Harmful and hazardous building materials: black list. Rating of the most harmful building and finishing materials for humans Hazardous substances in construction
The walls of our home should protect and keep us safe from danger. When does a house start to be dangerous for us and our loved ones?
More than 100 toxic substances can be in the air of an apartment. After cosmetic repairs, we can worsen the radiation background in our apartment. Not only varnishes and paints can be dangerous if inhaled, but also ordinary linoleum or chipboard furniture.
Today I want to dwell on the topic "Harmful building materials that poison our body." Let's figure out which building materials emit hazardous substances and try to replace them with safer ones.
The most harmful building materials
Highly toxic substances benzene and ethylbenzene get into our apartment from building materials - linoleum, varnishes, paints. These substances provoke cancer.
Large concentrations of harmful chemical substances - xylene and toluene, which are in varnishes, paints, plastics, linoleum, can cause damage to the skin, mucous membranes, and lung diseases.
The presence of such poisons can be found in the air of any apartment. Phenol is used in the production of synthetic resins and various chemicals.
Phenol is found in:
- varnishes and paints;
- linoleum;
- furniture made of fiberboard and chipboard;
- bituminous and tar impregnation;
- roofing material.
No one thinks that phenol poisoning not only affects the liver and kidneys, but also changes the composition of the blood.
Another harmful substance is formaldehyde, which is found in chipboard and fiberboard, foam, plywood. Its concentration is very high in apartments with chipboard furniture.
Formaldehyde is the most common pollutant and carcinogen. If it enters the human body, then headaches, nausea begin, and the upper respiratory tract is affected. Let's give up such harmful materials.
The most harmful finishing materials
Styrene is a dangerous substance, the vapors of which irritate the eyes, cause headaches, nausea, dizziness, and spasms.
It contains:
- facing plastic;
- polystyrene thermal insulation foams;
- moisture resistant wallpaper.
Expanded polystyrene panels constantly emit gas and should not be used in living quarters. PVC gives off vinyl chloride, which affects nervous system... This process is enhanced by heating. If the linoleum is near the battery, then it heats up and the vinyl chloride is released faster.
Building materials such as phosphogypsum and silicate brick can be a source of radon, a radioactive gas that is a decay product of radium. The radiation dose from poisonous radon is even greater than the dose from other radiation sources.
Therefore, it is imperative to intensively ventilate the room.
When choosing materials for renovation, try to pay attention to sustainability. Parquet is best for the floor. Linoleum is more harmful, it is better not to lay it in the nursery and in the bedroom, stop at the laminate.
In nurseries, do not use foam as insulation, replace it with natural materials. 
When choosing paints, choose water-based, alkyd, latex or polyester paints. They dry quickly and there will be no hazardous fumes in the air.
Products made of expanded polystyrene and polystyrene are very harmful. A huge number of people decorate ceilings with expanded polystyrene tiles and other thermal insulation materials from expanded polystyrene. Remember, they are very toxic.
Replace your styrofoam tiles with safe mineral wool boards, which are also excellent insulation.
Sealants are unsafe and contain a foaming agent. Remember a strong odor is always a sign of toxicity in a sealant.
Very harmful adhesive mastics for gluing tiles or linoleum, which contain a solvent.
Plastic double-glazed windows are also not harmless, PVC frames and profiles emit a lot of toxic substances. It is always best to opt for wooden frames.
Harmful materials in kitchen utensils
Also pay attention to kitchen utensils, they can also be made of hazardous materials, where melamine products are especially dangerous. 
Melamine is a brightly colored plastic that gives off formaldehyde.
Even crystal can be dangerous because, as it turned out, it is a source of weak radiation and releases lead. Therefore, it is not recommended to use these dishes frequently. You cannot keep drinks in a crystal decanter for a long time. With a long stay in the crystal, the compote can absorb lead. Therefore, pour your drinks into a crystal bowl immediately before serving.
Oxidized aluminum pans can be harmful, especially for people with kidney problems. Do not rub aluminum cookware until shine with a metal sponge. An old pan covered with an oxide layer may not be beautiful, but it no longer oxidizes.
