Day: August 12, 2011

Sources: CP staff; Portland Cement Association, Skokie, Ill.; RMC Research & Education Foundation, Silver Spring, Md.

Two studies from the Concrete Sustainability Hub at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology represent major advancements for construction-related life-cycle assessments (LCA), as they quantify cradle-to-grave cost and environmental impacts for buildings and pavements. Released August 11 as part of the Concrete Sustainability Hub’s 2011 Industry Day on the MIT Cambridge campus, the studies factor costs and embodied carbon dioxide levels at initial construction plus those of use and operations phases—based on energy consumption, maintenance and traffic delays—not fully accounted for in most LCAs.

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Sources: National Labor Relations Board Region Four, Philadelphia; CP staff

By Don Marsh

In a decision affirming a union official’s contract-negotiating authority as determined in past National Labor Relations Act cases, NLRB Administrative Law Judge John Clark has ordered Teamsters Local 771 to abide by terms of a collective bargaining agreement and side letter finalized in April 2010 with Pennsy Supply Inc. The Harrisburg, Pa., ready mixed and asphalt producer had filed an unfair labor practice charge after the union refused to sign a contract to which each side had verbally agreed.

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Source: Blue World Crete, Inc., Pompano Beach, Fla.

Geo-Blue Crete II, the recently unveiled binding agent from Blue World Crete, is said to be a low-carbon-footprint alternative to portland cement. As a one-part system that only requires paddle mixing of its powdered chemical formula at ambient temperatures, the manufacturing process differs from portland cement, although its delivery system is the same. The agent is billed as an economically green alternative to portland cement while also providing a high-performance concrete solution for engineers and architects.

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