Seismic Loss Estimation and Environmental Issues

Abstract

The consideration of environmental losses in seismic design is discussed within the framework of cost optimization analysis. Within this context, the equivalent carbon emissions (CO2-e) are used as a proxy for the environmental cost related to seismic damage, and a model to assess the environmental cost in seismic loss estimation is introduced. The use of the model is illustrated through its application to the analysis of simple earthquake-resistant structural systems. It is concluded that under certain circumstances, the consideration of environmental issues in seismic design may be important, especially as the planning time horizon of the facility increases.

Life cycle sustainability assessment of RC buildings in seismic regions

“…A more complete review of studies on LCA for evaluating environmental impact is available in Khasreen et al [18] and Sharma et al [19]. Only a limited number of studies performed a life-cycle environmental impact assessment (LCEIA) accounting for the performance of structures subjected to earthquakes [20][21][22][23]. The studies mentioned above focused on individual components of sustainability of civil infrastructure (i.e., cost, environment or society), whereas comprehensive sustainability assessment efforts have been rare.…”

Probability-Based Hurricane Resilience Evaluation and Retrofitting for Residential Community

“…Hurricane Katrina (2005) caused 1,833 death and countless injuries with an accordingly $43.6 billion in insurance losses. In addition, hurricanes have large environmental impact because each time a damaged structure is rehabilitated after a hurricane event, new materials are consumed and greenhouse gases emissions produced (Arroyo et al 2015).…”

“…The monetary losses due to environmental issues under natural hazards have been drawing attentions (Alduse et al 2015). Hurricanes may cause environmental losses because each time a damaged structure is rehabilitated after a hurricane event, new materials are consumed and greenhouse gases emissions produced (Arroyo et al 2015). Feese et al (2014) examined the cost and environmental impacts of buildings by using a cradle-to-grave analysis subjected to seismic events.…”

“…Feese et al (2014) examined the cost and environmental impacts of buildings by using a cradle-to-grave analysis subjected to seismic events. Arroyo et al (2015) proposed a probabilistic framework to evaluate the environmental losses of a five-story framed building under seismic event. It is worth mentioning that this study is among the first to quantify the environmental losses for wood construction subjected to hurricane events.…”

“…As a result, the public gradually realizes that the environmental costs of residential community subjected to natural hazards such as hurricanes and earthquakes cannot be ignored. The mechanism of hurricane-induced environmental losses is greenhouse gas emission in the process of structural rehabilitation after a hurricane event (Arroyo et al 2015). Dong and Li (2016) quantified environmental losses of a residential building subjected to hurricane events.…”