The article covers a study entitled “Identification of Safety Risks for High-Performance Sustainable Construction Projects” that was conducted by assistant professor Matthew Hallowell at the University of Colorado Boulder that was undertaken to look at another study that “found evidence of” a 50% increase in injuries on LEED projects vs. non-LEED projects.  Hallowell’s study attempted to collect empirical, rather than anecdotal, data to describe this apparent increase in injuries by conducting site visits, analyzing project documents and reviewing injury reports. The article indicates that the study identified “14 LEED credentials that may create heightened risks to construction workers.” I can only assume that it means “credits” not “credentials”. The article contains a handy sidebar that identifies each of the 14 credits and then explains why the study feels they increase “risk”. I’ve directly quoted a few of my favorites here:

Enhanced Commissioning

Identified Risk: The presence of commissioners distracts workers, increasing risk of falls and injuries.

Suggested Mitigation: Commissioning agents could receive a site-specific orientation and be provided with personal protective equipment. Agents could be required to pass an OSHA safety course.

Construction Waste Management

Identified Risk: “Dumpster diving” to retrieve mistakenly trashed recyclable materials increases risk of sprains and cuts.

Suggested Mitigation: Suggested solutions include utilizing a third-party, local waste management company to sort the recyclable material offsite, using multiple, smaller waste receptacles around the construction site, or creating an industry-wide, color-coded labeling system to differentiate recycling from trash.

Controllability of Systems – Lighting

Identified Risk: Complex wiring associated with occupancy sensors and timing controls increase risk of electrical shock to workers. Additional time spent wiring these systems at heights increases the risk of falls.

Suggested Mitigation: Some elements of the systems could potentially be prefabricated, decreasing time spent working with the wires onsite. Designers might locate sensors at reachable heights rather than on ceilings to eliminate time spent of ladders.

Daylight and Views: Daylight 75% of Spaces

Identified Risk:  Large skylights, windows or atriums increase time spent working near large, exposed openings at great heights.

Suggested Mitigation: Designers could create a courtyard to meet the requirements or minimize the depth of the building as an alternative to atriums and skylights. If these elements are included, additional precautions could be taken, such as blocking off areas below overhead work, using equipment such as man lifts and scissor lifts when possible and using tie-offs and barriers near exposed openings.

Are you laughing? I was laughing. I don’t want to be mean, and I understand (and agree with) the article’s point that “sustainable” buildings should also be safe for the workers who build them, but these seem a little bizarre to me. Most of the “increased risk” identified has to do with working overhead or on roofs and handling materials that can cause cuts or scrapes. Should we just not put roofs on buildings to make them safer to construct too? DuWayne, my co-worker, summed it up so perfectly that I just had to quote him. “So, because they didn’t throw it in the correct dumpster the first time (which probably had a big sign on it that said CARDBOARD), that makes LEED more dangerous? Give me a break.  Everything mentioned is preventable under existing safety regulations.” He continues, “Pray you make it home to your families, the tyrant A/E’s need more daylighting!”

Maybe I’m just in a snarky mood today. What do you think? Have you seen anything that makes you think that LEED projects really are “riskier” to construct?

Nutrition and Health

Today’s supermarket fare is often highly processed and lacking nutrients found in whole, unprocessed or minimally processed foods. Many processed foods add vitamins and minerals to try to combat this problem, but in many cases our bodies may not be able to absorb these additives as easily as if they were naturally occurring. Additionally, many of the preservatives, sweeteners and artificial flavors added to these foods have been linked to causing everything from cancer to hormone imbalances to sugar addiction. My main strategy for improving the nutrition of my own food it to opt for the least-processed option available and when resorting to a processed item to look for the option that has the fewest listed ingredients and I preferably know how to pronounce all of them. So, whole foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, fresh meats, you get the picture… I won’t even get into how processed food is contributing to the obesity epidemic, but the number of calories that are often presented in processed foods with very little ability for that food to satiate appetite can be staggering.

Factory Farming/Livestock Conditions

The family farm has largely been replaced by a corporate production farms where high efficiency and maximum yield are often valued over quality of the final product and the ethical treatment of livestock. It’s really difficult to look at a package of meat in the grocery store and try to figure out the conditions under which the animals were raised. I don’t eat red meat, so that simplifies things for me a bit, but if I did, I would look for pasture raised animals,not grain-fed. When buying seafood I always opt for fresh and wild-caught and try to never knowingly consume farm raised fish. I also opt for free range chicken if possible. Whenever humanly possible I also buy local meat and poultry from a small farm where I know standards are going to be more humane.

Pesticides/Herbicides/Fungicides/Hormones

Pesticides and Fungicides are often used in large quantities on food produced for human and animal consumption. The U.S. has some pesticide/herbicide/fungicide regulations but other countries are not as stringent and food that does not meet U.S. guidelines sometimes makes it through the cracks in the import process. This issue has been brought the nation’s attention recently with the apple juice scare. Hormones are perfectly acceptable in livestock production in the U.S. The FDA claims that these hormones are safe, but European studies are showing a potential cancer link. A good strategy for avoiding unwanted chemicals and hormones is to purchase organic produce and meat whenever possible as products bearing the organic label must meet guidelines including no hormone use or use of chemical pesticides. I’m not perfect on this one, and organic products often carry a hefty premium, but whenever possible I do now buy organic.

