Concrete is the most used building material in the world. The only resource consumed in greater quantity is water. For every person on the planet approximately 35 cubic feet of concrete is produced each year.
The manufacture of the main binding agent in concrete, portland cement, accounts for between 5 percent and 7 percent of the world’s carbon dioxide output. Researchers are investigating many ways to reduce the carbon dioxide footprint of concrete from new manufacturing techniques to alternative binders for concrete. . . .
In December of 2008 a dike containing a 40-acre coal ash storage pond at the Kingston Fossil Fuel Plant in Kingston, Tennessee failed. This resulted in a release of about 5.4 million cubic yards of coal ash into the Emory River, smaller tributaries and ponds. The spill covered more than 300 acres of land, damaging homes and causing significant damage to the ecosystem in the area. It’s considered the worst spill of its kind in the U.S. and estimates for clean-up costs range from $525 million to $825 million.
The failure of the dike at the Kingston plant has triggered the Environmental Protection Agency to more closely monitor and regulate the storage and use of alternative concrete binders such as fly ash.
Read this excellent article at Sustainable Business Oregon.
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