Our favorite Teflon skillet contains many toxic substances that end up in food. The more often we heat the pan, the faster the coating is damaged and the poisons get into the air. The released Teflon particles enter the lungs, infecting cells. All workers of enterprises that produce teflon products work in masks.
The vapors released from Teflon increase the risk of diabetes, obesity, and cancer.
An old cast iron skillet is the best and safest. Pans with ceramic coating are also considered environmentally friendly.
What can replace harmful building materials?
The safest floor covering is parquet and cork. Choose them for children's rooms. Kavrolin does not emit hazardous substances, but it can cause allergies.
Laminate flooring can release toxic substances. Linoleum is not the most environmentally friendly material.
How to choose a heater? Expanded clay is safe, but not effective. Glass wool is effective, but can sag over time. Polyfoam, expanded polystyrene are durable, but when heated they can emit poisons and poorly remove vapors from the room, forming a fungus, condensation.
Stone wool perfectly protects from heat and cold, is safe and recommended for residential use.
When choosing wallpaper, stop at paper, fiberglass, vegetable based on jute, golden flower, bamboo or reed, they are made from natural ingredients. It is better to choose wallpaper glue based on starch or casein.
When choosing materials for repair, pay attention to:
- quality certificates;
- pungent odor, products should not be a source of pungent odor;
- products of well-known companies, it is more reliable.
The most harmful materials are varnishes, paints, poor quality mastics, linoleum, vinyl wallpapers, decorative film... Discard them, do not use for repairs. When choosing building materials, pay attention to sanitary and epidemiological conclusion.
Today, very often building your own house is cheaper than an apartment.
However, in building a house there are many pros and cons, which should always be remembered.
What is the average person most often guided by when building a house?
Answer: unfortunately, mostly economical cost of building materials. Of course, this does not apply to everyone. However, the average home builder often has to calculate every penny to build a house.
So the question is: "How much does it cost to build a house?" usually considered solely in monetary terms. Much later comes the understanding that the cheapness of building materials will have to be compensated for by health.
If you want all household members to live in a new home safely in terms of health, you first need to pay attention not only to the price of building material for the future home.
First of all, you need to study the characteristics of all building materials for the house and their consumer qualities and properties.
Traditionally, when erecting a “box” at home, the choice is between two building materials - wood or brick. Both have pros and cons.
In addition, do not forget that the tree is subject to decay over time, that is, it must be treated with at least two compounds.
Now imagine what happens to these compositions over time?
After all, they not only evaporate and, over time, the processing of wood must be carried out again and again.
A well-fired brick is safer in this regard, however, if the house is on soil with high humidity, the walls, even with very careful heating, rarely warm up to the desired temperature. If the house is heated irregularly, then all those living in your house are provided with frequent colds.
The third most environmentally friendly building material for the construction of a house is concrete and its derivatives: foam concrete, aerated concrete.
Asbestos, from which slate is made, is simply prohibited in Europe. If you want to save on quality tiles, you can cover the roof with slate. But think more than once: asbestos, which releases tiny particles into the air, irritates the lungs and, if heated, can cause lung cancer. The same applies to products made from various types of plastic mass. Sewer pipes and fittings are now made of plastic.
As for the interior decoration and interior, there are even more harmful finishing materials for health. You can start, for example, with varnishes and paints, which, by the way, are used not only for internal but also external work. Parquet impregnations, varnishes and paints can be dangerous not only over time, but also immediately after painting, as they easily cause burns to the respiratory tract.
Of paints, one should be wary of synthetic ones and those that are produced with solvents. They give off a strong odor and are highly toxic. When metal-containing paints dry, metal particles can get on furniture, food, into the air, and from there into the body, without adding joy to health.
In order not to paint, for example, windows, people preferred PVC windows. A substance so often used for interior decoration premises (plinths, moldings and corners) - polyvinyl chloride (PVC) decomposes and releases harmful substances into the air when it comes into contact with air at room temperature and sunlight. Expanded polystyrene and polystyrene, which are part of many calving materials, are in the same range of harmfulness as polyvinyl chloride.
