Contents■ :;  <%#=4 > ,%%44#4 %the improvement / revision of seismic regulations / codes and levelup the seismic retrofitting techniques of structural engineers, forprogress in safety level of the buildings and structures against
earthquake.
The project is implemented by the National Center for Seismic Risk
Reduction subordinated to the MLPTL, which is responsible for theearthquake countermeasures of buildings and structures, incooperation with the Technical University of Civil Engineering of
Bucharest (UTCB) and Building Research Institute (INCERC).
Term of the Project is scheduled to be five years from October 2002
to September 2007. During this period, JICA dispatches long-termand short-term experts, accepts Romanian engineers to the training
in Japan and provides equipment which is necessary for thetechnical cooperation. The JICA organizes an advisory committee tosupport this Project coordinating with the NILIM and Building
Research Institute (BRI) as the main cooperation organizations.

>>4%# > >,4#> #4 4;=# > >8 4    08>=; < %; #=#=4



>% %A Project Design Team organized by the Japanese International
Cooperation Agency (JICA) headed by Jun-ichi Murakami, Deputy
Director General of National Institute of Land and InfrastructureManagement (NILIM), visited Romania from 28th July to 2nd August
2002. Based on the result of previous investigations, the teamreconfirmed the Project Plan of the Ministry of Public Works,
Transports and Housing, Romanian Government (MLPTL) with thecooperation of Japanese government and concluded its effectivenessfor implementation, then exchanged the signature on the R/D(Record of Discussions) document with the MLPTL.
Romania is a country in Europe that is known for earthquakes. In
particular, earthquake damage has been concentrated in the capitalcity, Bucharest. In its history it has often been prone to damage bygreat earthquakes. On March 4, 1977, an earthquake of moment
magnitude 7.5 occurred in Vrancea county. At this time, most of thedamage was concentrated in Bucharest. It was recorded that 1,578
people (1,424 people in Bucharest ) were killed and the cost of thedamage was 3 billion dollars (2 billion dollars in Bucharest).
Moreover, 1.4 billion dollars of this sum, which was 70 percent of
the total losses caused in Bucharest, were caused by building
collapse.
This project aims to improve seismic retrofitting techniques,disseminate those techniques to structural engineers and draft
revision of construction regulations / codes, thus to contribute to■ #4 %>#4  



Wastewater System
Division

Erosion and SedimentControl Division

 Construction Works based on

Construction Management
Division

Coastal Disaster Prevention
Divisionstudy on the Fatigue
 Experimental
durability of Highway Bridge slabs.

Bridge Division

Coastal Zone Systems
Division Bio-tope -Toward Formation ofRoad Environment Division

Port Planning Division

Bridge Division

Port Planning Division Meeting of U.S. -Japan Panel on

An Analysis on the Flow of North American(2001)

Analysis on the Flow of Northeast
 An
Asian Containerized Cargo in Hokkaido      -%$ )," ''.

Erosion and SedimentControl Division

 Containerized Cargo in East Asian Region

An Analysis on the Port Hinterland ofInternational Marine Container Cargo
Movement by Considering Trip Distance

Infiltration of Stormwater to
Sanitary Sewer
A Study on General Evaluation ofTechnical Difficulty

Study on Function of Road Spaces as
Ecological Network-

Automatic Ultrasonic Testing Manual for
Welded Joints of steel Highway Bridges
Proceedings of the 33rd Joint

Wind and Seismic Effects, UJNR

33rd Joint Meeting U.S.-Japan Panel The
on Wind and Seismic Effects

Port Systems Division

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

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" &'()'*'+" ,$-#. # " #"Coast Division, Bridge Division,
Earthquake Disaster Prevention
Division, Independent Administrative
Institutions Public Works ResearchInstitute
Coast Division, Bridge Division,
Earthquake Disaster Prevention
Division, Independent Administrative
Institutions Public Works ResearchInstitute     #$% " #"" &'()'*'" ,$-/.   &))" /" 0 1" &2)'*3" ,$
#4 56*)2*)3+)7*23

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        5   #"   !"  # .

