathi, R.M.

2016-01-01

Tritium is one of the radionuclides likely to get released to the environment from Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors. Environmental models are extensively used to quantify the complex environmental transport processes of radionuclides and also to assess the impact to the environment. Model parameters exerting the significant influence on model results are identified through a sensitivity analysis (SA). SA is the study of how the variation (uncertainty) in the output of a mathematical model can be apportioned, qualitatively or quantitatively, to different sources of variation in the input parameters. This study was designed to identify the sensitive model parameters of specific activity model (TRS 1616, IAEA) for environmental transfer of 3 H following release to air and then to vegetation and animal products. Model includes parameters such as air to soil transfer factor (CRs), Tissue Free Water 3 H to Organically Bound 3 H ratio (Rp), Relative humidity (RH), WCP (fractional water content) and WEQp (water equivalent factor) any change in these parameters leads to change in 3 H level in vegetation and animal products consequently change in dose due to ingestion. All these parameters are function of climate and/or plant which change with time, space and species. Estimation of these parameters at every time is a time consuming and also required sophisticated instrumentation. Therefore it is necessary to identify the sensitive parameters and freeze the values of least sensitive parameters at constant values for more accurate estimation of 3 H dose in short time for routine assessment

Estimation of the sensitivity of various environmental sampling methods for detection of Salmonella in duck flocks.

Science.gov (United States)

Arnold, Mark E; Mueller-Doblies, Doris; Gosling, Rebecca J; Martelli, Francesca; Davies, Robert H

2015-01-01

Reports of Salmonella in ducks in the UK currently rely upon voluntary submissions from the industry, and as there is no harmonized statutory monitoring and control programme, it is difficult to compare data from different years in order to evaluate any trends in Salmonella prevalence in relation to sampling methodology. Therefore, the aim of this project was to assess the sensitivity of a selection of environmental sampling methods, including the sampling of faeces, dust and water troughs or bowls for the detection of Salmonella in duck flocks, and a range of sampling methods were applied to 67 duck flocks. Bayesian methods in the absence of a gold standard were used to provide estimates of the sensitivity of each of the sampling methods relative to the within-flock prevalence. There was a large influence of the within-flock prevalence on the sensitivity of all sample types, with sensitivity reducing as the within-flock prevalence reduced. Boot swabs (individual and pool of four), swabs of faecally contaminated areas and whole house hand-held fabric swabs showed the overall highest sensitivity for low-prevalence flocks and are recommended for use to detect Salmonella in duck flocks. The sample type with the highest proportion positive was a pool of four hair nets used as boot swabs, but this was not the most sensitive sample for low-prevalence flocks. All the environmental sampling types (faeces swabs, litter pinches, drag swabs, water trough samples and dust) had higher sensitivity than individual faeces sampling. None of the methods consistently identified all the positive flocks, and at least 10 samples would be required for even the most sensitive method (pool of four boot swabs) to detect a 5% prevalence. The sampling of dust had a low sensitivity and is not recommended for ducks.

Modelling Socio-Environmental Sensitivities: How Public Responses to Low Carbon Energy Technologies Could Shape the UK Energy System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Brighid Moran Jay

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Low carbon energy technologies are not deployed in a social vacuum; there are a variety of complex ways in which people understand and engage with these technologies and the changing energy system overall. However, the role of the public’s socio-environmental sensitivities to low carbon energy technologies and their responses to energy deployments does not receive much serious attention in planning decarbonisation pathways to 2050. Resistance to certain resources and technologies based on particular socio-environmental sensitivities would alter the portfolio of options available which could shape how the energy system achieves decarbonisation (the decarbonisation pathway as well as affecting the cost and achievability of decarbonisation. Thus, this paper presents a series of three modelled scenarios which illustrate the way that a variety of socio-environmental sensitivities could impact the development of the energy system and the decarbonisation pathway. The scenarios represent risk aversion (DREAD which avoids deployment of potentially unsafe large-scale technology, local protectionism (NIMBY that constrains systems to their existing spatial footprint, and environmental awareness (ECO where protection of natural resources is paramount. Very different solutions for all three sets of constraints are identified; some seem slightly implausible (DREAD and all show increased cost (especially in ECO.

Modelling socio-environmental sensitivities: how public responses to low carbon energy technologies could shape the UK energy system.

Science.gov (United States)

Moran Jay, Brighid; Howard, David; Hughes, Nick; Whitaker, Jeanette; Anandarajah, Gabrial

2014-01-01

Low carbon energy technologies are not deployed in a social vacuum; there are a variety of complex ways in which people understand and engage with these technologies and the changing energy system overall. However, the role of the public's socio-environmental sensitivities to low carbon energy technologies and their responses to energy deployments does not receive much serious attention in planning decarbonisation pathways to 2050. Resistance to certain resources and technologies based on particular socio-environmental sensitivities would alter the portfolio of options available which could shape how the energy system achieves decarbonisation (the decarbonisation pathway) as well as affecting the cost and achievability of decarbonisation. Thus, this paper presents a series of three modelled scenarios which illustrate the way that a variety of socio-environmental sensitivities could impact the development of the energy system and the decarbonisation pathway. The scenarios represent risk aversion (DREAD) which avoids deployment of potentially unsafe large-scale technology, local protectionism (NIMBY) that constrains systems to their existing spatial footprint, and environmental awareness (ECO) where protection of natural resources is paramount. Very different solutions for all three sets of constraints are identified; some seem slightly implausible (DREAD) and all show increased cost (especially in ECO).

Capacity building for sustainable energy development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rogner, Hans-Holger

2006-01-01

Capacity Building for Sustainable Energy Development - Mission: To build capacity in Member States (MS) for comprehensive energy system, economic and environmental analyses to assist in: - making informed policy decisions for sustainable energy development; - assessing the role of nuclear power; - understanding environmental and climate change issues related to energy production and use

Building Integrated Active Flow Control: Improving the Aerodynamic Performance of Tall Buildings Using Fluid-Based Aerodynamic Modification

Science.gov (United States)