Particleboard, which is now found almost everywhere, is used in the decoration and manufacture of furniture. At a temperature of 20 C, the phenol contained in the chipboard begins to evaporate. If the surface of the chipboard is pasted over with a material with poor air exchange, the concentration of phenol under it becomes not only harmful, but dangerous. Phenol has long been recognized as a carcinogen that actively affects the central nervous system. Chipboard furniture should be left unassembled for some time for ventilation.
Danger in own home can also come from linoleum and furniture from fiberboard and chipboard. These materials also contain phenol and formaldehyde. Even a special term has appeared - phenol-formaldehyde houses. In such houses, the concentration of formaldehyde exceeds the norm by 5-7 times! And people live in such houses with time mines, not knowing that they cause destructive harm to their health every day. Plinths, plaster, wallpaper also carry out their "vital activity" in our apartments - they accumulate and release harmful substances. The highest formaldehyde content is diagnosed in apartments with new furniture made of chipboard and fiberboard, as well as in private houses where mineral wool insulation is used. Urea-formaldehyde insulation can be used in the wall cavities of apartment buildings. All these cute interior items and building materials themselves may be harmless, but when they come together in a tight space, they create a synergistic effect and have a detrimental effect on the human body. And even if liver cirrhosis does not occur from a slight inhalation of phenol vapors, then headaches and weakening of the immune system are practically guaranteed. Is it any wonder then that Russia does not have a high life expectancy, if in the West most of the building components used in Russia are prohibited?
Carpets, PVC windows, comfortable and practical PVC oilcloths can be safely added to the list of enemies of the ecology of human dwellings. According to a study by Doctor of Biological Sciences, Professor Alla Malysheva, in apartments with new synthetic linoleum, the level of volatile organic substances exceeds the norm of 70! If furniture is taken out of such an apartment, then the level of harmful volatile substances in the room is significantly reduced - exceeding the norm “only” by 30 times is recorded!
How to deal with all this "household chemicals"? In order not to live in a pressure chamber, experts advise to abandon a number of materials. In particular, do not cover the ceiling with vinyl. Whitewashing or painting the ceiling with water emulsion is a much more correct step in terms of taking care of your own health. You should not force your own apartment with cheap chipboard furniture. Discard synthetic linoleum, replace it with parquet or parquet board, in these materials resins act as a binder, as well as vegetable oils... Even laminate flooring poses less danger to the ecology of living space compared to synthetic linoleum. Does not contain any harmful substances, cork and carpet. True, the latter is contraindicated for allergy sufferers.
If you cannot spend your money on wood furniture, buy furniture from chipboard boards class E1, that is, first class, not E2. First class chipboard is safer. Rattan furniture looks very nice, but rattan is more suitable for making coffee tables, shelves and whatnots.
In the kitchen, replace the polyvinyl chloride oilcloth with a polyethylene one, PVC windows - with modern and fashionable wooden frames, which are equipped with sealing gaskets.
If you want to build an environmentally friendly cottage for yourself, you can choose aerated concrete blocks as a building material. In terms of ecological properties, they are practically not inferior to wood. However, for the production of concrete with additives, a concrete mixer is required - equipment designed for the preparation of concrete mixtures. In order not to buy a concrete mixer and other expensive equipment, it is easiest to immediately buy ready-made building blocks from the material of interest. Before purchasing any building material, ask the seller for a sanitary and epidemiological conclusion.
Replace mineral wool insulation with expanded clay gravel or stone or glass wool. True, it should be borne in mind that glass wool sooner or later sags, forming non-insulated areas in the building.
Some of the most toxic materials are polymer materials... It is possible to reduce harmful "emissions" if polymer-containing building materials are stored in air for a long time. Then the harmful substances contained in building materials are weathered. If this is not possible, we recommend applying a kind of protective layer to the surface of the building material, for example, using an organosilicon coating.
The level of harmful substances in apartments is measured by specialists. They measure the power frequency electromagnetic fields that create appliances, electrical wiring, transformers and power lines outside the window. The measurement of the content of phenol, formaldehyde and toluene in the air takes place during chemical-gas analysis. During microbiological analysis, the presence of bacteria dangerous to humans is detected in the air. The level of radiation depends on the presence of gamma, beta, and alpha particles in the room.
