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Surely, nobody has anything against the idea of a sustainable society. But how is it to be achieved? And what can we ourselves do when everybody else insists on taking their car to work? This is how people usually argue. People do not see any direct relationship between their own way of life and the way nature reacts. This has been tackled in Seattle on the western seaboard of the US. This is where the concept of sustainability factors was first tested within the built environment.

The new headquarters of the Commerzbank in Frankfurt - the tallest office building in Europe - has proved one thing conclusively: it is possible to build a vast high rise in the middle of a busy city and use passive techniques to control its internal environment

During the past 10 years the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has pursued a national strategy to address radon remediation in buildings to meet its goals of radon risk reduction. Initially the approach developed and demonstrated remediation methods and techniques in existing residences with specific attention to the effect of regional climate variations and the differences in housing construction. A number of studies and demonstrations were undertaken to accurately characterize and evaluate the effectiveness of several remediation methods and techniques.

Poor air quality in office buildings can result in loss of productivity, absenteeism and, in some cases, medical problems. The purpose of this Update is to provide guidelines for property managers and engineers for controlling indoor air quality using building ventilation systems.

The European Collaborative Action (ECA) on indoor air quality (IAQ) and its impact on man deals with all aspects of the indoor environment including temperature, humidity and other environmental factors which may interact with IAQ. Fourteen European countries, from both the European Union (EU) and EFT A, are participants in the ECA. Secretariat scientific and managerial support is supplied by the Indoor Air Pollution Unit of the JRC Environment Institute.

Controlled ventilation in the workplace offers significant benefits to employee and employer alike, both physical and psychological, says Andrew Saxon.

Experiments were performed using small-scale climate chambers, including the new Chamber for Laboratory Investigations of Materials Pollution and Air Quality (CLIMPAQ), to gain knowledge about the influence of ventilation rate per plane specimen area (specific ventilation rate) on emission rates. Emissions from pieces of linoleum, waterborne acrylic paint, nylon carpet, and sealant were quantified at different specific ventilation rates.

The current recommended minimal ventilation level for the cold deck flat roof design is evaluated using an experimental roof. The work suggests that there may be a need for ventilation to be increased above the minimal level in instances where natural draught ventilation is low or where roofs are of complex plan. Results of this work are under consideration by the British Standards Institution as part of an overall review of flat roof design recommendations.