Menicovich, David

By 2050 an estimated 9 billion people will inhabit planet earth and almost all the growth in the next 40 years will be in urban areas putting tremendous pressure on creating sustainable cities. The rapid increase in population, rise in land value and decrease in plot sizes in cities around the world positions tall or more importantly slender buildings as the best suited building typology to address the increasingly critical demand for space in this pressing urbanization trend. However, the majority of new tall building urban developments have not followed principles of environmental and/or sustainable design and incentives to innovate, both technological and economic, are urgently required. The biggest climatic challenge to the design, construction and performance of tall buildings is wind sensitivity. This challenge is further emphasized seeing two market driven trends: on one hand as urban population grows, land value rises while plot sizes decrease; on the other, more cost effective modular construction techniques are introducing much lighter tall building structures. The combination of the two suggests a potential increase in the slenderness ratio of tall buildings (typically less than 6:1 but stretching to 20:1 in the near future) where not-so-tall but much lighter buildings will be the bulk of new construction in densely populated cities, providing affordable housing in the face of fast urbanization but also introducing wind sensitivity which was previously the problem of a very limited number of super tall buildings to a much larger number of buildings and communities. The proposed research aims to investigate a novel approach to the interaction between tall buildings and their environment. Through this approach the research proposes a new relationship between buildings and the flows around, through and inside them, where buildings could adapt to better control and manage the air flow around them, and consequently produce significant opportunities to reduce

Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Chemistry and Metallurgy Research Building Replacement Project at Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2003-01-01

NNSA, an agency within DOE, proposes to replace the Chemistry and Metallurgy Research (CMR) Building at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). The CMRR EIS examines the potential environmental impacts associated with the Proposed Action of consolidating and relocating the mission-critical CMR capabilities from a degraded building to a new modern building(s). The existing CMR Building, constructed in the early 1950s, houses most of LANL's analytical chemistry and materials characterization AC and MC capabilities. Other capabilities at the CMR Building include actinide processing, waste characterization, and nondestructive analysis that support a variety of NNSA and DOE nuclear materials management programs. In 1992, DOE initiated planning and implementation of CMR Building upgrades to address specific safety, reliability, consolidation, and security and safeguards issues. Later, in 1997 and 1998, a series of operational, safety, and seismic issues surfaced regarding the long-term viability of the CMR Building. Because of these issues, DOE determined that the extensive upgrades originally planned would be much more expensive and time consuming and of only marginal effectiveness. As a result, DOE decided to perform only the upgrades necessary to ensure the safe and reliable operation of the CMR Building through 2010 and to seek an alternative path for long-term reliability. The CMRR EIS evaluates the potential direct, indirect, and cumulative environmental impacts associated with the Proposed Action. The Proposed Action is to replace the CMR Building. The Preferred Alternative is to construct a new CMRR Facility at Technical Area (TA) 55, consisting of two or three buildings. One of the new buildings would provide space for administrative offices and support functions. The other building(s) would provide secure laboratory spaces for research and analytical support activities. The buildings would be expected to operate for a minimum of 50 years. Tunnels could be

Design of Diaphragm Based MEMS Pressure Sensor with Sensitivity Analysis for Environmental Applications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Nallathambi

2015-05-01

Full Text Available In this paper Micro-electromechanical System (MEMS diaphragm based pressure sensor for environmental applications is discussed. The main focus of this paper is to design, simulate and analyze the sensitivity of MEMS based diaphragm using different structures to measure the low and high pressure values. The simulation is done through the finite element tool and specifications related the maximum convinced stress; deflection and sensitivity of the diaphragms have been analyzed using the software INTELLISUITE 8.7v. The change in pressure is to bending of the diaphragm that modifies the measured displacement between the substrate and the diaphragm. This change in displacement gives the measure of the pressure in that environment. The design of these studies can be used to improve the sensitivity of these devices. Here the diaphragm based pressure sensor produced better displacement, sensitivity and stress output responses are obtained from the square diaphragm. The pressure range from 0.6 MPa to 25 MPa and its maximum displacement is accordingly 59 mm over a pressure range of 0 to 2 MPa. Its sensitivity is therefore 2.35 [10E-12/Pa].

Sensitive and selective culture medium for detection of environmental Clostridium difficile isolates without requirement for anaerobic culture conditions.

Science.gov (United States)

Cadnum, Jennifer L; Hurless, Kelly N; Deshpande, Abhishek; Nerandzic, Michelle M; Kundrapu, Sirisha; Donskey, Curtis J

2014-09-01

Effective and easy-to-use methods for detecting Clostridium difficile spore contamination would be useful for identifying environmental reservoirs and monitoring the effectiveness of room disinfection. Culture-based detection methods are sensitive for detecting C. difficile, but their utility is limited due to the requirement of anaerobic culture conditions and microbiological expertise. We developed a low-cost selective broth medium containing thioglycolic acid and l-cystine, termed C. difficile brucella broth with thioglycolic acid and l-cystine (CDBB-TC), for the detection of C. difficile from environmental specimens under aerobic culture conditions. The sensitivity and specificity of CDBB-TC (under aerobic culture conditions) were compared to those of CDBB (under anaerobic culture conditions) for the recovery of C. difficile from swabs collected from hospital room surfaces. CDBB-TC was significantly more sensitive than CDBB for recovering environmental C. difficile (36/41 [88%] versus 21/41 [51%], respectively; P = 0.006). C. difficile latex agglutination, an enzyme immunoassay for toxins A and B or glutamate dehydrogenase, and a PCR for toxin B genes were all effective as confirmatory tests. For 477 total environmental cultures, the specificity of CDBB-TC versus that of CDBB based upon false-positive yellow-color development of the medium without recovery of C. difficile was 100% (0 false-positive results) versus 96% (18 false-positive results), respectively. False-positive cultures for CDBB were attributable to the growth of anaerobic non-C. difficile organisms that did not grow in CDBB-TC. Our results suggest that CDBB-TC provides a sensitive and selective medium for the recovery of C. difficile organisms from environmental samples, without the need for anaerobic culture conditions. Copyright © 2014, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

The relation between the adoption of sustainable measures and the composition of an environmental assessment tool for buildings

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Entrop, Alexis Gerardus; Brouwers, Jos

2009-01-01

Owing to a general perception of resource efficiency and due to the fact that the construction industry is traditionally a large user of natural resources, the necessity to design buildings with a low environmental impact is increasing. In the last decade many tools were developed to calculate the

Introduction: Green Building Handbook

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Van Wyk, Llewellyn V

2010-08-01

Full Text Available By recognising the specific environmental challenges facing South Africa, mindful of the government‘s commitment to reducing South Africa‘s Greenhouse gas emissions, and acknowledging the need to build social cohesion, the Green Building Handbook...

Future premature mortality due to O3, secondary inorganic aerosols and primary PM in Europe--sensitivity to changes in climate, anthropogenic emissions, population and building stock.