Waste

Livestock and agriculture operations can produce as much waste as small cities but regulations on the treatment of this waste is often lax or even non-existent. This waste can and often does end up polluting waterways or even potentially spreading disease. Again, it’s tough to look at an apple or a frozen burrito and know how much waste it’s production created. But, if it’s local and organic, it’s probably better than otherwise. When it comes to processed and semi-processed foods, I have also come to gravitate toward companies like Amy’s, Kashi and Food Should Taste Good that at least make some data about their supply chains and processing available.

Fossil Fuel and Energy Use

Industrial farms use huge amount of energy producing and processing products as well as transporting them during production and to the final consumer. Again, shopping local can greatly reduce these impacts and help you support your local economy in the process.

As I have mentioned, I am still learning all about all of this, and it can all seem very overwhelming, but thankfully there are some great online resources if you would like to learn more:

The Sustainable Table

Sustainable Food Laboratory

Sustainable Food News

The Food Alliance

www.SustainableFood.com

I’m trying very hard not to be cynical, but the idea that a home that contains over 7,000 square feet of living space per person is in any way sustainable is ludicrous. The entire population of some small cities could be contained in this home. You could tell me that the home was completely off the grid and made entirely out of straw bales and I still wouldn’t be buying it. What happened to our common sense? What happened to the idea that using only what we absolutely need is one of tenants of sustainable design? I hope some of you are as outraged by these claims as I am!

I’ve reviewed a couple of these tip sheets and while I don’t think they contain any really helpful insights that can’t be gleaned from the LEED Reference Guides I think that the simple format make them a good resource for project teams feeling overwhelmed by all the submission requirements. The bottom line is that nothing beats having a couple LEED reviews under your belt for getting a feel for what the GBCI reviewers really want to see, but if you don’t have that experience, these tip sheets could definitely be helpful.

• 3,500 commercial and 5,400 residential projects were LEED certified this year, with cumulative totals exceeding 11,000 and 14,600, respectively. And another 31,800 commercial and 61,500 residential projects have been registered. More than 125,000 projects are part of LEED –– an extraordinary accomplishment. And now we look forward to the development of LEED 2012, focusing on the technical rigor of the rating system, expanding the market sectors able to use LEED and striving for simplicity in terms of usability.
• When enrollment closed in October, more than 61,000 LEED APs had opted into LEED AP with specialty credentials. Today, more than 175,000 professionals hold a LEED Professional credential and the industry is even more equipped to handle the different types of building and community projects coming through. In September, we announced the 34-member inaugural class of LEED Fellows, the most distinguished professionals in green building. These folks are inspirations to us all.
• This year our USGBC chapters played a critical role in influencing local and state government policy. The Charlotte Chapter worked closely with local officials to get Oct 24-28 declared Environmental Sustainability Week, coinciding with a series of sustainability programs hosted by the chapter. The Delaware Valley Green Building Council received a USGBC innovation grant that has enabled them to develop a green building legislation “action alert” online system. The California Advocacy Committee, representing all eight California chapters, kicked off its first year of statewide collaboration around green building policy and advocacy with a new, community-developed model for decision-making and engagement and already has a list of wins.
• Our national and chapter members are working hard to fulfill the Administration’s Better Buildings Initiative, supporting the aim to make America’s commercial buildings and plants more energy- and resource-efficient over the next decade by providing incentives for private-sector investment.
• The Center for Green Schools at USGBC placed the first Green Schools Fellows in Sacramento and Boston, and commissioned the first nationwide survey on green schools with founding sponsor United Technologies, hosted a Healthy Schools Summit and released its inaugural “Best of Green Schools” list.
• Despite the challenges of holding the first Greenbuild outside U.S. borders, Greenbuild secured a record number of partnerships, sold out our expo floor and welcomed 23,000 attendees to Toronto. With the help of our progressive host city and devoted volunteers, we achieved 95% waste diversion, setting a Greenbuild record.
• The USGBC App Lab launched in November as part of LEED Automation, which is transforming the way project teams interact with LEED data. Comprised of applications designed by LEED Automation Partners for Web browsers, tablets, smartphones and other devices, the App Lab simplifies the certification process and maximizes building performance.
• As of this month, cumulative square footage of LEED-certified existing buildings surpassed LEED-certified new construction for the first time. As the U.S. is home to more than 60 billion square feet of existing commercial buildings, most of which are energy guzzlers and water sieves, this trend serves as a promising indicator of our progress.

There are certainly some interesting accomplishments and milestones listed above, but I am struck that there aren’t too many metrics for environmental impact being presented (aside from the 95% waste diversion at Greenbuild). Maybe 2012 can bring a few more measureables. A  less painful to use LEED Online would be nice too!