Wallpaper. Moisture-resistant (washable) wallpapers that are fashionable today can be highly toxic if they release styrene, a substance used to make synthetic polymers. Its vapors irritate the eyes and mucous membranes of the nose and throat, and also cause headaches, nausea, dizziness and even fainting.
Silicate brick, phosphogypsum. These building materials can become a source of radon, an inert radioactive gas that, when it enters the human body, contributes to the processes that lead to lung cancer. Inhaled alpha particles begin to bombard the internal tissues of the respiratory system, causing microburns in them. It is believed that the dose of radiation received by a person from radon is greater than the dose that he receives from any other radiation sources combined.
Linoleum. The cheapest flooring... Bad linoleum pollutes the air with benzene and ethylbenzene, which can cause cancer and blood diseases. Substances such as xylene and toluene are also released - in high concentrations, they also lead to diseases of the blood, lungs and skin, and affect the mucous membranes. Carcinogenic vinyl chloride affects the nervous system. Finally in conditions an ordinary apartment polymers - linoleum is made of them - break down into monomers, which are very toxic. The process intensifies when the linoleum heats up (from a radiator, for example). Side effects - headaches, allergies, breathing problems.
Varnishes, paints, mastics, glue. Since the same xylene and toluene are source material in the production of varnishes and paints, any newly renovated room will smell of this filth, extremely harmful in high concentrations.
In general, if desired, of course, harmful substances can be found in almost all building materials. What are the building materials? They are everywhere: in the air, soil, food!
However, please note! Environmentally friendly parquet with normal radioactivity can unknowingly be coated with toxic varnish and make it a slow killer. Therefore, it is not worth it to be negligent in the choice of coating or any construction and finishing material.
Be sure to pay attention to the range of building and finishing materials when building and renovating a house and an apartment: study the instructions, see customer reviews. Most often, the most dangerous for human health are building and finishing materials produced in China and Turkey, i.e. the cheapest.
The money you saved when buying low-quality building materials will still later be used to buy medicines and invite doctors for you and your loved ones. And what could be more valuable than health? Obviously not cheap and most importantly, harmful building material for your future home!
How to keep yourself safe
■ Buy repair items from large specialty stores, not markets. If in doubt, ask the seller to show the quality certificates.
■ Ditch linoleum in favor of laminate or even better parquet. This is the case when you shouldn't save money, especially if you are laying the floors in the nursery or bedroom. Prefer paper wallpapers.
■ When choosing paints, choose water-based, alkyd, latex or polyester - they dry quickly, and there will be less harmful fumes. When painting, try to apply as few layers as possible.
■ It is advisable to ventilate living areas every 20 minutes. Helps and regular wet cleaning apartments.
■ If it takes too long to get rid of repair odors, seek an environmental impact assessment. Now such services are rendered by a number of organizations formed on the basis of various research institutes and having the necessary licenses. Depending on the type of examination and the amount of work, the service costs 5-9 thousand rubles. But ecologists will accurately determine the pollutant and its source, as well as give you recommendations on what is best to do in this situation.