Emergency Management System for
Natural Disasters in the United Statesand Geographic Factors
 Economic
Effecting on Reclamation in Port Areas 

  !  :;   -,$ 5  , "  "  ;

Reliability Based Design Method for
Checking the Flexural Safety of
Caisson Type Breakwaters

News Letter

 #   $

Sediment-Related Disasters         ;

Operating Methods of Critical Rainfall for■  #   $ Warning and Evacuation from ■ Introduction of Building Material Regulation Based on the Results of Research on Countermeasures for Sick House Problems■ Establishment of Technological Standards for River Channel Plans and River Structure Designs■ The First Step for Shifting to Performance-based Design: Revision of “The Specifications for Highway Bridges”■ Research on Technologies for Zero Emission and Recycling Oriented Society■ R/D SIGNATURE ON JAPANESE TECHNICAL COOPERATION PROJECT ON THE REDUCTION OF SEISMIC RISK FOR
BUILDINGS AND STRUCTURES IN ROMANIA■ TECHNICAL NOTE of National Institute for Land and Infrastructure Management (April-June, 2002)

8%956*)2*)3+)++&

News Letterw w w . n i l i m . g o . j p        

Contemporary houses and buildings contain many chemical
substances used for enhancing building materials, such as
adhesives, anti-termite agents, preservatives, solvents, andplasticizers. These chemical substances may emit particulates andgases that enter the human body and can cause serious influenceson human health. This is the so-called sick house problems, i.e.,
contamination of room air by emissions of hazardous chemical
substances from building materials as well as poor air ventilation,and it is jeopardizing the safety of houses and buildings. Poor air
ventilation is aggravated by the thermal insulation and airtightnessof building structures, which have been introduced to save energy
and increase comfort. Air-conditioners, poor environments, andinfrequent ventilation due to changing life-styles have also made theproblem worse. Thus, sick house problems is an affliction of modern
society.

          

The Japanese government organized the Study Group for Healthy
Houses in 1996; designated the target chemical substances(formaldehyde, toluene, xylene, anti-termite agents, woodpreservatives, and plasticizers) to be preferentially regulated; drew
up a “User's Manual” for consumers and a “Design and Construction
Manual” for designers and constructors, the first such manuals inJapan, in conformance with the guideline for the concentrations ofhazardous chemical substances presented by the Ministry of Healthand Welfare (at the time) in June 1997; and mapped out the future
direction of research and development. These results were compiled
into quality standards for room air as part of countermeasures forformaldehyde drawn up for the Quality Indication System for Houses
and Buildings which came into effect in October 1999, as well as

ISSN 0389-4150

into specifications for on-site concentration measurements added tothe provision in August 2001.
The Building Research Institute of the Ministry of Construction (atthe time) started a joint research between the government andprivate sector in 1997, which is called “Technological Development
for Creating Healthy Residential Environments”; accumulated dataon actual conditions; improved the measurement and assessment
technologies; and compiled the “User's Guide for Constructing
Healthy Houses” and “Design and Construction Guide forConstructing Healthy Houses” which contain specific numericalguidelines.
Although these research and development activities improved ourunderstanding, many uncertainties remained regarding the actual
conditions and mechanism of room air contamination, and there
was insufficient data on building materials for formulating
countermeasures. More data on design needed to be accumulated,and quantitative design and construction methods needed to beestablished.
In fiscal 2000, the Study Group for Room Air Countermeasures led
by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, investigatedthe conditions and concentrations of chemical substances inside
5,000 houses, and found that the concentrations exceeded thecriteria values designated by the guideline in more than one-quarter(formaldehyde) and one-eighth (toluene) of the total number ofhouses. This serious result led to strong calls for propercountermeasures to be developed and implemented.
To take full-scale countermeasures problems by regulating various
hazardous chemical substances, the National Institute for Land andInfrastructure Management (NILIM) of the Ministry of Land,
Infrastructure and Transport started a three-year comprehensive
technological development project in 2001, called the “Developmentof Countermeasure Technology on Residential Indoor Air Quality.” In
this project, NILIM is clarifying the actual state of damage andmechanism of propagation of chemical substances, establishingsimple techniques for measuring and assessing room air, developing
new design and construction technologies which use safe housing
and interior materials, and enhancing the provision of relevant
information.

N I L I M

News Letter

Meanwhile, in preparation for the meeting of the Infrastructure
Arrangement Council (Committee on Countermeasures for Chemical
Substances inside Houses and Buildings) in 2001, NILIM carried out
various joint studies, as well as provided scientific and technological
data, materials, and advice.1) Regarding chemical substances
including anti-termite agents to be applied under the floor, for whichassessment and prediction methods had not been established,
NILIM conducted both theoretical and experimental studies, andpresented a quantitative model and technological basis fordesignating and assessing target substances to be controlled. NILIM
also helped develop practical measurement, assessment and design
technologies in consideration of chemical substance control, andmeans to provide the relevant information and technologies to
consumers, designers and constructors.
To meet the growing necessity to counter the growing use ofhazardous chemical substances in houses and buildings, NILIM is
conducting comprehensive research and development on equipment
and methods for objectively assessing and measuring the target
substances, as well as accumulating information on the conditions
and mechanism of room air contamination. To support effective
administrative policies, our project also emphasizes improving thecontents and system of providing information to local companies(designers and constructors) and dwellers (customers), who are themajor suppliers and users of houses and buildings.