Science.gov (United States)

Geels, Camilla; Andersson, Camilla; Hänninen, Otto; Lansø, Anne Sofie; Schwarze, Per E; Skjøth, Carsten Ambelas; Brandt, Jørgen

2015-03-04

Air pollution is an important environmental factor associated with health impacts in Europe and considerable resources are used to reduce exposure to air pollution through emission reductions. These reductions will have non-linear effects on exposure due, e.g., to interactions between climate and atmospheric chemistry. By using an integrated assessment model, we quantify the effect of changes in climate, emissions and population demography on exposure and health impacts in Europe. The sensitivity to the changes is assessed by investigating the differences between the decades 2000-2009, 2050-2059 and 2080-2089. We focus on the number of premature deaths related to atmospheric ozone, Secondary Inorganic Aerosols and primary PM. For the Nordic region we furthermore include a projection on how population exposure might develop due to changes in building stock with increased energy efficiency. Reductions in emissions cause a large significant decrease in mortality, while climate effects on chemistry and emissions only affects premature mortality by a few percent. Changes in population demography lead to a larger relative increase in chronic mortality than the relative increase in population. Finally, the projected changes in building stock and infiltration rates in the Nordic indicate that this factor may be very important for assessments of population exposure in the future.

Environmental Sensitivity in Nuclear Emergencies in Rural and Semi-natural Environments. Report of Working Group 8, Environmental Sensitivity of EMRAS II Topical Heading Approaches for Assessing Emergency Situations. Environmental Modelling for RAdiation Safety (EMRAS II) Programme

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2013-11-01

Effects Modelling Approaches for Assessing Emergency Situations; - Working Group 7: Tritium Accidents; - Working Group 8: Environmental Sensitivity; - Working Group 9: Urban Areas. This report describes the work of the Environmental Sensitivities Working Group. The work was partially supported by the FMO/EEA FM Grants through the EL0086 - NTUA Scholarship and Mobility Program 2004-2011

Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) Atlas: Cook Inlet, Alaska, maps and geographic information systems (NODC Accession 0046027)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set comprises the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) data for Cook Inlet and Kenai Peninsula, Alaska. ESI data characterize estuarine environments and...

Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) Atlas: New Hampshire, maps and Geographic Information Systems data (NODC Accession 0014789)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set comprises the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) data for the New Hampshire coast from 2003 to 2004. ESI data characterize estuarine environments...

Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) Atlas: Hudson River, maps and geographic information systems data (NODC Accession 0014791)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set comprises the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) data for the Hudson River from 1942 to 2005. ESI data characterize estuarine environments and...

Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) Atlas: Columbia River, maps and geographic information systems data (NODC Accession 0013951)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set comprises the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) data for the Columbia River from 1979 to 2004. ESI data characterize estuarine environments and...

Analysis of environmental contamination resulting from catastrophic incidents: part 1. Building and sustaining capacity in laboratory networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Magnuson, Matthew; Ernst, Hiba; Griggs, John; Fitz-James, Schatzi; Mapp, Latisha; Mullins, Marissa; Nichols, Tonya; Shah, Sanjiv; Smith, Terry; Hedrick, Elizabeth

2014-11-01

Catastrophic incidents, such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, and industrial accidents, can occur suddenly and have high impact. However, they often occur at such a low frequency and in unpredictable locations that planning for the management of the consequences of a catastrophe can be difficult. For those catastrophes that result in the release of contaminants, the ability to analyze environmental samples is critical and contributes to the resilience of affected communities. Analyses of environmental samples are needed to make appropriate decisions about the course of action to restore the area affected by the contamination. Environmental samples range from soil, water, and air to vegetation, building materials, and debris. In addition, processes used to decontaminate any of these matrices may also generate wastewater and other materials that require analyses to determine the best course for proper disposal. This paper summarizes activities and programs the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) has implemented to ensure capability and capacity for the analysis of contaminated environmental samples following catastrophic incidents. USEPA's focus has been on building capability for a wide variety of contaminant classes and on ensuring national laboratory capacity for potential surges in the numbers of samples that could quickly exhaust the resources of local communities. USEPA's efforts have been designed to ensure a strong and resilient laboratory infrastructure in the United States to support communities as they respond to contamination incidents of any magnitude. The efforts include not only addressing technical issues related to the best-available methods for chemical, biological, and radiological contaminants, but also include addressing the challenges of coordination and administration of an efficient and effective response. Laboratory networks designed for responding to large scale contamination incidents can be sustained by applying

Environmental Loads of a Finnish indoor training iceskating rink in the Context of LCA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vaahterus, T.; Saari, A.

2001-01-01

In this study the environmental burdens generated by its essential building elements and systems of a typical new indoor training ice-skating rink during entire life cycle were calculated. The calculations were made by using a calculation method developed at Helsinki University of Technology at the department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Construction Economics and Management. The developed method is based on LCA -methodology and follows the principle of the ISO 14040 Environmental Management standard. In the calculations the life cycle of the indoor training iceskating rink was divided in four main phases: new construction, maintenance and energy, repair, and demolition. In each life cycle phase all the material and energy flows and emissions were calculated. Almost all (99 %) of the building elements in the indoor training ice skating rink were made of non-renewable materials. Also the energy, consumed during the life cycle, was mainly (81 %) produced with non-renewable energy sources. The life cycle phases causing the most environmental loads were energy and new construction. The energy phase consumed 92 % of the total energy and produced 91 of the CO 2 equivalents and 74 % of the SO 2 equivalents. In the new-construction phase 6 % of the life cycle energy was consumed, and 64 % of the ethene equivalents were produced. In addition to these 79 % of the building materials were used in the new- construction phase. The calculations were also tested against the sensitivity to different presumption changes. Two kinds of presumptions were made: ones that could be influenced by project control and others which refer to the future of the building and could not be influenced by project control. The calculations of the environmental loads of the indoor training ice skating rink were most sensitive to changes in the usage profiles and indoor temperature. For example one of the usage profile increased the environmental loads of the indoor training ice skating rink

Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) Atlas: Northern California maps and geographic information systems data (NODC Accession 0013175)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set comprises the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps for the shoreline of northern California which were designed to be utilized in desktop GIS...

ESI-VI3 East Point, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) Atlas: West Florida, maps and geographic information systems data (NODC Accession 0006249)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set comprises the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps in Portable Document Format (.PDF) for the shoreline of West Florida (to encompass the coastal...

