Clorox to eliminate chlorine from its namesake bleach

OAKLAND, CA — The Clorox Company recently announced that it is changing the formulation of its namesake bleach, starting at its Fairfield, California, factory, according to the Associated Press.

Amid growing safety concerns and growing regulatory scrutiny, Clorox will eliminate the use of chlorine so it no longer has to transport the substance used in chemical warfare during World War I to factories across the United States, the story stated.

Clorox spokesman Dan Staublin said: "Our goal is ultimately to eliminate the transportation of chlorine from our U.S. supply chain. By transitioning to a new manufacturing process now, that allows us to stay ahead of regulations and potentially avoid costs. With the regulatory environment we're in now, the transportation of different chemicals is being scrutinized maybe more than ever before."

Clorox plans to switch to high-strength bleach with a higher concentration of sodium hypochlorite instead of buying chlorine and making bleach onsite, the story noted.

According to the story, Clorox, which hopes to complete the transition away from chlorine at all of its U.S. factories within the next few years, would not disclose how much it would cost to make the changes, but stressed that consumers won't notice a difference in quality, smell or color.

Environmental watchdog Greenpeace applauded Clorox's decision, calling the move "technically feasible and a smart business decision," the story added.

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Study links restroom cleanliness to norovirus outbreaks

BOSTON — A recent study found a link between improperly cleaned restrooms aboard cruise ships and the likelihood of an outbreak of norovirus, a highly contagious gastrointestinal infection whose eradication requires extensive cleaning of surfaces, according to the United Press International.

According to the story, the study by scientists from the Boston University School of Medicine, Carney Hospital, the Cambridge Health Alliance and the Tufts University School of Medicine is said to be the first environmental hygiene study aboard cruise ships.

Researchers inspected 273 randomly selected public restrooms aboard various ships and found only 37 percent were cleaned daily, the story stated.

The research, which appears in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, found baby changing tables to be the least cleaned object in cruise ship restrooms, the story noted.

Researchers said they found the thoroughness of cleaning did not differ by cruise line and did not correlate with U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Vessel Sanitation Program inspection scores that averaged 97 out of a possible 100 points for the 273 study vessels, the story added.

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School goes green with geothermal heat exchange system

SIMSBURY, CT — The new, $34.6 million, 85,000-square-foot Armour Academic Center at the Westminster School features a geothermal heat exchange system that heats and cools the building without using a drop of oil, according to the Hartford Courant.

Seventy-two plastic pipes and related plumbing and pumps circulate 10,000 gallons of a water and propylene glycol mixture through 72 wells drilled 475 feet beneath the Simsbury bedrock.

According to the story, the circulating water system takes advantage of the simple principle that, below the frost line, the earth retains a relatively consistent temperature of 55 degrees, the story stated.

In the winter, heat drawn from the relatively warmer circulating water is used to warm the building and in the summer, the relatively cooler water draws away the heat from the building to provide air conditioning, the story noted.

As the story points out, Westminster is so confident of its new geothermal system that it didn't even bother to install a conventional backup boiler.

Edmond Macri, a mechanical contractor who spent five years working with Westminster's building committee to design the system, said: "I know of no other geothermal unit this advanced, anywhere in the country, and yes it's ironic that this benchmark project originated at a private school. At your typical new commercial building, the owners or investors just assign the job out to the architects and engineers and expect it to get done. At Westminster, from the headmaster on down, there was this strong impetus to be a good citizen and reduce the school's carbon footprint by becoming personally involved in the design and construction."

Westminster's geothermal heat exchange system includes a computerized monitoring system that will allow the building's energy use to be monitored and, if necessary, for changes to be programmed into the system, the story added.

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Onondaga County's first LEED Silver-certified structure

MARCELLUS, NY — The Marcellus Free Library recently achieved Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification at the Silver level, making it the first LEED Silver-certified structure in Onondaga County, according to The Post-Standard.

Designed by Lake Architectural and built by MCK Building Associates Inc., the Marcellus Free Library, which has been open for more than one year, came with a price tag of $2.8 million, the story stated.

