Radio Havana Cuba's Science and Technology Program:
BREAKTHROUGHFor broadcast Sunday, 7 November and Thursday, 11 November 1999
Written and narrated by Arnaldo "Arnie" Coro, RHC's Science Editor
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Coro: Hello, welcome to Breakthrough, our Science, Technology and the Environment update. I am Arnaldo, Arnie, Coro, RHC's Science Editor, and now it will be my pleasure to bring you information about a unique industrial installation in Camaguey province that produces low cost asphalt tiles for roofing. The plant was built in the late nineteen fifties, and it is the only one in the island. The asphalt roofing tiles that it produces are known locally as TEJAS INFINITAS, a claim of those that originated the technology about its long lasting properties. TEJAS INFINITAS, that could be translated into INFINITE TILES are made using recycled paper and carton, plus a specially prepared asphalt mixture.
The plant makes standard sized units used for roofing, which are low in cost and, when properly installed provide an adequate protection against even the worst tropical rainstorms. Tejas Infinitas always makes headlines once a tropical cyclone or hurricane hits our island nation. The most terrible damage to housing done by the hurricanes is precisely the effects on the roofing, so the Tejas Infinitas plant is asked to increase its production in order to help those who are left temporarily without shelter. And the workers there do very well indeed, with the help of all the population of the province of Camaguey and the rest of Cuba. A national drive is called for obtaining as much paper and carton as possible to be sent to the Tejas Infinitas plant for processing. In a few weeks time, the industrial installation is capable of making enough tiles for fixing up the damaged homes, schools and industrial facilities that have lost their roofing due to the high winds that come with the tropical storms. The asphalt impregnated tiles are welcomed by everyone needing them, and provide a low cost solution.
Some people are critical of the Tejas Infinitas tiles because they are colored black and really absorb a lot of solar energy, making the homes, schools and industrial plants using them for the roofing material very hot during the summer months. Engineers and architects are working now on finding a an affordable solution to this problem, which so far looks like it will be either a low cost, highly water-repellent and long-lasting white paint, or a thin layer of aluminium foil that will act as a reflector of the infrared energy from the Sun. In the meantime, Tejas Infinitas with their matte black surface, are playing their role of helping those in need of a new roof to have one as soon as possible.
As an engineer specializing in low-cost housing mentioned at a recent meeting here in Havana, Tejas Infinitas asphalt roofing tiles are really very useful, and they can be improved at low cost to provide still better and more adequate roofing for our climate. Cuba's traditional building industry favors a very expensive reinforced concrete type of roof, which needs a further cover made of ceramic tiles, making it much more expensive. Low cost housing projects are using cement pre-formed tiles, pre-fab concrete elements, which are also costly, and the Tejas Infinites asphalt tiles. Architects and engineers believe that in the not-too-distant future, a combination of the Tejas Infinitas technology with the reflective coating will provide a very attractive option for the nation's ever-growing housing needs.
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CORO: And this was Breakthrough for today, how Cuba is manufacturing at a fast pace low cost asphalt roofing tiles to help repair the dwellings, schools and industrial plants damaged during Hurricane Irene. From Havana, I am Arnaldo, Arnie, Coro, RHC's Science Editor, together with sound engineer and producer Jose Costa Pupo saying good bye and wishing you very nice reception or our short wave signals.
For more information, via Air Mail:
"Breakthrough"
Radio Havana Cuba
PO Box 6240, Havana, CUBA 10600
Via e-mail: arnie@radiohc.org
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