3. Necessity of Future Research and Development

As shown in the above report, the Building Standard Law currently
regulates formaldehyde and chlorpyrifos. However, there has been
rising demand for regulating more chemical substances, hence
further research is needed. Accordingly, it is essential to accumulatescientific knowledge and formulate technological standards throughour project. Taking advantage of our close links with bothconstruction job sites and the latest research and development,
NILIM will continue to provide objective opinions, data and materials
to facilitate the enforcement of administrative policies.
Note:1) In response to an inquiry from the Minister of Land,
Infrastructure and Transport (October 2001), the Committee on
Countermeasures for Chemical Substances inside Houses andBuildings (chaired by Professor Shuzo Murakami of Keio University)
met to discuss the enforcement of chemical substance regulations
by the Building Standard Law. Based on the conclusions of thiscommittee meeting, the Infrastructure Arrangement Council
compiled a report titled “First Report regarding Ideal Policies of theConstruction Administration to Counter the Problems in the 21stCentury, including Countermeasures for the Aging Society,
Environmental Problems, and Urban Renewal” (January 30, 2002).
The contents of this report can be summarized into the following
three points:
1) Chemical substances in rooms in all building structures, not only
houses, should be regulated by the Building Standard Law andother laws.
2) Based on present technological knowledge, only formaldehyde andchlorpyrifos are regulated at present (use of chlorpyrifos has been
restricted); however, this report stipulates that other chemical
substances shall be continuously monitored, and may be added to
the list of regulated chemical substances according to the advanced
results of future research.
3) With the values shown in the guideline of the Ministry of Health,Labour and Welfare as the criteria, the concentrations of hazardous
chemical substances will be regulated to become under thedesignated standard based on the conditions of the amount (area) of

materials emitting such substances and the ventilation
facilities/design of the respective houses and buildings.

■ Establishment of TechnologicalStandards for River Channel Plans andRiver Structure Designs            

Physical Elucidation of Phenomena
With the conventional river channel plans, the design dimensions(e.g., the configuration of river channel cross sections and thecoefficient of roughness) are determined based on flood marks, andthen based on these dimensions, the design high water level isdecided and used as the basis for determining various facility
dimensions.
However, successive research has improved our understanding offlood flows and sediment hydraulics, and it has gradually become
feasible to predict river channel phenomena. For instance, a new
method to obtain the coefficient of velocity (mean flow
velocity/friction velocity) based on segments (characteristic sectionsof river channels) and sand bar configurations, and then calculate
the coefficient of roughness using this coefficient and water depth,
has been established. It has also become possible to calculate therise in water level due to sand bars and bendings of river course.

Process of Drawing Up River Channel Plans
Based on such know-how, a new process of drawing up river
channel plans has been established: 1) set the starting water level;2) calculate the frictional resistance; 3) evaluate the influence of thecommunities of trees and other vegetation on the flood channel; 4)analyze the factors causing water-level rise; and 5) set the low water
channel management line (alignment of low water channel forstabilizing the plane configuration of river channels). This procedureprovides an environment-friendly, safe, and reasonable method ofriver channel planning.

Designing of River Structures
With the conventional methods of designing river structures, on theother hand, the levee height is determined based on the design highwater level, whereas the levee cross section is determined based on
the stability of sliding failure of slopes and the infiltration conditionsof the levee body. Specifically, the levee configuration wasdetermined based on the hydraulic dimensions of each river channel,
without necessarily considering all the structural failure factors(e.g., erosion due to overflow and failure due to scouring).
To improve this situation, the following measures are proposed forevaluating the safety of river facilities based on the hydraulic and/or
mechanical viewpoints and using data obtained on site and by
hydraulic model experiments, rather than relying on empirical rules:
1) Regarding levees, the safety of environment-friendly facilities isstandardized by examining a series of design methods, such as
setting the external force acting on the levees and evaluating thesafety and countermeasures for external forces, while incorporating
new knowledge on protection measures considering environment;
2) Regarding super levees, a standard design method is presented byclarifying the overflow properties (e.g., the amount of overflow andthe shearing force due to overflow) of the flood water which flows
over the levees, as well as the failure properties of levees; and
3) Regarding revetments, a method of calculating the drag (thepushing force in the flowing direction of the current) and the lift (thelifting force in the direction vertically perpendicular to the current)
for each case of revetment disasters, based on hydraulic andmechanical considerations, is presented.
These research results have been compiled into technological

