Fall Research Expo 2020

Addressing Social Justice and Environmental Health Issues in the Construction Industry: Polymers, Toxins, and Philadelphia Energy Solutions

The ubiquitous use of plastics in architectural design and construction obfuscates the very real health and life safety risks which exist when using petroleum-based polymers in the building industry. In the past 40 years, nearly all contemporary building materials have been re-engineered using polymer-based additives for the purposes of increasing a range of performance criteria. Even the most traditional of materials, wood, is typically re-materialized after harvesting with resins in order to increase structural strength and moisture resistance. Very little, however, is disclosed to architects, builders, clients and the general public about the potential health risks associated with adopting such large quantities of nonrenewable and nonrecyclable plastics in buildings. The parts per million of synthetic polymers typically found in newborns confirms the extent to which nearly everything in our built environment is permeated by materials derived from fossil fuels. This research project is dedicated to understanding and evaluating the very real risks posed by plastics in the building industry and developing protocols for transferring this information to building professionals, the industry’s affiliated members, and the general public. This research work first began in Fall 2018, when sponsored by the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the Weitzman School of Design of the University of Pennsylvania, when an initial team of undergraduate students collaborated in the production of the following on-line digest, Fossil Fuels Building Industry and Human Health. The work is being presented at various conferences and will be published in the forthcoming book, Examining the Environmental Impacts of Materials and Buildings.

PRESENTED BY
PURM - Penn Undergraduate Research Mentoring Program
College of Arts & Sciences 2022
Advised By
Franca Trubiano
Associate Professor in Architecture at the Weitzman School of Design
Join Kai for a virtual discussion
PRESENTED BY
PURM - Penn Undergraduate Research Mentoring Program
College of Arts & Sciences 2022
Advised By
Franca Trubiano
Associate Professor in Architecture at the Weitzman School of Design

Comments

Your project focuses on a vital matter, and I'm so glad to see you took on this topic. 

Your project focuses on a vital matter, and I'm so glad to see you took on this topic. 

I thought it was so important how you addressed this environmental issue as a social justice issue. The incorporation of both scientific and human quantitative research was really effective. I thought those quotes you added were especially effective in understanding the scope and impact of this issue. 

Great job!

This is such an important topic that deserves more attention! You mention the work being presented at various conferences and being published soon. What is your team doing to make these particular research results accessible to the Philadelphians affected by the PES refinery, especially given how you noted that the remediation process has failed to include the community? 

I thought it was very important how you brought up the ways in which PES refinery continues to disproportionately affect neighborhoods of Black and low income individuals. As a nursing student, we focus a lot on health disparities and social determinants of health and this is a prime example. Residents' health suffers for reasons that are out of their control. I thought your project did a great job highlighting the problem and I am wondering if you have any important insights that you think should be a consideration in the remediation efforts.