College arts building certified LEED Gold

ALBANY, NY — The Massry Center for the Arts, the newly constructed 46,000-square-foot building at The College of Saint Rose, has been awarded the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, according to the Times Union.

According to the story, the building is 48 percent more energy efficient than a conventional building, and has such green features as geothermal heating, recycled building materials and automatic dimming lights.

State Assemblyman Jack McEneny said: "This is a building that every day, like the college itself, teaches us what the future can be."

The cost of the construction was $14 million, and the The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority contributed about $150,000 towards the geothermal system, the story added.

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Purdue receives grant towards building performance research center

LAFAYETTE, IN — Purdue University has received a $12 million federal grant towards the creation of the Center for High Performance Buildings, according to Journal & Courier.

According to the story, the building, which will replace the 50-year-old Herrick Labs, will cost $23.5 million to construct.

James Braun, a mechanical engineering professor at Purdue, said: "It is really a center that would have faculty from architectural engineering, mechanical engineering, human response and other areas."

Buildings are responsible for about 40 percent of the energy use, 71 percent of electricity consumption and 38 percent of carbon dioxide emissions nationwide, the story added.

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Burj Khalifa to use sustainable facility management

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest and arguably most technically advanced building, will utilize ProTeus, a facility maintenance manage system developed by Eagle Technology, integrated with Johnson Controls Inc. building management system Metasys to oversee all maintenance of the massive structure, according to a press release.

According to the release, the system will track the maintenance needs and costs, including parts and labor spent on the facility and its equipment.

This tracking system will lead to more energy efficient maintenance as well as lower operating costs, the release stated.

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New Jersey DEP outsourcing cleanup of toxic sites

TRENTON, NJ — The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has decided to change the way it addresses the cleanup of polluted sites by outsourcing the work to licensed environmental consultants, according to The Press of Atlantic City.

According to the story, the DEP hopes this method, modeled after the system currently in place in Massachusetts, will be more efficient in tackling the thousands of polluted sites than the current system, in which 200 case managers oversee each cleanup individually.

A 1998 audit of the Massachusetts system found that consultants were able to clean up 14 times as many contaminated sites, the story stated.

State Senator Jeff Van Drew said: "There were literally thousands of sites remediated in Massachusetts. Quite frankly, the DEP does not have the staff to do it — nor do I want the state to hire more people. We don’t need to be expanding government. Once the system starts moving, there will be a tremendous number of sites fixed."

So far, 245 consultants have been approved through the very extensive licensing process, and small or medium toxic sites will see the most benefit from this new system, the story added.

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Resort closed for cleaning after illness outbreak

OTTERTAIL, MN — Thumper Pond Resort and Restaurant underwent a voluntary close for deep cleaning after a number of people became ill with what appears to be norovirus, according to the Detroit Lakes Tribune.

According to the story, the resort performed a deep cleaning based on guidelines from the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) designed to eradicate the virus, including draining and superchlorinating the pool and water park area, cleaning bathrooms and surfaces with products effective against the virus and ensuring no employee returns to work until 72 hours after resolution of symptoms.

The MDH received a number of complaints linked to the facility from December 19 through 31, all reporting flu-like symptoms associated with norovirus, including nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal cramps, the story stated.

Kelly Pilgrim, who became ill after her family visited the water park, said: "Until we know more, I want Thumper Pond have an opportunity to resolve the issue. It very possibly was not even their fault; something they were exposed to from outside."

MDH spokesman Doug Schultz said the facility has been working with the department to make sure the pathogens are out of the facility, the story added.

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OSHA to hold hearings on proposed HCS rule

WASHINGTON — The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced they will hold three informal hearings to solicit comments on a proposed rule to align the OSHA Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) with the United Nations' Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS), according to Reliable Plant.

According to the story, the GHS, developed by a number of countries including the U.S., was created to address inconsistencies in hazard communications and to establish a single, universal system to classify chemicals, labels and safety data sheets.

Hearings are scheduled for March 2 in Washington, D.C., March 31 in Pittsburgh and April 13 in Los Angeles, the story stated.

Those interested in attending must provide a notice of intention to appear through the Federal eRulemaking Portal by January 18, the story added.

Study: Nearly half of soda dispensers have coliform bacteria

ROANOKE VALLEY, VA — A small study of 30 machines in the Roanoke Valley area found that almost half the machines had coliform bacteria — a bacteria that may indicate fecal contamination, according to ABC News.

Coliform bacteria are banned from drinking water by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the story stated.

According to the story, the study, published in the International Journal of Food Microbiology, also found escherichia coli (E. coli), as well as species of klebsiella, staphylococcus, stenotrophomonas, candida and serratia on the soda machines.

The authors of the study ruled out water contamination and believe the bacteria may have formed inside the machines as a result of restaurant managers not rinsing the plastic tubing within the machine on a regular basis, the story stated.

Renee D. Godard, a co-author of the study, said: "My guess is that most restaurant owners wouldn't have the vaguest idea about how to flush those machines, or that they would even need too."

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