guidelines, such as 1) “Guideline for River Levee Designs” compiledby the Flood Control Division, River Bureau, Ministry ofConstruction; 2) “Cabinet Order concerning Structural Standards forRiver Administration Facilities, etc.”; and 3) “Mechanical Design
Methods of Revetments” compiled by the Japan Institute ofConstruction Engineering, which are currently used by regional
construction bureaus, work offices, and municipal governments fordesigning river administration and management facilities.
* Manual for Design, Work Execution,and Maintenance of Erosion-proof Sheet* Handbook for the River Revetment
Construction Method using Porous Concrete* Basic Policies of Disaster Restoration forProtecting Scenic Mountains and Rivers

Design of facilities inconsideration of the environment
and ecosystems

Methods” should be revised to the format of “Partial Safety Factor
Design Methods.” In addition, standards may need to be rearranged
so that new concepts regarding composite structures, mixed
structures, and integrated super- and sub-structures are not
impeded. It is also essential to examine the separation of items thatshould be prescribed by the central government from those that canbe decided by road managers, together with legal documentation of
the respective items.

Design of facilities based on
hydraulic and mechanicalconsiderations* Guideline for River Levee Designs* Mechanical Design Methods of Revetments* Cabinet Order concerning StructuralStandards for River Administration Facilities, etc.
* Handbook for Structural Design of Groundsills

Figure 1 Guidelines of technological standards for designing river structures

A salt-attacked PC Bridge

Damage prevention work against salt attack(steel bars coated with epoxy resin)■ The First Step for Shifting to

Performance-based Design: Revision ofÒThe Specifications for Highway BridgesÓIn December 2001, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure andTransport notified that “The Specifications for Highway Bridges,”which is the guideline of design standards for highway bridges, hadbeen revised. This is the first revision since the 1996 edition, which
was revised based on the experience of the Kobe earthquake of 1995.
The new guideline has been applied to bridges designed andconstructed since April 2002.
The focus of editorial policy of this revision includes: 1)
compatibility with the current global trend that technologicalstandards should be determined based on the performance ofstructures; 2) flexible exploitation of new concepts to meet thediversifying demands; 3) reduction of life-cycle costs and mitigationof maintenance works; and 4) substantial prescriptions regarding
durability.
Specifically, under the main objectives of rapidly shifting toperformance-based codes and enhancing awareness in theconstruction industry, the items regarding required performance
have been extracted from the previous edition and given asprescriptions in the new edition, whereas the existing structuraldetails and checking particulars are offered as methods forsatisfying the required performance. Accordingly, the language ofmost of the provisions has been revised entirely from “this method
shall be used” to “this method may be used,” while many
conventional prescriptions are retained as “deemed-to-satisfy”
provisions, with which the required performance can be satisfied
without particular validation, to avoid confusion in practice.
As the number of highway bridges has reached 140,000, effective
use of these infrastructures is of crucial importance. Bridges should
therefore be highly durable and life-cycle cost should be minimized;
however, in the previous editions of “The Specifications for Highway
Bridges,” durability considerations were not explicitly prescribed ineach provision. In the revised edition, durability is now the basis ofdesign as an explicit prescription to be observed, rather than an
optional feature.
To fully accomplish this shift to performance-based codes, thesecond-stage revision of this new edition should be undertaken
immediately. To comply with the global trend toward unification oftechnological standards, the scheme of “Allowable Stress Design■ Research on Technologies for Zero

Emission and Recycling Oriented Society

To create a recycling oriented society, it is important throughout
society to reduce the quantity of waste material produced, promote
the recycling and reuse of resources, and ensure appropriate final
disposal.
A government decision in September 1999 set final disposal
quantities of 6.5 million tons of ordinary waste material and 31
million tons of industrial waste material as targets for 2010. In May
2000, the government announced a new recycling law that
stipulates the dismantling process and promotes the recycling of
construction and demolition waste. The law became fully effective in
May 2002.
The Building Department, Water Quality Control Department, Portand Harbor Department and Coastal and Marine Department will
undertake the following research:(1) Technical standards and environmental assessment standards
for recycled materials/new materials, etc.
(2) Technology to restrict the production of construction wastematerials, recover them as resources, and reduce lower theirenvironmental load(3) Technology for reducing waste produced during construction anddismantling of wooden buildings(4) Technologies to reduce the environmental load caused by
optimum treatment of kitchen garbage and other organic wastematerials(5) Method of planning logistics for waste and recyclable materials
and recycling bases in ports(6) Performance-based design of seawalls for controlled waste
disposal taking into account large-scale earthquake motion(7) Technologies to improve the reliability of offshore waste disposalsites for controlled waste materials(8) Method of analyzing public acceptance of offshore waste disposalsites

