There is currently high demand for new building materials which are considered "environmentally friendly" or "green" for both new construction and renovations. Spray polyurethane foam (SPUF) insulation has gained significant acceptance by both consumers and the construction industry due to its high R-value, which results into significant energy savings among other things. Despite its acceptance by consumers and the construction industry, consideration must be given to potential chemical exposures to applicators installing these products. This study sought to determine, through quantitative experimentation, if there was a release of glycol derivatives including, diethylene glycol (DEG), ethylene glycol (EG), and propylene glycol (PEG), during the application of SPUF. In addition, total volatile organic Compounds (tVOCs) and various environmental parameters were also collected during this research. This study utilized a two-component small-scale SPUF kit manufactured by the Dow Chemical Company, known as the FROTH-PAK™ kit. This specific kit is typically used by the construction industry to fill cavities, cracks, floor and wall penetrations, and expansion joints of buildings. In order to determine the presence of these glycol derivatives, personal breathing zone samples were collected during the application of the SPUF during three application trials. Glycols derivatives were measured using active sampling techniques. Supplementary parameters including tVOCs, ambient and wet-bulb temperature, relative humidity, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide, were measured using direct-reading techniques. During this study several modifications were made to the work area and the air sampling methodology to assist in verifying the presence of the glycols and the conditions in which they may be present in the air during the application of SPUF insulation. All samples were sent to an accredited laboratory and were analyzed by the Nation Institute of Occupational Safety and Health Method 5523. During this study, measurable amounts of diethylene glycol and propylene glycol were detected in two of the trials in which no ventilation in the work area was utilized. During one trial in which a work area ventilation system was utilized, none of the glycols were detected in the laboratory analysis above the limit of detection given the analytical method. Ethylene glycol was not detected in any of the samples submitted for analysis. The results for the tVOC measurements were inconclusive. Based on the results of the air sampling, it is likely that exposure to diethylene glycol and propylene glycol may occur under certain conditions. However, due to the limited number of samples and the variation between the samples collected in this study, a generation rate or concentration buildup estimate for comparison of the OELs was not conducted. These conditions include the quantity of ventilation used during application, the application duration, and proper operation of the SPUF application equipment. Based on the results, there is evidence that additional research may be needed in this area.

No description available.

Abstract not available

Bibliography: p. 119-122. Aims to show how the GB Tool (Green BuildingTool) can be used to access the environmental performance of residential building developments, with a focus on South Australia. Describes the history of, and rationale for, the GB Tool; and its practical implementation. Identifies some theoretical short comings of the GB Tool, as well as some practical difficulties with using it.

The meaning of the architectural surface was thoroughly reconsidered by architects and historians in England and Europe between early and mid-nineteenth century. There were two major trends. The first one was historicist. Ornament and colour was considered important because it represented the origins of architecture. The second approach was rational and tectonic. It suggested that an honest surface had to be created by emphasizing the structure and by truthfully expressing materials. An unusual response to these debates was John Ruskin??s history of medieval and Renaissance architecture. This was published as The seven lamps of architecture (1849), and the three volume study, The stones of Venice (1851-1853). Ruskin??s writings were difficult to grasp. On the one hand, they were fragmented, historically inaccurate, and lacking in explanatory power. On the other hand, they emphasized surface ornament, without ever indicating its architectural ??use??. As a result, nineteenth and twentieth century historians and architects declared Ruskin??s writings as being irrelevant to architectural theory and practice. By examining Ruskin??s writings on architecture through the theoretical lens of dress, body, and gender, the thesis demonstrates that he proposed the theory of the adorned ??wall veil??.This was a two-part theory. Firstly, architecture was defined by the presence of planar walls. The masonry structure of these walls was masked and decorated by a seamless dress-like surface, consisting of relief and polychromatic ornaments. Secondly, Ruskin distinguished between the ideal and the corrupt dress. The ideal dress celebrated the spiritual aspects of the body (surface, skin, and colour). The corrupt dress represented the scientific image of the body (depth, bones and muscles, and form). The ideal dress was reflected by the surfaces of medieval buildings, and the corrupt dress was mirrored by the Renaissance architectural surface. Through these arguments, the thesis makes two major contributions. Firstly, it shows that Ruskin??s views were consistent with the architectural modernism of the twentieth century, in which the free fa??ade and the atectonic surface were key concerns. Secondly, it establishes that Gottfried Semper??s writings were not the sole origin of the debates on dress and architecture. It shows that Ruskin developed a critical theory of dress by synthesizing debates on gender, science, and spirituality. He used this theory to suggest a new approach towards architecture.

Thesis (Ph.D)--Technische Universiteit Eindhoven, 2005. / Title from document title page. Title from title screen (viewed on Dec. 6, 2007). Includes bibliographical references. Available in PDF format via the World Wide Web.

