December 12, 2007

Construct Canada seminar measures heartbeat of health care construction

PATRICIA WILLIAMS

STAFF WRITER

Given potential health hazards, care needs to be taken to reduce the environmental impact of construction activities near health care facilities, contractors were told at a recent Construct Canada seminar.

Professional engineer Gordon Burrill, president of Teegor Consulting Inc. of Fredericton said Health Canada data show that hundreds of patients die annually as a result of airborne pathogens generated by construction-related activities.

“We need to take some proactive measures to ensure that we keep these [patients] safe,” said Burrill, a former president of the Canadian Healthcare Engineering Society.

Its members include architects, engineers and contractors.

Burrill, who has 20 years of experience in the design, construction and maintenance of healthcare facilities, said a major issue is “fugitive” dust infiltrating existing buildings. This can affect indoor air quality.

But noise, vibrations and even diesel fumes can have a negative impact on patients and healthcare facility staff alike.

“We have a captive audience,” Burrill said.

“We need to ensure when we are doing construction that we are not impacting the healthcare we are delivering to our patients. It isn’t full speed ahead.”

Contractors attending the session were briefed on a range of mitigation strategies by staff from Rowan Williams Davies & Irwin (RWDI) Inc., a firm of consulting engineers and scientists.

John Alberico, a principal in the firm, said dust emissions from construction sites are not regulated under the Ontario Environmental Protection Act.

“Often, the best that can be accomplished is to reduce emissions as much as possible.” The greatest emissions, typically, are from truck traffic on unpaved roads.

Mitigation strategies run the gamut from setting up tire-washing stations on site, paving high-traffic areas and setting speed limits in construction zones to drafting full-scale dust management plans

Alberico said such plans increasingly are being incorporated into construction contracts.

When it comes to diesel odours, common strategies include implementation of a “no idling” policy where possible, installation of purifiers on engine exhausts and using alternate fuels that have less offensive emissions.

In the case of noise, mitigation techniques range from selection of quiet equipment and installation of sound barriers to scheduling worst-case noise to daytime only, said RWDI associate Scott Penton.

As for dealing with vibrations, one strategy is installation of sensors, he said.

No matter what approach is taken, implementation of strategies to minimize the environmental impact of nearby construction requires a commitment from not only the contractors but also staff from the healthcare facility itself, Penton said.

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