N I L I M

News Letter

Meanwhile, in preparation for the meeting of the Infrastructure
Arrangement Council (Committee on Countermeasures for Chemical
Substances inside Houses and Buildings) in 2001, NILIM carried out
various joint studies, as well as provided scientific and technological
data, materials, and advice.1) Regarding chemical substances
including anti-termite agents to be applied under the floor, for whichassessment and prediction methods had not been established,
NILIM conducted both theoretical and experimental studies, andpresented a quantitative model and technological basis fordesignating and assessing target substances to be controlled. NILIM
also helped develop practical measurement, assessment and design
technologies in consideration of chemical substance control, andmeans to provide the relevant information and technologies to
consumers, designers and constructors.
To meet the growing necessity to counter the growing use ofhazardous chemical substances in houses and buildings, NILIM is
conducting comprehensive research and development on equipment
and methods for objectively assessing and measuring the target
substances, as well as accumulating information on the conditions
and mechanism of room air contamination. To support effective
administrative policies, our project also emphasizes improving thecontents and system of providing information to local companies(designers and constructors) and dwellers (customers), who are themajor suppliers and users of houses and buildings.

3. Necessity of Future Research and Development

As shown in the above report, the Building Standard Law currently
regulates formaldehyde and chlorpyrifos. However, there has been
rising demand for regulating more chemical substances, hence
further research is needed. Accordingly, it is essential to accumulatescientific knowledge and formulate technological standards throughour project. Taking advantage of our close links with bothconstruction job sites and the latest research and development,
NILIM will continue to provide objective opinions, data and materials
to facilitate the enforcement of administrative policies.
Note:1) In response to an inquiry from the Minister of Land,
Infrastructure and Transport (October 2001), the Committee on
Countermeasures for Chemical Substances inside Houses andBuildings (chaired by Professor Shuzo Murakami of Keio University)
met to discuss the enforcement of chemical substance regulations
by the Building Standard Law. Based on the conclusions of thiscommittee meeting, the Infrastructure Arrangement Council
compiled a report titled “First Report regarding Ideal Policies of theConstruction Administration to Counter the Problems in the 21stCentury, including Countermeasures for the Aging Society,
Environmental Problems, and Urban Renewal” (January 30, 2002).
The contents of this report can be summarized into the following
three points:
1) Chemical substances in rooms in all building structures, not only
houses, should be regulated by the Building Standard Law andother laws.
2) Based on present technological knowledge, only formaldehyde andchlorpyrifos are regulated at present (use of chlorpyrifos has been
restricted); however, this report stipulates that other chemical
substances shall be continuously monitored, and may be added to
the list of regulated chemical substances according to the advanced
results of future research.
3) With the values shown in the guideline of the Ministry of Health,Labour and Welfare as the criteria, the concentrations of hazardous
chemical substances will be regulated to become under thedesignated standard based on the conditions of the amount (area) of

materials emitting such substances and the ventilation
facilities/design of the respective houses and buildings.

■ Establishment of TechnologicalStandards for River Channel Plans andRiver Structure Designs            

Physical Elucidation of Phenomena
With the conventional river channel plans, the design dimensions(e.g., the configuration of river channel cross sections and thecoefficient of roughness) are determined based on flood marks, andthen based on these dimensions, the design high water level isdecided and used as the basis for determining various facility
dimensions.
However, successive research has improved our understanding offlood flows and sediment hydraulics, and it has gradually become
feasible to predict river channel phenomena. For instance, a new
method to obtain the coefficient of velocity (mean flow
velocity/friction velocity) based on segments (characteristic sectionsof river channels) and sand bar configurations, and then calculate
the coefficient of roughness using this coefficient and water depth,
has been established. It has also become possible to calculate therise in water level due to sand bars and bendings of river course.

Process of Drawing Up River Channel Plans
Based on such know-how, a new process of drawing up river
channel plans has been established: 1) set the starting water level;2) calculate the frictional resistance; 3) evaluate the influence of thecommunities of trees and other vegetation on the flood channel; 4)analyze the factors causing water-level rise; and 5) set the low water
channel management line (alignment of low water channel forstabilizing the plane configuration of river channels). This procedureprovides an environment-friendly, safe, and reasonable method ofriver channel planning.

