Nuclear facility goes green with LEED Gold

AIKEN, SC — Shaw AREVA MOX Services was recently awarded Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification at the Gold level for its Administration Building, according to Your Nuclear News.

The MOX Administration Building, which houses business operations and support personnel for the National Nuclear Security Administration's (NNSA) plutonium disposition program, received 40 out of a possible 43 points in the LEED process, the story stated.

The Administration Building is the first structure at the Savannah River Site to be LEED Gold-certified and the first of three MOX project buildings to pursue LEED certification at the Gold level, the story noted.

NNSA Principal Assistant Deputy Administrator for the Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation Ken Baker said: "Achieving LEED certification on this facility highlights our commitment to transforming a Cold War-era nuclear weapons complex into a 21st Century nuclear security enterprise."

LEED is an internationally recognized green building certification system that provides third-party verification that a building or community was designed and built using strategies aimed at improving performance in energy savings, water efficiency, carbon dioxide emissions reduction and other critical areas, the story added.

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Window washer alive after four-story plunge

NEW YORK — A worker from Domino Window Cleaning is in the hospital after falling four stories from a building and landing on his head while cleaning the windows, according to the Daily News.

Igor Vnuk, who fell around 3:45 p.m. Friday after losing his balance, was not wearing a safety harness, the story stated.

Co-workers rushed to Vnuk's aid before emergency workers arrived at the scene and transported the injured window washer to Bellevue Hospital, the story noted.

It is unclear whether or not Vnuk violated any work codes by failing to don a safety harness, but the New York City Department of Investigations said they were looking into the fall for more answers, the story added.

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Restaurant high chairs harbor more bacteria than the average toilet seat

LONDON — Baby high chairs found in restaurants have been found to harbor more bacteria than the average public toilet seat, according to the Daily Mail.

Teams took swabs from high chairs in 30 different restaurants and found that, on average, the number of bacteria on a high chair — including some that can lead to serious illness — was 147 per square centimeter, the article stated.

By comparison, the average public toilet seat has just eight per square centimeter, the article noted.

"The test results varied considerably and while some of the high chairs were relatively clean, others had concentrations of bacteria as high as 1,200 bacteria per square centimeter, which is worrying," said Dr Nicholas Moon director of technical affairs at Microban, makers of antibacterial products, which conducted the research across a variety of restaurants.

"This is of concern because a child's immune system tends to be far less robust than an adult's and children tend to touch things and put their hands in their mouth a lot — so they easily infect themselves with any germs they encounter," Moon added.

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JCPenney achieves LEED distinctions for green building design

PLANO, TX — JCPenney Company Inc. has been awarded a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Existing Buildings (LEED-EB) Gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) for its home office campus, according to a press release.

The 1.9 million square-foot building serves as a workplace for more than 5,500 associates and is the third largest campus facility in the nation to receive this designation, the release stated.

Adding to this distinction, JCPenney recently received a LEED for New Construction Silver certification for the JCPenney store in Fairview, TX and a LEED for Existing Buildings Silver certification for the JCPenney supply chain facility in Reno, NV, the release noted.

"JCPenney's LEED certifications demonstrate tremendous green building leadership," said Rick Fedrizzi, president, chief executive officer (CEO) and founding chair of the U.S. Green Building Council.

"JCPenney makes a conscious effort to efficiently use natural resources in order to bring an immediate, positive impact on our planet, which will benefit future generations to come," Fedrizzi added.

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Bedbug infestation prompts evacuation

YORK, ME — York resident Joyce Forthman first noticed bite marks on her daughter's arms several months ago, and then she saw tiny bugs hiding in her apartment, according to the York Daily Record.

But it wasn't until the fire department declared her Beaver Street building unfit for human occupancy that she realized they were bedbugs, the article stated.

Forthman said she tried everything to get rid of the bugs, including bleaching her entire apartment.

According to the article, a statement appeared taped to the door of the three-story apartment building: "This dwelling contains a serious hazard to the health and safety of the occupants because of the infestation of bed bugs."

"It seems like it's getting worse," Forthman said. "They're so easy to spread, and you don't know they're there."

Only the most extreme cases of bedbugs result in a building being closed, but this isn't the first time that's happened, according to Captain Gil Kimes with the York City Fire/Rescue Services.

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Beware of Chinese drywall 'remediation' scams

HOUSTON, TX — The remediation of problem Chinese drywall is a multi-million dollar market, and whenever there is money to be made you can be sure that there is someone out there trying to pull off a scam, according to a press release.

There have been numerous reports of Chinese drywall victims being scammed by opportunistic "remediators" offering everything from diagnosis to air clean machines and drywall removal, the release stated.

Homeowners affected by Chinese drywall are often in search of anything that can help rid their homes of the problem drywall and can be susceptible to con artists who prey on the people who are already vulnerable due to their desperation and concern for the well being of their family, the release noted.

A recently published article on the subject of Chinese drywall remediation scams in Florida identified 47 remediation and inspection companies working in the Palm Beach area alone: Of these, 26 were created during or after January of 2009 and only 18 were operated by licensed contractors.

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Daycon Products Company joins Strategic Market Alliance

OAK BROOK, IL — Strategic Market Alliance (SMA) is pleased to announce that Daycon Products Company has become a member of SMA effective August 1, 2010, according to a press release.

"The distributor owners of SMA welcome Daycon Products to SMA," said SMA Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Richard McGann.

"Daycon is truly a market leader and an innovative organization. Their business focus and market segment strategy align very well with direction of the distributor owners of SMA." McGann stated.

"As a catalyst in the supply channel, SMA's stated mission and vision will be significantly enhanced with the addition of Daycon, as they will enable SMA to more effectively support our suppliers and service local and multi-unit account customers," McGann added.