| Substances | Source of income |
| Formaldehyde | Chipboard, fiberboard, FRP, mastic, guerlain, plasticizers, putty, etc. |
| Phenol | Chipboard, FRP, Guerlain, linoleums, mastics, putty |
| Styrene | Thermal insulation materials, finishing materials based on polystyrene |
| Benzene | Mastics, adhesives, guerlain, linoleums, cement, concrete with added waste and other materials |
| Acetone | Varnishes, paints, adhesives, putties, mastics, plasticizers for concrete |
| Ethyl acetate | Varnishes, paints, adhesives, mastics and other materials |
| Butyl acetate | Varnishes, paints, mastics, putties |
| Ethylbenzene | Putties, mastics, linoleums, paints, adhesives, mold release agents, plasticizers, cement, concrete with waste |
| Xylenes | Linoleums, glues, guerlains, putties, mastics, varnishes, paints, lubricants |
| Toluene | Varnishes, paints, adhesives, putties, mastics, linoleums and other finishing materials |
| Butanol | Mastics, adhesives, lubricants, linoleums, varnishes, paints |
| Hexanal | Bone glue, cement with additive |
| Propyl benzene | ADMK glue, LTZ-33 linoleum, VSK mastic, 51-G-18 mastic, Stroydetal putty |
| Pentanal | Glue, cement, guerlain |
| Chromium | Cement, concrete, putties and other materials with the addition of industrial waste |
| Nickel | Cement, concrete, putties, and other materials with the addition of industrial waste |
| Cobalt | Dyes and building materials with the addition of industrial waste |
Rationing of the content of pollutants in the indoor air. The list of the most common and hygienically significant substances that pollute the air in residential buildings is given in SanPiN 2.1.2.1002-00. They are: formaldehyde, phenol, hydrogen sulfide, styrene, nitric oxide (IV), benzene, toluene, xylene, ethylbenzene, etc. In addition, the indoor air can contain aerosols of metals: lead, mercury, etc. Many of these substances are highly toxic and belong to the 1st and 2nd hazard classes.
Formaldehyde became the first chemical in our country for which a temporary MPC standard in the air of residential and public buildings (0.01 mg / m 3) has been established. Formaldehyde is released from the particle board (particle board) used to make furniture. It is distinguished by many other materials - foams, carpets, paints, mastics, sealants. Formaldehyde is a carcinogen. It is also able to increase the threshold for human sensitivity to other chemicals. For the air environment of residential and public buildings, MPCs for other harmful substances have not been established. In accordance with SanPiN, the concentration of chemicals in the air of residential premises, when they are put into operation, should not exceed the average daily MPC established for atmospheric air populated areas, and in the absence of MPC s.w. - do not exceed the maximum one-time MPC (MPC m.r). The level of pollution inside a building may be 2 ... 4 times (in some cases 100 times) higher than the level of pollution of the outside air.
The building has a constant air exchange with external environmentso everyone indoor spaces in one way or another are associated with atmospheric air. Pollution from the outside enters the building through ventilation systems, ventilation, through leaks in the enclosing structures. The concentration of harmful substances in the atmospheric air of certain regions can reach high values. For example, the average annual concentration of formaldehyde in urban air different regions ranges from 0.002 to 0.025 mg / m 3, and the maximum concentration reaches 0.232 mg / m 3.
Air protection from asbestos fibers... Particular attention should be paid to the environmental performance of asbestos. Asbestos is a type of mineral raw material consisting of silicate rocks of a fibrous structure, which can be separated into tiny fibers. Colloidal asbestos fibers are able to penetrate into human lung tissue and cause asbestos-related diseases - asbestosis, lung cancer, pleural mesothelioma, chronic bronchitis.
Asbestos-containing compositions have fire and water resistance, corrosion resistance and high mechanical strength. These unique properties determine their widespread use. Asbestos cement is used in building construction. Asbestos is used for making pipes for water and gas supply, sewerage, garbage chutes, coating thermal insulation, plaster solutions, fire-resistant paints, car brake pads, etc.
The list of asbestos-cement materials and structures permitted for use in construction is given in GN 2.1.2 / 2.2.1.1009-00. These include fibrous and flat sheets, tiles. Based on the sanitary and hygienic assessment, the areas of application of asbestos-cement materials have been established. Roofing material (slate) cover the roofs of buildings, garages, stalls. Asbestos-cement sheets and tiles are used for the construction and facing (or decoration) of the outer walls of buildings, for balconies and loggias fences, for the installation of ventilation ducts (in natural ventilation systems). Construction and cladding interior walls and partitions in residential and public buildings are allowed, provided that they are subsequently clad with glazed tiles, applying several layers oil paint or other waterproof coatings. Asbestos-cement structures are wall panels, window sills, etc.
In 1990, in Russian Federation the MPC of asbestos fibers in the atmospheric air of the city was adopted, which is 0.06 vol / ml (in England 0.07 vol / ml, in Ontario, Canada 0.04 vol / ml). It has been established that the concentration of asbestos fibers equal to 0.1 ... 0.3 mg / m 3 does not create an increased oncological danger for the population.
