Dubai sets up green lab

BY PMA RASHEED
The Gulf Today, 13 Aug 2010

A specialised green laboratory has been set up in Dubai to carry out tests on green building materials and products, as all the new buildings in the Emirate have to comply with the civic body’s green building regulations.

The lab will facilitate application of the requirements and specifications for the green building regulation, which will soon be issued by Dubai Municipality (DM) as the strategy will significantly contribute to environment conservation and reduction of energy consumption in the Emirate.

Hawa Abdullah Bastaki, Director of Dubai Central Laboratory Department (DCLD), has said that a guide outlining an inventory of all green building materials and products has been prepared.

“The user’s guide includes the contact details of suppliers and manufacturers of the green materials. Another guide also will be issued with the names of laboratories for testing these materials,” she added.

“The laboratory has been designed with the global standards, advanced technologies and specialised devices, aimed at facilitating testing services for the manufacturers of green building materials,” noted Bastaki.

According to her, the analysis procedures at the green lab will ensure accuracy and quality of tests as well as the activation of the monitoring role of the central lab.

“The civic body’s engineering materials laboratory has been conducting many physical and mechanical tests on building materials such as concrete, steel, tiles, cement, mortar products, thermal insulation products, humidity insulation products, polystyrene, fly ash, fibreglass bars, plastic pipes, rock wool and glass wool,” she elaborated.

“Such materials are used in civil construction, buildings and construction of roads in accordance with international standards and specifications adopted in this area,” Bastaki added.

“These laboratories also implement monitoring programmes and quality control on materials of roads and bridges by conducting physical and mechanical tests on asphalt mix, rubble, pavement base and under the foundation,” she pointed out.

“Tests have been conducted on 49,157 samples so far, while the number of reports issued was 39,000 within the period referred to,” Bastaki disclosed.

“The procedures will increase customer confidence in the accuracy of the results and give credibility to the products that have been tested.

It has obtained the approval for more than 52 tests in accordance with the international standard ISO17025 specification which facilitates the export and acceptance of these products globally,” she elaborated. According to her, the engineering materials lab has plans to launch new services of analysis related to safety and health of the consumer.

“The range includes testing on paints, mortars, and checking the quality of tyres as well as introducing new tests for asphalt mixes, such as for distortion and cracking,” said Bastaki.