ORGANIZATIONS – October 2016

The Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute has appointed Diep Tu as Florida Prestressed Concrete Association (FPCA) executive director. A licensed professional engineer in Florida, he has served as Florida Concrete & Products Association director of Engineering for more than 15 years, responsible for promoting concrete in parking lots, streets and local roads. Prior to FC&PA, Tu was rigid pavement research engineer with the Florida Department of Transportation Materials Research Office, Gainesville.

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Insulated mold prepares cylinders to emulate in-place strength development

Concrete Block Insulating Systems’ patent-pending TempGuard from Eskimold, a 4- x 8-in. EPS foam mold, replaces plastic concrete test cylinders and eliminates nearly all need for curing boxes. TempGuard’s insulating properties dramatically reduce and slow the detrimental effects variable jobsite temperatures have on concrete test cylinder curing, product developers note.

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Mining entity extends testing of admixture derived from prized graphite

Zenyatta Ventures Ltd., owner of a rare, volcanic graphite deposit in Ontario, has entered an agreement with Israel-based admixture specialist Larisplast Ltd. to expand research on a processed material called graphene, which has shown in preliminary testing to accelerate concrete curing time; reduce cement requirements; and, impart mechanical performance suited to seismic or blast impact loads.

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PCI, CPCI, NPCA release first Sustainable Precast Concrete Plant Program report

PCI i

Backed by the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute, Canadian Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute and National Precast Concrete Association, the North American Precast Concrete Sustainable Plant Program (NAPCSPP) has yielded its first full-year energy, materials and transportation data benchmarks. PCI’s inaugural Sustainable Plant Program Performance Report presents results in carbon dioxide equivalent (global warming potential), total primary energy and water consumption categories.

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Garden State voters hold jaundiced view of combustible construction

In advance of last month’s 7 joint hearing by the state of New Jersey and Borough of Edgewater, N.J., to consider rebuilding the burned-down Avalon at Edgewater apartment complex with the same lightweight wood-frame construction method in it original specs, Build with Strength, a coalition of the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, released a poll that found registered Garden State voters are very supportive of the state making changes to construction codes in the wake of the fire. In fact, ninety-five percent of respondents concur with such measures.

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AGENCY RULES TAX STATE COFFERS, UNDERMINE FUNDAMENTAL RELATIONSHIPS

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EPA mandate report: States shoulder brunt of environmental regulatory costs

Chamber

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s “Growing Burden of EPA Unfunded Mandates on the States” report examines the current challenge state governments face as they work to comply with and implement myriad new federal environmental regulations. States administer 96.5 percent of all Washington, D.C.-delegated environmental programs, while federal grants to states only fund 28 percent of the amount needed to run them, the report finds.

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