Designing of River Structures
With the conventional methods of designing river structures, on theother hand, the levee height is determined based on the design highwater level, whereas the levee cross section is determined based on
the stability of sliding failure of slopes and the infiltration conditionsof the levee body. Specifically, the levee configuration wasdetermined based on the hydraulic dimensions of each river channel,
without necessarily considering all the structural failure factors(e.g., erosion due to overflow and failure due to scouring).
To improve this situation, the following measures are proposed forevaluating the safety of river facilities based on the hydraulic and/or
mechanical viewpoints and using data obtained on site and by
hydraulic model experiments, rather than relying on empirical rules:
1) Regarding levees, the safety of environment-friendly facilities isstandardized by examining a series of design methods, such as
setting the external force acting on the levees and evaluating thesafety and countermeasures for external forces, while incorporating
new knowledge on protection measures considering environment;
2) Regarding super levees, a standard design method is presented byclarifying the overflow properties (e.g., the amount of overflow andthe shearing force due to overflow) of the flood water which flows
over the levees, as well as the failure properties of levees; and
3) Regarding revetments, a method of calculating the drag (thepushing force in the flowing direction of the current) and the lift (thelifting force in the direction vertically perpendicular to the current)
for each case of revetment disasters, based on hydraulic andmechanical considerations, is presented.
These research results have been compiled into technological

guidelines, such as 1) “Guideline for River Levee Designs” compiledby the Flood Control Division, River Bureau, Ministry ofConstruction; 2) “Cabinet Order concerning Structural Standards forRiver Administration Facilities, etc.”; and 3) “Mechanical Design
Methods of Revetments” compiled by the Japan Institute ofConstruction Engineering, which are currently used by regional
construction bureaus, work offices, and municipal governments fordesigning river administration and management facilities.
* Manual for Design, Work Execution,and Maintenance of Erosion-proof Sheet* Handbook for the River Revetment
Construction Method using Porous Concrete* Basic Policies of Disaster Restoration forProtecting Scenic Mountains and Rivers

Design of facilities inconsideration of the environment
and ecosystems

Methods” should be revised to the format of “Partial Safety Factor
Design Methods.” In addition, standards may need to be rearranged
so that new concepts regarding composite structures, mixed
structures, and integrated super- and sub-structures are not
impeded. It is also essential to examine the separation of items thatshould be prescribed by the central government from those that canbe decided by road managers, together with legal documentation of
the respective items.

Design of facilities based on
hydraulic and mechanicalconsiderations* Guideline for River Levee Designs* Mechanical Design Methods of Revetments* Cabinet Order concerning StructuralStandards for River Administration Facilities, etc.
* Handbook for Structural Design of Groundsills

Figure 1 Guidelines of technological standards for designing river structures

A salt-attacked PC Bridge

Damage prevention work against salt attack(steel bars coated with epoxy resin)■ The First Step for Shifting to

Performance-based Design: Revision ofÒThe Specifications for Highway BridgesÓIn December 2001, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure andTransport notified that “The Specifications for Highway Bridges,”which is the guideline of design standards for highway bridges, hadbeen revised. This is the first revision since the 1996 edition, which
was revised based on the experience of the Kobe earthquake of 1995.
The new guideline has been applied to bridges designed andconstructed since April 2002.
The focus of editorial policy of this revision includes: 1)
compatibility with the current global trend that technologicalstandards should be determined based on the performance ofstructures; 2) flexible exploitation of new concepts to meet thediversifying demands; 3) reduction of life-cycle costs and mitigationof maintenance works; and 4) substantial prescriptions regarding
durability.
Specifically, under the main objectives of rapidly shifting toperformance-based codes and enhancing awareness in theconstruction industry, the items regarding required performance
have been extracted from the previous edition and given asprescriptions in the new edition, whereas the existing structuraldetails and checking particulars are offered as methods forsatisfying the required performance. Accordingly, the language ofmost of the provisions has been revised entirely from “this method
shall be used” to “this method may be used,” while many
conventional prescriptions are retained as “deemed-to-satisfy”
provisions, with which the required performance can be satisfied
without particular validation, to avoid confusion in practice.
As the number of highway bridges has reached 140,000, effective
use of these infrastructures is of crucial importance. Bridges should
therefore be highly durable and life-cycle cost should be minimized;
however, in the previous editions of “The Specifications for Highway
Bridges,” durability considerations were not explicitly prescribed ineach provision. In the revised edition, durability is now the basis ofdesign as an explicit prescription to be observed, rather than an
optional feature.
To fully accomplish this shift to performance-based codes, thesecond-stage revision of this new edition should be undertaken
immediately. To comply with the global trend toward unification oftechnological standards, the scheme of “Allowable Stress Design■ Research on Technologies for Zero