<p>This report is about planning a demolition. The purpose of this report is that it should become a base for a demolition of house J at the Academic hospital in Uppsala, and also to make general help for planning a demolition. This report also contains a part about how a change in the work environment affects general people. The work started with studies of literature and design of the general part of the report and then continued with a practical study of house J. From the experience of the first two parts of the report a general help for planning a demolition was shaped. Today in the demolition industry the most common and effective way to demolish a building is to do it selective and that means, taking the building down part by part depending on the grade of separation. The recommendation for the demolition of house J is to do it selective. “Thinking” about the demolition in the building phase of a house helps to reduce the environmental effects of the demolition and makes it easier to carry out. Planning a building should be done in a long term perspective to make it easier to cope with activity changes, rebuilding and complementary building. When a building is due for demolition it’s important to know everything about the construction of the building and it’s materials to make a good demolition plan both economic and environmental.</p>

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, School of Public Health, 1982. / Dissertation Abstracts International order no. 83-16537. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 181-192).

In this thesis the sink-effect in indoor materials wasstudied using mathematical modelling and experimental studies.The sink-effect is a concept which is commonly used tocharacterise the ability of different indoor materials to sorbcontaminants present in the indoor air. The sorption process ismore or less reversible, i.e. molecules sorbed in materials athigh contaminant concentrations may again be desorbed at lowerconcentrations. Knowledge of the sorption capacity of materialsand the rate at which sorption and desorption takes place is offundamental importance for mathematical simulation of indoorair quality. The aim of this work is to contribute withknowledge about how the sink-effect can be described inmathematical terms and how the interaction parametersdescribing the sorption capacity and sorption/desorptionkinetics can be determined. The work has been of amethodological nature. The procedure has been to set upphysically sound mathematical models of varying complexity andto develop small-scale chamber experiments. Two differentdynamic chamber methods have been used. One is based on amodified standard FLEC-chamber while the other uses a chamberwith two compartments, one on each side of the material. The"twin-compartment" method was designed due to the observationthat the contaminant readily permeated straight through theselected materials, which resulted in uncontrolled radiallosses in the FLEC-chamber. In order to be useful forcomparison between experiments and calculations and parameterfitting, the boundary conditions in the chambers must beprecisely known and controlled. This matter has shown to be themost crucial and difficult problem in the research. A varietyof mathematical models for the sink-effect have been proposed.In some models advanced fluid simulations were used in order totest the influence ofill-defined flow boundary conditions. Theaim of the modelling is to find a formulation with a minimum ofinteraction parameters, which is generally useful, i.e. both insmall-scale laboratory environments and in full-scale like anoffice room. Estimated model parameters are shown to be able toyield a reasonably good fit to experimental data for thesorption process but a less satisfactory fit for the desorptionprocess. <b>Keywords:</b>sink-effect, sorption, adsorption, diffusion,indoor air quality, volatile organic compounds, VOC,contaminants, building materials

Damp building materials are subjected to degradation processes due to moisture and also microbial growth, with both of these giving rise to emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that may contribute to indoor air health problems. The overall aim of this thesis was to investigate emissions of reactive and non-reactive VOCs from damp building materials and from the microorganisms growing on them, and also to investigate the possible health impact of these compounds. Three studies were carried out in order to study emissions of VOCs. The first investigated emissions from a mixture of five fungi (Aspergillus versicolor, Fusarium culmorum, Penicillium chrysogenum, Ulocladium botrytis and Wallemia sebi) and the second emissions from the bacterium Streptomyces albidoflavus. In both studies the microorganisms were cultivated on three different building materials (pine wood, particle board and gypsum board) and one synthetic media, MEA and TGEA respectively. The bacterium was also cultivated on sand. Air samples from the cultures were collected on six different adsorbents and chemosorbents to sample a wide range of compounds such as VOCs, aldehydes, amines and light-weight organic acids. The samples were analyzed with gas chromatography, high-pressure liquid chromatography and ion chromatography. Mass spectrometry was used for identification of the compounds. Alcohols and ketones were the predominant compound groups identified. The bacterial culture growing on TGEA emitted ammonia, methylamine, diethylamine and ethylamine. The third study dealt with secondary emissions collected from buildings with moisture and mould problems. Samples were taken when the materials were dry and also after they had been wet for a week. Most alcohols and ketones could be identified from the wet materials. Trimethylamine and triethylamine, were identified from sand contaminated by Bacillus. One study looked at the development of a method for analysis of primary and secondary amines with LC-MS/MS. A three-step process was developed, with the first step screening the samples for NIT derivatives with selected reaction monitoring, SRM. In the second step a precursor ion scan gave the [M+H]+ ion, and the last step involved fragmentation with a product ion scan. It was possible to separate and identify all the investigated amines, which showed that the method was both specific and selective and therefore well suited for the analysis of amines in complex environments. The last study comprised two exposure studies. In study 1 each participant took part in two exposure conditions, one with air from mouldy building materials and one with blank air for a 60 minute period. In study 2 each participant was exposed four times (for a period of 10 min) at random to air from mouldy building materials and blank air, with and without nose-clip. The participants rated air quality and symptoms before, during and after each exposure. Exposure to moderate VOC levels resulted in reports of perceived poor air quality, but no such results were received when exposing the participants to low VOC levels.