Sustainable features of the "green" library include: A geothermal heating and cooling system; maximizing natural daylight; artificial lighting controlled by sensors; and furniture and finishes with low levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), the story noted.

LEED-certified buildings, which are more environmentally friendly and cost less to operate than conventional buildings, are rated by a score based on energy savings, water efficiency, carbon dioxide emissions reduction, indoor environmental quality and stewardship of resources that corresponds to a level of certification, the story added.

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Hand sanitizers are a viable alternative to soap and water

NOTRE DAME, IN — Experiments by a microbiology class at Saint Mary's College found that alcohol-based gel hand sanitizers are a sufficient hand hygiene substitute when soap and water are not available, according to WSBT-TV.

During the laboratory experiment, the class tested the effectiveness of alcohol-based gel hand sanitizers against bacteria and germs by placing the gel into a tube and adding two kinds of hard-to-kill bacteria, the story stated.

Doctor Kara Eberly, associate professor of microbiology and immunology at Saint Mary's College, said: "Within a minute everything is dead, that's it. Alcohol kills everything very rapidly. [Manufacturers] put things in to make it stick to your hands, so it takes a little while to dry. It gives it a long enough time to kill microbes. It works, it really does."

The samples were analyzed to see if the alcohol-based gel hand sanitizer killed 99.9 percent of germs as promised — it did, the story noted.

According to the release, tests conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that some bargain brands, which generally dry out hands more quickly, may not protect as well as name brands because they have lower concentrations of alcohol.

Because all alcohol-based gel hand sanitizers are not created equal, it is important to read labels; Eberly suggests not purchasing a product with less than 50 percent alcohol, the story added.

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The LEED Platinum-certified Cincinnati Zoo

CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden recently received Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for New Construction (LEED-NC) certification at the Platinum level, according to a press release.

The platinum certification, the highest level offered by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), makes the Cincinnati Zoo America's greenest animal sanctuary, the release stated.

Sustainable aspects of the neo-Victorian style Historic Vine Street Village include: 10 kilowatt (kW) solar panels that reduce the demand for coal-fired power by 15 percent; geothermal heat pumps that meet all of the heating and cooling demands; a rainwater management system; and low-flow fixtures, the release noted.

Mark Fisher, Cincinnati Zoo senior director of facilities, said: "The Zoo's strong commitment to natural resource conservation starts at the front door. We have been and will continue to aggressively invest in our infrastructure. Building green is the right thing to do for the planet and for the wallet."

Roughly 30 percent of the building materials used in the project were recycled and about 80 percent of construction waste was sent to recycling centers for reuse, the release added.

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Wyoming Governor says no to green mandates

CHEYENNE, WY — While many other states in the nation are instituting green building programs, Wyoming Governor Dave Freudenthal recently stated that he will not mandate green building codes in his state, according to the New York Times.

In an interview on Monday after he spoke at the Western States Energy and Environment Symposium, Freudenthal ruled out mandates for stricter building efficiency codes or energy standards for appliances, the story stated.

According to the story, Wyoming, which is among the nation's top producers of coal, oil, natural gas and wind power, has consistently finished last in state rankings for energy efficiency.

Freudenthal recently signed a letter to the Department of Energy promising renewed efforts to boost energy efficiency as a condition of receiving certain federal stimulus money from American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the story noted.

Freudenthal said: "We're not a state that's going to do building codes. Building codes are local — I mean, they're very aggressive here in Teton County. One of the difficulties we face is that the relatively uncontroversial subject of energy efficiency must first be disentangled from a traditional Wyoming resistance to building codes. For the marginal gain that you would get out of all the blood that you would lose trying to regulate whether or not somebody could buy a non-five-star appliance in Wyoming, it makes no sense. We'll do a lot more good if we set it up so that the utilities can align the pricing right.”

According to the U.S. Green Building Council's (USGBC) database, there are only seven Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified projects in the state of Wyoming.

Freudenthal feels that mandating energy efficiency requirements for the state would require "a significant shift in public opinion in Wyoming" and would not be a smart or logical move, the story added.

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