Life cycle assessment and environmental building declaration for the design building at the University of Massachusetts

Science.gov (United States)

Hongmei Gu; Richard Bergman

2018-01-01

AbstractWith the world’s increasing focus on sustainability in the construction sector through green building systems, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has been ac-tively engaged in green building advocacy in the United States through USDA Tall Wood Building competitions and follow-up research on use of mass timber for nonresi-dential buildings. The USDA...

Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) Atlas: Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, maps and geographic information systems data (NODC Accession 0002825)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Currently, the most widely used approach to sensitive environment mapping in the United States is the NOAA Environmental Sensitivity Index or ESI. This approach...

Novel Methods to Explore Building Energy Sensitivity to Climate and Heat Waves Using PNNL's BEND Model

Science.gov (United States)

Burleyson, C. D.; Voisin, N.; Taylor, T.; Xie, Y.; Kraucunas, I.

2017-12-01

The DOE's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) has been developing the Building ENergy Demand (BEND) model to simulate energy usage in residential and commercial buildings responding to changes in weather, climate, population, and building technologies. At its core, BEND is a mechanism to aggregate EnergyPlus simulations of a large number of individual buildings with a diversity of characteristics over large spatial scales. We have completed a series of experiments to explore methods to calibrate the BEND model, measure its ability to capture interannual variability in energy demand due to weather using simulations of two distinct weather years, and understand the sensitivity to the number and location of weather stations used to force the model. The use of weather from "representative cities" reduces computational costs, but often fails to capture spatial heterogeneity that may be important for simulations aimed at understanding how building stocks respond to a changing climate (Fig. 1). We quantify the potential reduction in temperature and load biases from using an increasing number of weather stations across the western U.S., ranging from 8 to roughly 150. Using 8 stations results in an average absolute summertime temperature bias of 4.0°C. The mean absolute bias drops to 1.5°C using all available stations. Temperature biases of this magnitude translate to absolute summertime mean simulated load biases as high as 13.8%. Additionally, using only 8 representative weather stations can lead to a 20-40% bias of peak building loads under heat wave or cold snap conditions, a significant error for capacity expansion planners who may rely on these types of simulations. This analysis suggests that using 4 stations per climate zone may be sufficient for most purposes. Our novel approach, which requires no new EnergyPlus simulations, could be useful to other researchers designing or calibrating aggregate building model simulations - particularly those looking at

Environmental deterioration of ancient and modern hydraulic mortars (EDAMM)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Van Balen, K.; Toumbakari, E.E.; Blanco-Varela, M.T. (and others) (eds.)

2002-07-01

Environmental damage to ancient and modern mortars (EDAMM) is a European Commission funded project in which three European research institutes from Belgium, Spain and Italy have been collaborating. The project has provided a better understanding of the role of environmental pollution on the deterioration of ancient and modern hydraulic mortars. Recent monuments built in the 19th and 20th century, were constructed using these types of hydraulic mortars. Increasing numbers of these monuments need restoration all over Europe. Similar hydraulic mortars have been widely used in treatments carried out during last and the present century. Tests have been carried out on the identification of historic hydraulic mortars, on the evaluation of damage on samples taken from historic buildings and on the laboratory simulations carried out to investigate damage mechanisms. Among pollutants, SO{sub 2} is the main component of pollution causing damage to hydraulic mortars. Hydraulic mortars have been identified as the most sensitive building materials because of the formation of primary and secondary damage products, such as ettringite and thaumasite. Although the important implications of these results are for the development of conservation strategies for monuments and historic buildings, they are also of great relevance to the development of sustainable construction methods as the building industry still uses these materials today.

Categorizing Building certification systems according to the definition of sustainable building

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zimmermann, Regitze Kjær; Skjelmose, Ole; Guldager Jensen, Kasper

2018-01-01

The availability of sustainable (or green) building certifications schemes is constantly increasing and it is not always easy to understand how the schemes on the market differentiate from each other. The purpose of this study is to create a better dialog between client and consultant in relation...... are both of international, regional and local scale (Active House, BREEAM, DGNB, Green Star, HQE, LEED, Living Building Challenge, Miljöbyggnad, Nordic Ecolabel and WELL). The results show a large variation of the weight on the dimensions of social, environmental and economic sustainability within the 10...... the largest focus on criteria within the environmental dimension. Across the selected certifications this dimension account for an average of 51%. This indicates that certifications have “green” buildings as their main focus point. However, a certification such as WELL almost completely focuses on social...

Building 12-42F modification, Pantex Plant, Amarillo, Texas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1991-02-01

The Environment Assessment (EA) has been prepared pursuant to the implementing regulations to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which require federal agencies to assess the environmental impacts of a proposed action to determine whether that action requires the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) or if a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) can be issued. NEPA requires that an EA provide an interdisciplinary review of the proposed action in order to identify possible preferable alternatives and to identify mitigative measures that will prevent environmental impacts. If it is determined that the proposed action will have unavoidable significant environmental impact, then as EIS shall be prepared. The proposed project is to modify Building 12-42F and entry into the Sandia Pantex Weapons Evaluation Test Laboratory. The modification's primary function is to provide additional space for testing and monitoring equipment to support the activities in the existing Building 12-42F. The modification will also facilitate the reconfiguration of the personnel offices, break room and conference area. The proposed Building 12-42F modification relates to the interiors of Buildings 12-42F and 12-42A. These buildings contain a centrifuge and associated testing and monitoring equipment. The proposed addition will encompass the existing entry into Building 12-42A. Building 12-42A will be accessed through the proposed Building 12-42F modification

Gulf-Wide Information System, Environmental Sensitivity Index Swamps, Geographic NAD83, LDWF (2001) [esi_swamp_LDWF_2001

Data.gov (United States)

Louisiana Geographic Information Center — This data set contains Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) swamps data of coastal Louisiana. The ESI is a classification and ranking system, which characterizes...

Gulf-Wide Information System, Environmental Sensitivity Index Salinity, Geographic NAD83, LDWF (2001) [esi_salinity_LDWF_2001

Data.gov (United States)

Louisiana Geographic Information Center — This data set contains Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) salinity data of coastal Louisiana. The ESI is a classification and ranking system, which characterizes...

Gulf-Wide Information System, Environmental Sensitivity Index Seagrass, Geographic NAD83, LDWF (2001) [esi_seagrass_LDWF_2001

Data.gov (United States)

Louisiana Geographic Information Center — This data set contains Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) seagrass data of coastal Louisiana. The ESI is a classification and ranking system, which characterizes...