Emission and Recycling Oriented Society

To create a recycling oriented society, it is important throughout
society to reduce the quantity of waste material produced, promote
the recycling and reuse of resources, and ensure appropriate final
disposal.
A government decision in September 1999 set final disposal
quantities of 6.5 million tons of ordinary waste material and 31
million tons of industrial waste material as targets for 2010. In May
2000, the government announced a new recycling law that
stipulates the dismantling process and promotes the recycling of
construction and demolition waste. The law became fully effective in
May 2002.
The Building Department, Water Quality Control Department, Portand Harbor Department and Coastal and Marine Department will
undertake the following research:(1) Technical standards and environmental assessment standards
for recycled materials/new materials, etc.
(2) Technology to restrict the production of construction wastematerials, recover them as resources, and reduce lower theirenvironmental load(3) Technology for reducing waste produced during construction anddismantling of wooden buildings(4) Technologies to reduce the environmental load caused by
optimum treatment of kitchen garbage and other organic wastematerials(5) Method of planning logistics for waste and recyclable materials
and recycling bases in ports(6) Performance-based design of seawalls for controlled waste
disposal taking into account large-scale earthquake motion(7) Technologies to improve the reliability of offshore waste disposalsites for controlled waste materials(8) Method of analyzing public acceptance of offshore waste disposal
sitesContents■ :;  <%#=4 > ,%%44#4 %the improvement / revision of seismic regulations / codes and levelup the seismic retrofitting techniques of structural engineers, forprogress in safety level of the buildings and structures against
earthquake.
The project is implemented by the National Center for Seismic Risk
Reduction subordinated to the MLPTL, which is responsible for theearthquake countermeasures of buildings and structures, incooperation with the Technical University of Civil Engineering of
Bucharest (UTCB) and Building Research Institute (INCERC).
Term of the Project is scheduled to be five years from October 2002
to September 2007. During this period, JICA dispatches long-termand short-term experts, accepts Romanian engineers to the training
in Japan and provides equipment which is necessary for thetechnical cooperation. The JICA organizes an advisory committee tosupport this Project coordinating with the NILIM and Building
Research Institute (BRI) as the main cooperation organizations.

>>4%# > >,4#> #4 4;=# > >8 4    08>=; < %; #=#=4



>% %A Project Design Team organized by the Japanese International
Cooperation Agency (JICA) headed by Jun-ichi Murakami, Deputy
Director General of National Institute of Land and InfrastructureManagement (NILIM), visited Romania from 28th July to 2nd August
2002. Based on the result of previous investigations, the teamreconfirmed the Project Plan of the Ministry of Public Works,
Transports and Housing, Romanian Government (MLPTL) with thecooperation of Japanese government and concluded its effectivenessfor implementation, then exchanged the signature on the R/D(Record of Discussions) document with the MLPTL.
Romania is a country in Europe that is known for earthquakes. In
particular, earthquake damage has been concentrated in the capitalcity, Bucharest. In its history it has often been prone to damage bygreat earthquakes. On March 4, 1977, an earthquake of moment
magnitude 7.5 occurred in Vrancea county. At this time, most of thedamage was concentrated in Bucharest. It was recorded that 1,578
people (1,424 people in Bucharest ) were killed and the cost of thedamage was 3 billion dollars (2 billion dollars in Bucharest).
Moreover, 1.4 billion dollars of this sum, which was 70 percent of
the total losses caused in Bucharest, were caused by building
collapse.
This project aims to improve seismic retrofitting techniques,disseminate those techniques to structural engineers and draft
revision of construction regulations / codes, thus to contribute to■ #4 %>#4  

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Wastewater System
Division

Erosion and SedimentControl Division

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Construction Management
Division

Coastal Disaster Prevention
Divisionstudy on the Fatigue
 Experimental
durability of Highway Bridge slabs.

Bridge Division

Coastal Zone Systems
Division Bio-tope -Toward Formation ofRoad Environment Division

Port Planning Division

Bridge Division

Port Planning Division Meeting of U.S. -Japan Panel on

An Analysis on the Flow of North American(2001)

Analysis on the Flow of Northeast
 An
Asian Containerized Cargo in Hokkaido      -%$ )," ''.

