Center for Earth Systems Engineering and Management
A collection of scholarly work published by and supporting the Center for Earth Systems Engineering and Management (CESEM) at Arizona State University.
CESEM focuses on "earth systems engineering and management," providing a basis for understanding, designing, and managing the complex integrated built/human/natural systems that increasingly characterize our planet.
Works in this collection are particularly important in linking engineering, technology, and sustainability, and are increasingly intertwined with the work of ASU's Global Institute of Sustainability (GIOS).
Filtering by
- All Subjects: Medical wastes
- All Subjects: Public architecture
This study aims to quantify the environmental impacts of a hospital’s daily BMW disposal in the Phoenix, Arizona area. The sole option to dispose of BMW in Arizona is to sterilize the waste by sending it through an autoclave, and then dispose the sterilized waste in a landfill. This study used a Phoenix area hospital to create a start point for the waste and a general estimation of how much BMW the hospital disposes of. The system boundary for the LCA includes BMW generated at the Phoenix-area Hospital as it is travels to Stericycle, where it is autoclaved, and then transported to a landfill for disposal. The results of this retrospective, end-of-life LCA using this boundary enables hospital employees and policy makers to understand the environmental impact of placing items in the biohazardous waste bin.
Public transit necessitates environmental exposure and there is increasing recognition that in a future with hotter temperatures new strategies are needed to protect passengers. Arizona State University’s Spring 2017 Urban Infrastructure Anatomy course assessed travel behavior, public transit stop design, and heat exposure to develop recommendations for mitigating heat exposure. Travel surveys, analysis of infrastructure characteristics, and thermal imaging were used to assess exposure. A suite of mitigation strategies was developed from a literature review, conversations with experts, and review of other transit systems. Focusing on neighborhoods in Tempe, Arizona, strategies are developed for protecting future riders from negative health outcomes.