ASHRAE and the U.N. Attack Building Emissions on a Global Scale

ASHRAE and the United Nations Environment Programme have renewed their joint global effort to help reduce the amount of pollutants released into the atmosphere by buildings. One big goal of the so-called third biennial work plan is the sustainable phase-out of ozone- depleting substances in refrigerant and air conditioning systems, says the Atlanta-based ASHRAE, formerly known as the American Society of Heating, Ventilating and Air-Conditioning Engineers.

Another aim of the joint effort, created under a global cooperation agreement signed in 2007, is to create an international advisory team to assist developing countries in their efforts to institute and/or update relevant codes and standards.

On a topic related to healthy building environments, ASHRAE late last month released for public comment its proposed Standard 188P, Prevention of Legionellosis Associated with Building Water Systems. The standard would help facilities managers and owners understand how to guard against Legionella associated with building water systems.This is the third public review.

ASHRAE published a guide on the subject in 2000. Called ASHRAE Guideline 12, Minimizing the Risk of Legionelllosis Associated with Building Water Systems, the publication offers recommendations about how to treat various building water systems. The standard specifies the actual practice of exactly what must be done with all the recommendations, says ASHRAE.The two publications are considered complementary.

Nadine M. Post, ENR's editor-at-large for buildings, is an award-winning journalist with 45 years of experience covering trends, issues, innovations, controversies and challenging projects. Post has written about many industry giants, including 10 ENR Award of Excellence winners. And she has covered disasters, failures and attacks, including the 1993 bombing and the 2001 destruction of the World Trade Center. Project stories include the redevelopment of the World Trade Center; the 828-meter-tall Burj Khalifa; Los Angeles’ Disney Concert Hall; and Seattle's Bullitt Center and Rainier Square Tower. In 1985, Post wrote McGraw-Hill's book Restoring the Statue of Liberty (1986) for the restoration’s architects—Richard S. Hayden and Thierry W. Despont.

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