Radiation and Radon from Green Building Materials

Linda Kincaid, MPH, CIH — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 16:08:55 +0000

Building with reclaimed building materials is a great way to reduce the environmental footprint of a building. LEED and GreenPoints both award points for use of reclaimed materials. However, some reclaimed materials can be radioactive.

Fly ash is the material left over from burning coal. A waste product with little other use, it is sometimes added to concrete or bricks. However, if the original coal contained radioactive isotopes, those isotopes will be greatly concentrated in the ash.

Energy Efficiency is THE Business Opportunity for 2009

Leah Edwards — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 18:35:28 +0000

OK, that headline is a bold statement, but that was certainly my take-away from an event last night organized by the California Cleantech Open business plan competition. The event was called a “Green Building Symposium“, and while there were booths manned by winners in this year’s competition who won for building materials and renewable energy solutions (including Bottlestone, S3 (smart shower system) and Red Solar), the topic of the speakers and a panel discussion was energy efficiency.

You can see and hear the presentations for yourself via an archived video. (Hint: You will need the RealPlayer. Click on “Part 1″ on that page under the title for the December 9th Green Buildings event, and you’ll want to fast-forward through the video of people filing into the room.)

The first keynote address was given by Gil Sperling, from the Federal Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy in the U.S. Department of Energy, who announced the signing of a memo of understanding with the California PUC to align programs in support of energy efficiency programs.

The second keynote address was given by Dian Gruenich, Commissioner, California Public Utility Commission (CPUC), who described a year-long process that resulted in a strategy plan, which you can download here (all 110 pages of it) or read an executive summary or fact sheet. The plan’s goals include requiring all new residential construction in California to be zero net energy efficient by 2020 and for all new commercial construction to be zero net energy efficient by 2030. Read that, opportunities for green building materials, smart meters and efficient cooling systems, better windows and insulation, etc.

Green Options » Green building materials

Radiation and Radon from Green Building Materials

Energy Efficiency is THE Business Opportunity for 2009