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ionogenic radiation: ionogenic radiation is composed of particles and electromagnetic waves capable of extremely high penetration of materials. This allows the radiation to move electrons that it encounters in its path from one atom to another. In this way the atoms, buffeted by the radiation, lose their neutrality (which consists in having an equal number of protons and electrons) and gain an electronic charge, becoming ionised. Ionisation can provoke chemical phenomena in living organisms that can lead to lesions observable at both the cellular level as well as within the organism. One speaks of somatic damage when the radiation damages the cellular and extra-cellular structures and of genetic damage when it provokes changes in the genetic structure. The radioactive substances found in nature represent one-tenth of the total and consist of nuclides with atomic numbers greater than 82 (lead) and less than or equal to 92 (uranium). There is a much greater number of artificial ones, composed of radioactive elements with an atomic number greater or equal to 93 (transuranium) and of artificial isotopes formed from stable elements (radioisotopes). Regarding implications for construction, see the paragraph dedicated to Radon.
[Source: http://www.prismanet.com/barsanti/scienze/radiazioni.htmt]
LCA: The term LCA (Life Cycle Assessment), now in common usage, was first used during the 1990 SETAC (Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry) congress in Vermont, USA, in order to better characterise the analyses carried out until then under the name REPA. Based on the definition supplied by SETAC in 1993 the Life Cycle Assessment is an objective procedure to evaluate the energetic and environmental burden of a product, process or activity. See also the paragraph: LCA.
mSv/year:  regulations formed to reduce the risk of ionised radiation fix precise limits of doses that are expressed in milliSv/year (or mSv/year). Italian legislation only addresses risks to exposure to radon found in the workplace (D. Lgs 230/95), while in the home reference is made to the recommendations of the European Union. Nevertheless all of the regulations fix ‘recommended values’, values of radon concentration above which it is necessary to take measures to reduce these values. A situation is considered acceptable when it is below the ‘recommended values.’ (Source: www.italprotezione.it/leggi.htm)
quartziferous sand: raw material widely used in the ceramics industry and which carries out a structural function, limiting dimensional variations in the firing due to its presence in the clay mixture. These sands, whose value is assigned on the basis of purity and fineness, are found on all five continents and are present in all the European countries.
single firing: process in which the glaze and clay are fired at the same time. Prior to the development of s.f. in the 80s, the method generally used in Italy was double firing. New technology has led to the creation of a much thinner product, reducing production and transportation costs. The tile in s.f. is also more resistant and can be used for commercial pavements subjected to a high intensity of traffic.
sustainability: among the definitions of s., that given in the Brundtland Report (mentioned often within this site) has generated various new variations. For example, according to the editor of Econews Guy Dauncey, “Sustainability is a condition of existence that allows the present generation (of the human and other species) to enjoy social well-being, a viable economy and a healthy environment, (…) without compromising the capacity of future generations (human and not) to benefit from these in equal measure.” For a more in-depth understanding of this concept see the paragraphs: S_consumption, S_building, S_cities and ecoprocurement within the macro-concept Sustainability is now.
thermal bridge: non-isolating element that provokes a rapid dispersion of heat from one material to another. A t.b. occurs as the result of discontinuity, joints or connections, and is the cause of inefficiency, energy waste and condensation phenomena resulting from sudden local variations in temperature.
Total Quality Environmental Management (TQEM): integration of environmental objectives within a business’s essential practices through a management system where quality is defined on the basis of the identification of the causes of environmental problems and solutions for their resolution. An on-going revision of these practices leads to a continuous improvement of products and processes. According to the ‘TQEM Primer’ of GEMI, there are four key elements in TQEM:

  1. Identification of the client: in TQEM environmental quality is established through the preferences of the client. Purchasers, local communities, ecology groups and the overall public are considered ‘external clients’ while office and factory workers represent the ‘internal clients’ of a business.

  2. Continuous improvement: management and employees of a company need to work systematically for the improvement of environmental performance. The involvement of everyone is fundamental to the successful application of TQEM.

  3. Act correctly from the very beginning: the elimination of environmental risks (through prevention) is a vital element of TQEM. As such employees are called on to identify and eliminate all possible environmental problems.

  4. Systemic approach: it is important to conceive the various components of TQEM integrally in order to guarantee the correct functioning and mutual support necessary to achieve the desired objectives.

vernacular architecture: term for the form of architectural production documented in the historical-constructive tradition typical of a specific location, also defined by the term ‘spontaneous architecture’ (as opposed to authorial architecture), and which surprises for the happy synthesis of climate-form-material. It is poor but knowledgeable building form, made with material found in the surrounding environment. Thanks to a major attention to environmental and social problematics v. a. has arrived in recent years to the status of history after having been relegated to the lesser place of minor architecture or confined to the disciplinary limits of anthropologic culture. The evolution and slow growth that antique societies underwent allowed them to integrate their practice into a lengthy and well-considered process of reproduction, always adapted to natural constrictions. Edouard Goldsmith (founder of The Ecologist and one of the driving forces of the ecology movement on the international level) affirms: “It is because vernacular society has adapted its mode of life to the surrounding environment that has made it durable, and because industrial society on the contrary has forced the environment to adapt to its mode of life that places its survival into question.”
vernacular building: see vernacular architecture
vitrification: progressive partial fusion of a ceramic mixture, clay, feldspar, enamel etc. provoked by the increase in temperature during the firing process. Through this process the quantity of the vitreous phase increases and the apparent porosity of the material decreases. A ceramic body is completely vitrified if the glass fills the pores between the grains completely, cementing them shut. The most important variables in the vitrification process are the initial size distribution of the particles, the viscosity of the vitreous phase and, to a lesser degree, surface tension. The term v. is sometimes substituted with ‘gresification’, which however indicates a lesser degree of vitrification, such as that obtained with stoneware as compared to porcelain.
vitrified stoneware: tile obtained by pressing with very low total porosity, produced from white-body that may also be uniformly- or multi-coloured through a mixture of dustings or granules of different sizes and colours. The composition of the mixture is very similar to white-body stoneware but the raw materials are chosen in such a way as to maintain a minimum percentage of iron oxide. The mixture is pressed with specific loads 50% greater than those of vitrified white-body enamel. The firing is conducted with a cycle of less than one hour and a temperature of around 1,200° C. The tile can also be polished, either before or after installation, in order to highlight its aesthetic qualities. It is resistant to frost, acids and bases and has an elevated mechanical resistance.
zirconium silicate: derived from zirconium sand utilised by the ceramic industry to give opacity and whiteness to the glazing, and whiteness to vitrified stoneware or to the ceramic mass.
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