Building waste management in Bulgaria: challenges and opportunities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hadjieva-Zaharieva, R.; Dimitrova, E.; Buyle-Bodin, Francois

2003-01-01

Building waste recycling as aggregates is a modern approach for preventing environmental pollution through both reducing the stocks of waste and decreasing the use of natural aggregates. The reuse of building waste is a relatively new issue for Bulgaria despite the existing considerable quantity of building waste and the significant changes in the environmental rules applied. The paper discusses generated and potential waste streams in Bulgaria in the context of the social and economic restructuring and recent urban development undergone by the country. The main preliminary conditions for developing the recycling activity such as: streams of building waste, experience in recycling, technical and environmental standardization, appropriate technologies, etc. are examined. The authors analyze current practice and research activities with regard to the implementation of advanced EU building-waste recycling methods. Conclusions are drawn about existing opportunities and the priorities of the needed building waste management strategy in the country

Dynamic performance assessment of a residential building-integrated cogeneration system under different boundary conditions. Part II: Environmental and economic analyses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rosato, Antonio; Sibilio, Sergio; Scorpio, Michelangelo

2014-01-01

Highlights: • A building-integrated micro-cogeneration system was dynamically simulated. • Simulation data were analyzed from both environmental and economic point of views. • The proposed system was compared with a conventional supply system. • The proposed system reduces the environmental impact under heat-led operation. • The proposed system reduces the operating costs whatever the control logic is. - Abstract: This work examines the performance of a residential building-integrated micro-cogeneration system during the winter by means of a whole building simulation software. The cogeneration unit was coupled with a multi-family house composed of three floors, compliant with the transmittance values of both walls and windows suggested by the Italian Law; a stratified combined tank for both heating purposes and domestic hot water production was also used for storing heat. Simulations were performed considering the transient nature of the building and occupant driven loads as well as the part-load characteristics of the cogeneration unit. This system was described in detail and analyzed from an energy point of view in the companion paper. In this paper the simulation results were evaluated in terms of both carbon dioxide equivalent emissions and operating costs; detailed analyses were performed in order to estimate the influence of the most significant boundary conditions on both environmental and economic performance of the proposed system: in particular, three volumes of the hot water storage, four climatic zones corresponding to four Italian cities, two electric demand profiles, as well as two control strategies micro-cogeneration unit were considered. The assessment of environmental impact was performed by using the standard emission factors approach, neglecting the effects of local pollutants. The operating costs due to both natural gas and electric energy consumption were evaluated in detail, whereas both the capital and maintenance costs were

Future Premature Mortality Due to O3, Secondary Inorganic Aerosols and Primary PM in Europe — Sensitivity to Changes in Climate, Anthropogenic Emissions, Population and Building Stock

Science.gov (United States)

Geels, Camilla; Andersson, Camilla; Hänninen, Otto; Lansø, Anne Sofie; Schwarze, Per E.; Ambelas Skjøth, Carsten; Brandt, Jørgen

2015-01-01

Air pollution is an important environmental factor associated with health impacts in Europe and considerable resources are used to reduce exposure to air pollution through emission reductions. These reductions will have non-linear effects on exposure due, e.g., to interactions between climate and atmospheric chemistry. By using an integrated assessment model, we quantify the effect of changes in climate, emissions and population demography on exposure and health impacts in Europe. The sensitivity to the changes is assessed by investigating the differences between the decades 2000–2009, 2050–2059 and 2080–2089. We focus on the number of premature deaths related to atmospheric ozone, Secondary Inorganic Aerosols and primary PM. For the Nordic region we furthermore include a projection on how population exposure might develop due to changes in building stock with increased energy efficiency. Reductions in emissions cause a large significant decrease in mortality, while climate effects on chemistry and emissions only affects premature mortality by a few percent. Changes in population demography lead to a larger relative increase in chronic mortality than the relative increase in population. Finally, the projected changes in building stock and infiltration rates in the Nordic indicate that this factor may be very important for assessments of population exposure in the future. PMID:25749320

Future Premature Mortality Due to O3, Secondary Inorganic Aerosols and Primary PM in Europe — Sensitivity to Changes in Climate, Anthropogenic Emissions, Population and Building Stock

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Camilla Geels

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Air pollution is an important environmental factor associated with health impacts in Europe and considerable resources are used to reduce exposure to air pollution through emission reductions. These reductions will have non-linear effects on exposure due, e.g., to interactions between climate and atmospheric chemistry. By using an integrated assessment model, we quantify the effect of changes in climate, emissions and population demography on exposure and health impacts in Europe. The sensitivity to the changes is assessed by investigating the differences between the decades 2000–2009, 2050–2059 and 2080–2089. We focus on the number of premature deaths related to atmospheric ozone, Secondary Inorganic Aerosols and primary PM. For the Nordic region we furthermore include a projection on how population exposure might develop due to changes in building stock with increased energy efficiency. Reductions in emissions cause a large significant decrease in mortality, while climate effects on chemistry and emissions only affects premature mortality by a few percent. Changes in population demography lead to a larger relative increase in chronic mortality than the relative increase in population. Finally, the projected changes in building stock and infiltration rates in the Nordic indicate that this factor may be very important for assessments of population exposure in the future.

Successful Strategies for Planning a Green Building.

Science.gov (United States)

Browning, William D.

2003-01-01

Presents several strategies for successful green building on campus: develop a set of clear environmental performance goals (buildings as pedagogical tools, climate-neutral operations, maximized human performance), use Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) as a gauge of performance, and use the project to reform the campus building…

Environmental ground borne noise and vibration protection of sensitive cultural receptors along the Athens Metro Extension to Piraeus.

Science.gov (United States)

Vogiatzis, Konstantinos

2012-11-15

Attiko Metro S.A., the state company ensuring the development of the Athens Metro network, has recently initiated a new extension of 7.6 km, has planned for line 3 of Athens Metro from Haidari to Piraeus "Dimotikon Theatre" towards "University of Piraeus" (forestation), connecting the major Piraeus Port with "Eleftherios Venizelos" International Airport. The Piraeus extension consists of a Tunnel Boring Machine, 2 tracks and, tunnel sections, as well as 6 stations and a forestation (New Austrian Tunnelling Method) at the end of the alignment. In order to avoid the degradation of the urban acoustic environment from ground borne noise and vibration during metro operation, the assessment of the required track types and possible noise mitigation measures was executed, and for each section and each sensitive building, the ground borne noise and vibration levels will be numerically predicted. The calculated levels were then compared with ground borne noise and vibration level criteria. The necessary mitigation measures were defined in order to guarantee, in each location along the extension, the allowable ground borne Noise and Vibration max. levels inside nearby sensitive buildings taking into account alternative Transfer Functions for ground borne noise diffusion inside the buildings. Ground borne noise levels were proven to be higher than the criterion where special track work is present and also in the case of the sensitive receptor: "Dimotikon Theatre". In order to reduce the ground borne noise levels to allowable values in these sections, the installation of tracks and special track work on a floating slab was assessed and recommended. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Whole systems appraisal of a UK Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) system: Energy, environmental, and economic evaluations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hammond, Geoffrey P.; Harajli, Hassan A.; Jones, Craig I.; Winnett, Adrian B.