Nevertheless, the problem of using asbestos remains open. To solve it, it is necessary to carry out a set of works including:
· Biomedical assessment of low doses of asbestos exposure to human health in order to determine the latent (latent) period of asbestos-related diseases;
· Ecological and hygienic assessment of asbestos-containing materials and products in the conditions of their operation (use);
· Study of the impact of substitutes for asbestos (fiberglass, ceramic and other fibers) on the population.
It is necessary to further clarify the scope of the use of asbestos in construction, taking into account the results of recent studies.
Measures to protect the environment from pollution.The content of pollutants in indoor air depends on the following factors:
· The volume of the room;
· The rate of generation of harmful substances inside the premises;
· The rate of removal of harmful substances from the room by filtration, chemical bonding, etc .;
· The value of air exchange with atmospheric air;
· Concentration of harmful substances in the ambient air.
· Sufficient air exchange;
· The use of technical devices for air purification;
· Space-planning measures;
· The use of environmentally friendly building and finishing materials.
The main method for reducing indoor air pollution is to air exchange.
Example... Based on the hygienic level of CO2 carbon dioxide in the room, equal to 0.1%, the air exchange per person is 30 m 3 / h. The optimum environmental condition for CO 2 content \u003d 0.05% is achieved with an air exchange of 60 m 3 / h per person. This condition for a room with a height of 2.7 m and an area of \u200b\u200b20 m 2 is ensured with an outdoor air flow rate of 3 m 3 / h per 1 m 2 of area.
The amount of air exchange should be determined by the degree of air pollution in the room (the concentration of harmful substances, their cumulative effect), as well as the degree of pollution of the atmospheric air. According to hygienists, the amount of air exchange in the room should be 100 ... 200 m 3 / h. Natural ventilation of living quarters should be carried out by the flow of air through the vents or through special openings in the window sashes and ventilation ducts. Channel openings should be provided in kitchens, bathrooms, latrines and drying cabinets. Consolidation is not allowed ventilation ducts kitchens and sanitary facilities with living rooms. Ventilation of public facilities should be autonomous.
Effective method cleaning the air from dust, microorganisms and chemicals is filtration. Special meaning acquires air purification in the premises of medical institutions. The air of hospitals can contain pathogens of various diseases, aerosols and vapors of medicines, pathogenic flora, disinfectants. The penetration of pathogenic bacteria into the human body from the air is the cause of many diseases - flu, measles, chickenpox, plague, etc. In the air, microorganisms - bacteria or viruses - are usually found in a bacterial aerosol, which is the smallest droplet of liquid or a particle of a solid suspended in the air. Bacterial aerosols, like dust particles, range in size from 1 to 2000 microns. Particles with a size of 5 ... 10 microns and smaller practically do not settle in natural conditions and are in suspension.
For trapping dust and bacterial aerosol particles used electrostatic precipitators, as well as oil, paper, cloth filters. These filters trap up to 90% or more of microorganisms. For a more complete cleaning of indoor air, fine filters are used. In systems with supply and exhaust ventilation and conditioning most often used filters LAIK, equipped with a filtering fibrous material FP (Petryanov filter). These filters capture even the smallest particles (0.1 ... 0.2 microns). They trap all types of microflora and provide air purification efficiency up to 99.3 ... 99.99%. The disadvantage of filters is that they cannot be regenerated. The filter is changed when the performance of the ventilation system, due to an increase in filter resistance, decreases by 25%.
The use of modern air filters in ventilation systems allows you to clean the air in rooms from chemical contamination at the molecular level... These filters are HEPA and ULPA filters. Ultra-thin glass fibers serve as filtering material in them. However, these fibers pollute the air with molecular boron and metal oxides. New class ULPA filters are based on polytetrafluoroethylene. Filters based on the new filter material have better cleaning efficiency and do not pollute the air.
To clean the air from dust and bacterial contamination, an artificial air ionization... During the operation of ionizers installed in the room, negative ions are created, which charge the particles of dust and microflora that are in suspension. Charged particles move towards the positively charged pole - to the ground, floor, walls, ceiling. Settled dust and microorganisms are periodically removed. The absorption capacity of indoor gardening contributes to the cleanliness of the indoor air.
