Environmental Awareness in Civil Engineering Designs

Dr. Amirhossein Malakahmad Civil Engineering Department Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS

When I went out to dinner with five different engineers from three different companies recently, I never anticipated that one of the common concerns this diverse group (design, manufacturing, applications, and research) had was an ever-increasing involvement in environmental affairs. In discussions which included packaging, ergonomics, materials specification, disposal, component selection, and employee and user safety, we came to the undeniable conclusion that those who build into the next century without regard for environmental issues will get in serious havoc.

Dr. Steve O'Neil

Why Environmental awareness?

Promoting green design, construction, reconstruction and operation of buildings has never been more critical than now due to the ever increasing greenhouse gas emissions that are fuelling climate change more quickly.

One of the greatest opportunity for achieving significant reductions in climate change emissions lies in how we create a sustainable approach to construction and development to protect and enhance the natural environment.

Health care centers

Establishment of comprehensive clinical waste collection, transportation and disposal system by Malaysian Government.

Clinical waste generation rate in Malaysia for varies from 0.3 to 0.8 kg per occupied bed per day.
Internal transport routes (from wards/ departments to central storage area) shall be designed to minimize the passage of waste through patient care areas and other clean areas.

Environmental Design for Hospitals

Environmental aspects of effective hospital design include sights, sounds, smells, taste and tactile experiences. In one hospital study, patients recovering from abdominal surgery with a bedside window view of nature (specifically trees) recovered faster, reported better emotional well-being and required less pain medication then if their window view was a brick wall.

Offshore facilities design

Domestic sewage, with or without the presence of industrial wastewater, represents contaminants of offshore to the receiving waters. Massive quantities discharge causes ecological problems such as eutrophication and direct physical impacts to marine life such as poisoning, smothering, and the disruption of growth, respiration, reproduction, and the immune system.

Offshore facilities design

Sewage poses aesthetic and health risks to human populations and also acts as a vector of other contaminants. The issue is more critical with the discharges contain: Oxygen demanding compounds Persistent organic materials Heavy metals

Palm oil processing

In Malaysia, palm oil is very productive industry where palm oil mills are operated at least 300 days per year. An estimated 30 million tons of palm oil mill effluent (POME) are produced annually from more than 300 palm oil mills in Malaysia.

Although the palm oil industry is one of the major revenue earners for Malaysia, it has been identified among the largest sources of water pollution due to the palm oil mill effluent (POME) characteristic.

 POME is a highly polluting wastewater that can therefore cause severe pollution of waterways due to oxygen reduction.

Parameters pH

Average concentrations 4.7

COD (mg/L)
BOD (mg/L) TKN (mg/L) TSS (mg/L)

78,000
46,800 757 24500

Office building projects

Driven by environmental needs, Green Building Index (GBI) was founded to drive initiative to lead the property industry towards becoming more environment-friendly.

Environment-friendly based buildings have 6 defining criteria:

Energy Efficiency Indoor Environmental Quality Sustainable Site Planning and Management Materials and Resources Water Efficiency Innovation

Green building
A Green building focuses on increasing the efficiency of resource use such as energy, water, and materials while reducing building impact on human health and the environment during the building's lifecycle.

This is achieved through better sitting, design, construction, operation, maintenance, and removal. Green Buildings should be designed and operated to reduce the overall impact of the built environment on its surroundings.

Mixed development
An environmentally-friendly mixed development is a sustainable mixed development is a community of residents, neighbors, workers, and visitors who strive together to balance ecological, economic, and social needs to ensure a clean, healthy and safe environment for all members of society and for generations to come.

Mixed development
To ensure a viable future, the development must take a leadership role and address the impacts placed on the environment by urbanization and a growing population. These impacts include:
Air pollution Water pollution Solid waste management Climate change Habitat loss

References
Green Building Index, GBI Malaysia Environmental Design for Hospitals Green City - Planning - City of Pasadena, California Dr. Amirhossein Malakahmads lecture notes:
Marine Pollution and Control Solid and Hazardous Waste Management