2012-01-01

Energy analysis, environmental life-cycle assessment (LCA) and economic appraisals have been utilised to study the performance of a domestic building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) system on a ‘whole systems’ basis. Energy analysis determined that the system paid back its embodied energy in just 4.5 years. LCA revealed that the embodied impacts were offset by the electricity generated to provide a net environmental benefit in most categories. Only carcinogens, ecotoxicity and minerals had a small net lifetime burden. A financial analysis was undertaken from the householder's perspective, alongside cost-benefit analysis from a societal perspective. The results of both indicated that the systems are unlikely to pay back their investment over the 25 year lifetime. However, the UK is in an important period (2010/11) of policy transition with a move away from the ‘technology subsidies’ of the Low Carbon Buildings Programme (LCBP) and towards a ‘market development policy’ of feed-in tariffs. Representing the next stage on an innovation S-curve this is expected to facilitate rapid PV uptake, as experienced in countries such as Germany, Denmark, and Spain. The results of the present study clearly demonstrate the importance of the new government support scheme to the future uptake of BIPV. - Highlights: ► LCA and economic appraisals of a UK domestic building integrated PV system. ► Energy analysis determined that the system paid back its embodied energy in 4.5 years. ► UK moved towards a market development policy of feed-in tariffs. ► Financial analysis shows the importance of the new FiT scheme to the uptake of PV.

Load Management in Residential Buildings Considering Techno-Economic and Environmental Aspects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Abaravicius, Juozas

2004-12-01

Load problems in electricity markets occur both on the supply and demand side and can have technical, economic and even political causes. Commonly, such problems have been solved by expanding production and/or distribution capacity, importing electricity or by load management. Load management is a techno-economic measure for harmonizing the relations between supply and demand sides, optimizing power generation and transmission and increasing security of supply. Interest in load management differs depending on the perspective of the actors involved: from customer, utility, or producer to state policy maker. The problem of load demand and load management in residential sector is in this thesis approached from different perspectives, i.e. technical, economic, and environmental. The study does not go deep into detailed analyses of each perspective, but rather aims to establish and analyze the links between them. This trans-disciplinary approach is the key methodological moment used in the research work performed by the research group for load management in buildings at the Lund Institute of Technology. The key objective of this study is to analyze load demand variation and load management possibilities in residential sector, particularly detached and semi-detached houses, to experimentally test and analyze the conditions and potential of direct load management from customer and utility viewpoint. Techno-economic and environmental aspects are investigated. The study was performed in collaboration with one electric utility in Southern Sweden. Ten electric-heated houses were equipped with extra meters, enabling hourly load measurements for heating, hot water and total electricity use. Household heating and hot water systems were controlled by the utility using an existing remote reading and monitoring system. The residents noticed some of the control periods, although they didn't express any larger discomfort. The experiments proved that direct load management might

Sensitivity of the Hydrogen Epoch of Reionization Array and its build-out stages to one-point statistics from redshifted 21 cm observations

Science.gov (United States)

Kittiwisit, Piyanat; Bowman, Judd D.; Jacobs, Daniel C.; Beardsley, Adam P.; Thyagarajan, Nithyanandan

2018-03-01

We present a baseline sensitivity analysis of the Hydrogen Epoch of Reionization Array (HERA) and its build-out stages to one-point statistics (variance, skewness, and kurtosis) of redshifted 21 cm intensity fluctuation from the Epoch of Reionization (EoR) based on realistic mock observations. By developing a full-sky 21 cm light-cone model, taking into account the proper field of view and frequency bandwidth, utilizing a realistic measurement scheme, and assuming perfect foreground removal, we show that HERA will be able to recover statistics of the sky model with high sensitivity by averaging over measurements from multiple fields. All build-out stages will be able to detect variance, while skewness and kurtosis should be detectable for HERA128 and larger. We identify sample variance as the limiting constraint of the measurements at the end of reionization. The sensitivity can also be further improved by performing frequency windowing. In addition, we find that strong sample variance fluctuation in the kurtosis measured from an individual field of observation indicates the presence of outlying cold or hot regions in the underlying fluctuations, a feature that can potentially be used as an EoR bubble indicator.

Futuragua: Fostering Cross-Scale Knowledge to Inform Social-Environmental Decision Processes for Building Drought Resilience in Highly Seasonal Environments

Science.gov (United States)

McDaniels, T.; Steyn, D. G.; Johnson, M. S.; Small, M.; Leclerc, G.; Vignola, R.; Chan, K.; Grossmann, I.; Wong-Parodi, G.

2014-12-01

Improving resilience to drought in complex social-environmental systems (SES) is extraordinarily important, particularly for rural tropical locations where small changes in climate regimes can have dramatic SES impacts. Efforts to build drought resilience must necessarily be planned and implemented within SES governance systems that involve linkages in water and land use administration from local to national levels. These efforts require knowledge and understanding that links climate and weather forecasts to regional and local hydrology, to social-economic and environmental systems, and to governance processes. In order to provide structure for such complex choices and investments, we argue that a focus on structured decision processes that involve linkages among science, technological perspectives, and public values conducted with agencies and stakeholders will provide a crucial framework for comparing and building insight for pursuing alternative courses of action to build drought resilience. This paper focuses on a regional case study in the seasonally-dry northwest region of Costa Rica, in watersheds rated as most threatened in the country in terms of drought. We present the overall framework guiding the transdisciplinary efforts to link scientific and technical understanding to public values, in order to foster civil society actions that lead to improved drought resilience. Initial efforts to characterize hydrological and climate regimes will be reported along with our approach to linking natural science findings, social inventories in terms of perspectives on SES, and the psychology and patterns of reliance on forecast information that provide the basis for characterizing public understanding. The overall linkage of technical and value information is focused on creating and comparing alternative actions that can potentially build resilience in short and long time frames by building decision making processes involving stakeholders, agencies and interested