Examples space-planning solutions to reduce pollution of the internal environment used in construction practice are:
1) two-sided orientation of apartments with angular, through and horizontal-vertical (for apartments on two levels) ventilation schemes, contributing to active air exchange;
2) zoning of the interior space of the apartment by types of household activities, which allows isolating internal sources of pollution;
3) an increase in the number and area utility rooms - pantries, walk-in closets, built-in wardrobes, mezzanines for storing items household chemicals and household items (Fig.5.2).
The main factor for favorable living conditions is the functional sufficiency of the living space. The guaranteed reduction of pollution of the building premises is achieved when using environmentally friendly building and finishing materialsthat do not emit harmful components.
When you want to tell any builder that concrete is unhealthy, he will laugh great, because how can such a wonderful odorless building material with a neutral color harm.
However, scientists today are already providing new facts that show that due to this building material, 5% of the total carbon dioxide is released into the air every year.
There is a company called Calera , which recycles harmful gas emissions by distillation through seawater and other substances. This gas then transforms into magnesium or calcium carbonate and is pulled out of the water. These minerals are then used as filling material. Up to 90 percent of such materials are extracted from the gas and then used for the production of building materials.
This technology allows you to capture not only carbon dioxide, but also other harmful substances: ammonia, mercury and nitrogen. Also, using this technology, you can desalinate water much cheaper.
Another company also took a more sustainable approach to the concrete production process. Firm Novacem instead of Portland cement it adds to the mixture magnesium silicate... A low-carbon process is carried out at low temperatures, resulting in the appearance of magnesium oxide.
This cement is absolutely harmless to the environment, since after hardening it keeps the percentage of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere at the usual level. Such cement requires only 0.75 tons in production. deposited dioxide... The cost of producing such cement is the same as for conventional cement.
The environmental friendliness of the new type of cement is also much higher due to the fact that it is recyclable. Many companies are already starting to produce cement of the same quality characteristics and soon we will see it on the shelves of stores in our country.
Let's first define what concrete is in general. Concrete is a mixture of cement and water. In turn, cement is clinker crushed into dust. Clinker is made from natural elements: clay, limestone, etc. By themselves, these natural components do not pose a danger to human health.
Now let's find out why concrete began to be considered radioactive. The fact is that not all clinker manufacturers use high-quality raw materials. In nature, all materials emit radiation, it is within certain limits and is considered acceptable. But if excavation for the extraction of raw materials for clinker are carried out in quarries, for example, contaminated with radioactive waste, then the cement obtained from it, accordingly, will "fade".
For the construction of houses (residential real estate), especially multi-storey ones, reinforced concrete is often used. It's cheaper natural stone and is not inferior to him in strength and durability. Reinforced concrete is called concrete high density with the addition of steel bars - reinforcement. Again, if high-quality iron was used for the manufacture and installation of metal structures, there is no harm to health. In order for structures to better retain heat, a special filler is used, mainly expanded clay. It is obtained by swelling clay at high temperature, it looks like rounded pebbles, light, orange-brown in color. In the process of production of expanded clay, various additives are used, including coal preparation waste. In this regard, it is considered unhealthy.
Thus, the following conclusions can be drawn: cement, and its derivatives, concrete and reinforced concrete, are completely made of natural materials, therefore, the radiation emitted by them is within the normal range. Danger to health can be represented by various additives that are used to impart certain properties to concrete.
Of course, the construction of residential buildings is carried out with the permission of environmental services. They control all stages construction works, all material used must have appropriate certificates. Before starting work, construction companies receive the appropriate permits and certificates, but what material will be used in fact - you will not know at the stage of buying an apartment. We can advise you to use a special device for measuring the level of radiation - a dosimeter. The average permissible value is considered to be 0.24 micr.z / hour. If you already live in a house made of concrete, then signs of an increased level of radiation may be fatigue, headaches, sleep disturbances, etc. But the cause of such ailments is not necessarily your house made of reinforced concrete. In any case, you should see a doctor.
Take good care of your health - money cannot buy it.
