Skyscrapers More Polluting Than We Think

Even as expanding populations increase the popularity of skyscrapers, a new study has found that such buildings are dirtier and often cause more pollution.

Even as expanding populations increase the popularity of skyscrapers, a new study has found that such buildings are dirtier and often cause more pollution due to release of toxins and pollutants from their rooftops.

By examining the path and amount of air pollution from a building to its neighbours downwind, Concordia University researchers Ted Stathopoulos and Bodhisatta Hajra have come up with eco-friendly building guidelines.

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They hunkered down in Concordia's cutting-edge wind tunnel lab, a huge underground research facility which allows engineers to test the atmospheric dispersion of pollution and toxins in any given setting, the journal, Building and Environment reports.

"We created model configurations consisting of buildings of various sizes and shapes," says Stathopoulos, who was awarded the prestigious Davenport Medal by the International Association for Wind Engineering in Sep 2012, according to a Concordia statement.

Hajra, who received his doctorate during Concordia's autumn convocation Oct 30, goes on to explain: "We then placed our models downwind of a building that was emitting toxins to trace the path from polluter to polluted. That allowed us to see how much pollution was being absorbed by buildings downwind and where on those buildings that pollution was most concentrated."

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Their findings show that the process by which air pollution spreads from one building's exhaust stack to another's intake is affected by the height and spacing between buildings, something that can be optimised by architects and engineers as new towers are constructed.

"While our research may not reduce the amount of outdoor pollution in our cities," says Stathopoulos, "it can certainly help ensure that this same dirty air is not re-circulated indoors".

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Source-IANS