Sick building syndrome

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tjandra Y. Aditama

2002-06-01

Full Text Available Sick building syndrome describes a number of mostly unspesific complaints of some occupants of the building. The exact pathophysiological mechanism remains elusive. It is a multi factorial event which may include physical, chemical, biological as well as psycological factors. In many cases it is due to insufficient maintenance of the HVAC (heating, ventilation, air conditioning system in the building. Sign and symptoms can be uncomfortable and even disabling, which may include mucus membrane irritation, neurotoxic symptoms, asthma like symptoms, skin complaints, gastrointestinal symptoms and other related symptoms. There are various investigation methods to diagnose sick building syndrome, and on site assessment of the building is extremely useful. Prevention through a proactive air quality monitoring program is far more desirable than dealing with an actual sick building. Indoor air and the sick building symdrome serves as a paradigm of modern occupational and environmental medicine. (Med J Indones 2002; 11:124-31Keywords: indoor air pollution, sick building syndrome, building related illness

The Temporal Sensitivity of Enforced Accelerated Work Pace: A grounded theory building approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Graham John James Kenealy, BA (Hons, Ph.D. Candidate

Full Text Available This research explores how a large national UK government organisation copes with radical structural change over time and provides an insight into the temporal effects of ‘Enforced Accelerated Work Pace’ on behaviour and receptivity within an organisational context. The stages of ‘Acceptance’, ‘Reaction’ and‘Withdrawal’ capture the essence of the ‘Coping Reflex Actions relating to Enforced Accelerated Work Pace’, all sensitive to the effects of time. ‘Temporal Sensitivity’; the duration of the changes to work patterns played a large part in the behavioural responses. The underlying logic of this research is grounded theory building, a general method that works well with qualitative data collection approaches and involves inducting insights from field based, case data (Glaser, 1998. A methodology discovered and developed by Glaser and Strauss (1967, negating all others.

Uncertainty and sensitivity analyses of energy and visual performances of office building with external venetian blind shading in hot-dry climate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Singh, Ramkishore; Lazarus, I.J.; Kishore, V.V.N.

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Various alternatives of glazing and venetian blind were simulated for office space. • Daylighting and energy performances were assessed for each alternative. • Large uncertainties were estimated in the energy consumptions and UDI values. • Glazing design parameters were prioritised by performing sensitivity analysis. • WWR, glazing type, blind orientation and slat angle were identified top in priority. - Abstract: Fenestration has become an integral part of the buildings and has a significant impact on the energy and indoor visual performances. Inappropriate design of the fenestration component may lead to low energy efficiency and visual discomfort as a result of high solar and thermal heat gains, excessive daylight and direct sunlight. External venetian blind has been identified as one of the effective shading devices for controlling the heat gains and daylight through fenestration. This study explores uncertainty and sensitivity analyses to identify and prioritize the most influencing parameters for designing glazed components that include external shading devices for office buildings. The study was performed for hot-dry climate of Jodhpur (Latitude 26° 180′N, longitude 73° 010′E) using EnergyPlus, a whole building energy simulation tool providing a large number of inputs for eight façade orientations. A total 150 and 845 data points (for each orientation) for input variables were generated using Hyper Cubic Sampling and extended FAST methods for uncertainty and sensitivity analyses respectively. Results indicated a large uncertainty in the lighting, HVAC, source energy consumptions and useful daylight illuminance (UDI). The estimated coefficients of variation were highest (up to 106%) for UDI, followed by lighting energy (up to 45%) and HVAC energy use (around 33%). The sensitivity analysis identified window to wall ratio, glazing type, blind type (orientation of slats) and slat angle as highly influencing factors for energy and

The assessment of environmentally sensitive forest road construction in Calabrian pine forest areas of Turkey.

Science.gov (United States)

Tunay, Metin

2006-07-01

Forest road construction by bulldozers in Calabrian Pine (Pinus brutia Ten.) forests on mountainous terrain of Turkey causes considerable damage to the environment and the forest standing alongside the road. This situation obliges a study of environmentally sound road construction in Turkey. This study was carried out in 4 sample sites of Antalya Forest Directorate in steep (34-50% gradient) and very steep terrain (51-70% gradient) conditions with bulldozer and excavator machine and direct damages to forest during road construction was determined, including forest area losses and damages to downhill trees in mountainous areas. It was determined that in steep terrain when excavators were used, less forest area (22.16%) was destroyed compared to bulldozers and 26.54% less area in very steep terrain. The proportion of damage on trees where bulldozer worked was nearly twofold higher than excavator was used. The results of this research show that the environmentally sensitive techniques applied for the road construction projects are considerably superior to the traditional use of bulldozers on steep slopes. The environmentally sound forest road construction by use of excavator must be considered an appropriate and reliable solution for mountainous terrain where areas of sensitive forest ecosystems are to be opened up.

Indoor air quality environmental information handbook: Building system characteristics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1987-01-01

This manual, the third in a series, focuses on residential building system characteristics and their effects on indoor air quality. The manual addresses: residential indoor air pollutants by source, indoor concentrations, health effects, source control and mitigation techniques, standards and guidelines; building system characteristics of air exchange, pollutant source strength, residence volume, site characteristics, structural design, construction, and operation, infiltration and ventilation system, building occupancy; and monitoring methods

It's Not Easy Building Green.

Science.gov (United States)

Higgins, Joseph

2003-01-01

Discusses green buildings, facilities designed, constructed, and operated in an environmentally friendly and resource-efficient way. Discusses reasons for campuses to "go green," the "shades of green" or variations in environmental-friendliness, certification through the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system, financial…

Pharmacia Building Q, Skokie, Illinois

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

2002-12-01

This case study was prepared as one in a series for the Laboratories for the 21st Century program, a joint endeavor of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy's Federal Energy Management Program. The goal of this program is to foster greater energy efficiency in new and retrofit laboratory buildings in both the public and the private sectors. The energy-efficient elements of the laboratory featured in this case study-Pharmacia Corporation's new Building Q in Skokie, Illinois-include sustainable design, light-filled interior spaces for daylighting, energy-efficient fume hoods and other equipment, occupancy sensors to reduce lighting loads, and spectrally selective glazing to allow more light and less heat into the building. Water-saving fixtures are used, as well. Building Q has been certified Gold (the second highest rating) through the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) system.