Erosion and SedimentControl Division

 Containerized Cargo in East Asian Region

An Analysis on the Port Hinterland ofInternational Marine Container Cargo
Movement by Considering Trip Distance

Infiltration of Stormwater to
Sanitary Sewer
A Study on General Evaluation ofTechnical Difficulty

Study on Function of Road Spaces as
Ecological Network-

Automatic Ultrasonic Testing Manual for
Welded Joints of steel Highway Bridges
Proceedings of the 33rd Joint

Wind and Seismic Effects, UJNR

33rd Joint Meeting U.S.-Japan Panel The
on Wind and Seismic Effects

Port Systems Division

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Earthquake Disaster Prevention
Division, Independent Administrative
Institutions Public Works ResearchInstitute
Coast Division, Bridge Division,
Earthquake Disaster Prevention
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Institutions Public Works ResearchInstitute     #$% " #"" &'()'*'" ,$-/.   &))" /" 0 1" &2)'*3" ,$
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Emergency Management System for
Natural Disasters in the United Statesand Geographic Factors
 Economic
Effecting on Reclamation in Port Areas 

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Reliability Based Design Method for
Checking the Flexural Safety of
Caisson Type Breakwaters

News Letter

 #   $

Sediment-Related Disasters         ;

Operating Methods of Critical Rainfall for■  #   $ Warning and Evacuation from ■ Introduction of Building Material Regulation Based on the Results of Research on Countermeasures for Sick House Problems■ Establishment of Technological Standards for River Channel Plans and River Structure Designs■ The First Step for Shifting to Performance-based Design: Revision of “The Specifications for Highway Bridges”■ Research on Technologies for Zero Emission and Recycling Oriented Society■ R/D SIGNATURE ON JAPANESE TECHNICAL COOPERATION PROJECT ON THE REDUCTION OF SEISMIC RISK FOR
BUILDINGS AND STRUCTURES IN ROMANIA■ TECHNICAL NOTE of National Institute for Land and Infrastructure Management (April-June, 2002)

8%956*)2*)3+)++&

News Letterw w w . n i l i m . g o . j p        

Contemporary houses and buildings contain many chemical
substances used for enhancing building materials, such as
adhesives, anti-termite agents, preservatives, solvents, andplasticizers. These chemical substances may emit particulates andgases that enter the human body and can cause serious influenceson human health. This is the so-called sick house problems, i.e.,
contamination of room air by emissions of hazardous chemical
substances from building materials as well as poor air ventilation,and it is jeopardizing the safety of houses and buildings. Poor air
ventilation is aggravated by the thermal insulation and airtightnessof building structures, which have been introduced to save energy
and increase comfort. Air-conditioners, poor environments, andinfrequent ventilation due to changing life-styles have also made theproblem worse. Thus, sick house problems is an affliction of modern
society.

          

The Japanese government organized the Study Group for Healthy
Houses in 1996; designated the target chemical substances(formaldehyde, toluene, xylene, anti-termite agents, woodpreservatives, and plasticizers) to be preferentially regulated; drew
up a “User's Manual” for consumers and a “Design and Construction
Manual” for designers and constructors, the first such manuals inJapan, in conformance with the guideline for the concentrations ofhazardous chemical substances presented by the Ministry of Healthand Welfare (at the time) in June 1997; and mapped out the future
direction of research and development. These results were compiled
into quality standards for room air as part of countermeasures forformaldehyde drawn up for the Quality Indication System for Houses
and Buildings which came into effect in October 1999, as well as

ISSN 0389-4150

into specifications for on-site concentration measurements added tothe provision in August 2001.
The Building Research Institute of the Ministry of Construction (atthe time) started a joint research between the government andprivate sector in 1997, which is called “Technological Development
for Creating Healthy Residential Environments”; accumulated dataon actual conditions; improved the measurement and assessment
technologies; and compiled the “User's Guide for Constructing
Healthy Houses” and “Design and Construction Guide forConstructing Healthy Houses” which contain specific numericalguidelines.
Although these research and development activities improved ourunderstanding, many uncertainties remained regarding the actual
conditions and mechanism of room air contamination, and there
was insufficient data on building materials for formulating
countermeasures. More data on design needed to be accumulated,and quantitative design and construction methods needed to beestablished.
In fiscal 2000, the Study Group for Room Air Countermeasures led
by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, investigatedthe conditions and concentrations of chemical substances inside
5,000 houses, and found that the concentrations exceeded thecriteria values designated by the guideline in more than one-quarter(formaldehyde) and one-eighth (toluene) of the total number ofhouses. This serious result led to strong calls for propercountermeasures to be developed and implemented.
To take full-scale countermeasures problems by regulating various
hazardous chemical substances, the National Institute for Land andInfrastructure Management (NILIM) of the Ministry of Land,
Infrastructure and Transport started a three-year comprehensive
technological development project in 2001, called the “Developmentof Countermeasure Technology on Residential Indoor Air Quality.” In
this project, NILIM is clarifying the actual state of damage andmechanism of propagation of chemical substances, establishingsimple techniques for measuring and assessing room air, developing
new design and construction technologies which use safe housing
and interior materials, and enhancing the provision of relevant
information.