Brief Discussion on Green Building Materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cai, Jia-wei; Sun, Jian

2014-01-01

With more and more emphasizes on the environment and resources, the concept of green buildings has been widely accepted. Building materials are vectors of architectures, only if green building materials and related technical means are used, can we construct green buildings to achieve the purpose of energy conservation and environmental protection. This paper introduces the relationship between green building materials and green buildings, the current situation of green building materials in China, as well as the measures to accelerate the development of green building materials

Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) Atlas: Aleutian Islands, Alaska, maps and geographic information systems data (NODC Accession 0014927)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set comprises the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps for the Aleutian Islands, Alaska. ESI data characterize coastal environments and wildlife by...

Environmental requirements for oil and gas operations in Saskatchewan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nystuen, L.J.

1997-01-01

The administration and regulation of environmental issues regarding the oil and gas industry in Saskatchewan were discussed. The political and cultural differences in Saskatchewan that make environmental processes distinct from its neighbouring jurisdictions were described. The following Saskatchewan legislation deals with environmental requirements: Environmental Management and Protection Act, Environmental Assessment Act, Oil and Gas Conservation Act, Wildlife Habitat Protection Act, Clean Air Act, Planning and Development Act, Forest Act, Water Corporation Act, Heritage Property Act, and Parks Act. The Saskatchewan Department of Energy and Mines (SEM) is the primary regulator of the upstream oil and gas industry. It regulates the construction, operation, reporting and abandonment requirements for oilfield operations. SEM also manages crude oil prior to refining and manages the wastes contaminated with crude oil. Provisions of the relevant Acts regarding drilling in environmentally sensitive areas, flaring requirements, transporting and disposing of oilfield wastes, road-building, operating restrictions, emergency response plans, spill clean-up responsibilities, well abandonment and site reclamation responsibilities were discussed. 8 refs., 2 tabs

The energetic concept in the administration building of the Federal Environmental Agency in Dessau. Technical innovation for a sustainable operation; Das energetische Konzept im Dienstgebaeude des Umweltbundesamtes in Dessau. Technische Innovationen fuer einen nachhaltigen Betrieb

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2012-07-01

The new office building of the Federal Environmental Agency (Dessau-Rosslau, Federal Republic of Germany) was implemented as a pilot project for environmentally sustainable construction with high-energy targets. In order to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels significantly, the building should have a very low power consumption and enable a sustainable operation. A mostly compact form of the building and a highly insulated building envelope are a first prerequisite.

Road building, land use and climate change: prospects for environmental governance in the Amazon.

Science.gov (United States)

Perz, Stephen; Brilhante, Silvia; Brown, Foster; Caldas, Marcellus; Ikeda, Santos; Mendoza, Elsa; Overdevest, Christine; Reis, Vera; Reyes, Juan Fernando; Rojas, Daniel; Schmink, Marianne; Souza, Carlos; Walker, Robert

2008-05-27

Some coupled land-climate models predict a dieback of Amazon forest during the twenty-first century due to climate change, but human land use in the region has already reduced the forest cover. The causation behind land use is complex, and includes economic, institutional, political and demographic factors. Pre-eminent among these factors is road building, which facilitates human access to natural resources that beget forest fragmentation. While official government road projects have received considerable attention, unofficial road building by interest groups is expanding more rapidly, especially where official roads are being paved, yielding highly fragmented forest mosaics. Effective governance of natural resources in the Amazon requires a combination of state oversight and community participation in a 'hybrid' model of governance. The MAP Initiative in the southwestern Amazon provides an example of an innovative hybrid approach to environmental governance. It embodies a polycentric structure that includes government agencies, NGOs, universities and communities in a planning process that links scientific data to public deliberations in order to mitigate the effects of new infrastructure and climate change.

Green Building Pro-Environment Behaviors: Are Green Users Also Green Buyers?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaohuan Xie

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Pro-environment behaviors play a key role in advancing the development of green buildings. This study investigated the link between two green building pro-environment behaviors that require dissimilar resources: energy savings that do not require money in order to be more environmentally friendly and willingness to pay that involves economic resources including spending money in order to be more environmentally friendly. This study points out that the two pro-environment behaviors can be positively linked to each other. People who behave in an environmentally friendly manner at work would also be likely to pay an extra cost for a green building when buying a new home. The consistency of the two pro-environment behaviors can be explained by their common environmental beliefs: limits to growth and eco-crisis. The green building movement should prioritize pro-environmental behaviors and associated environmental beliefs to support green building policies, guidelines, and tools.

The Building sector commitment to promote the sustainability of construction products: a common European approach for the Environmental Product Performances

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Caterina Gargari

2013-05-01

Full Text Available The industry of construction products plays an important role in Europe in promoting the sustainability of the built environment in a life cycle perspective. Within the framework of the European initiatives for a sustainable competitiveness, manufacturers are interested in promoting a life cycle approach along the building chain. However both, institutions and building operators, in general still have to go a long way on designing and applying a sustainable and competitive industrial policy. This paper aims to describe the European background, the regulatory framework, identifying gaps and the actions to be undertaken to promote a market for sustainable products and sustainable buildings. In particular this paper deals with the assessment and communication of the environmental performance of construction products between the operators in the building chain, as a prerequisite for the sustainability of the built environment, and outlines the strategies to implement a proper evaluation and communication process.

Generation and Characterization of Environmentally Sensitive Variants of the β-Galactosidase from Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus

Science.gov (United States)

Yoast, Sienna; Adams, Robin M.; Mainzer, Stanley E.; Moon, Keith; Palombella, Anthony L.; Schmidt, Brian F.

1994-01-01

A method is described for generating and screening variants of the β-galactosidase from Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus sensitive to several environmental stresses, with potential application in the food industry. Chemical mutagenesis with hydroxylamine or methoxylamine was performed on the β-galactosidase gene carried on an Escherichia coli expression vector. Mutants sensitive to cold, heat, low pH, low magnesium concentration, and the presence of urea were isolated by screening for reduced color development on β-galactosidase indicator plates. The mutations responsible for three variant β-galactosidases were localized, and the base substitutions were determined by DNA sequencing. The amino acid alterations associated with one low-pH-sensitive (pHs) and two urea-sensitive (Us) variants correspond to P584L (pHs1), G400S/R479Q (Us26), and G167E/E168K/E363K/V492M (Us17), respectively. Mutant pHs1 is also heat, cold, low magnesium, and urea sensitive; Us26 is also cold sensitive; and Us17 is also low-pH sensitive. PMID:16349230