Council approves frac sand changes

The Winona City Council approved a number of changes Tuesday to the way it regulates the frac sand industry as it prepares to stay ahead of a one-year moratorium set to expire in March.

Read more in the Winona Daily News.

Concrete Alternative Could Make For Stronger Buildings

As Japan works to repair the damage caused by the recent earthquake and tsunami, a newly discovered alternative to concrete may make structures stronger in a fraction of the time.

Japanese architectural design office TIS & Partners created CO2 Structure, a building material that supersedes brick and concrete in many ways. When combined with epoxy or urethane, CO2 Structure is twice as strong as regular concrete. While normal gray concrete takes up to 28 days to harden fully, CO2 Structure is ready within 24 hours. It can support structures with almost no steel reinforcement.

Read more in Wired.

6 Charged With Falsifying Concrete Testing Results

One year ago, Testwell Laboratories, a concrete testing company, and two Testwell officials were found guilty of falsifying results on major public works projects. On Thursday, the owner and five engineers at the company chosen to replace Testwell surrendered to face charges that they did the same thing on some of the same projects and hundreds of others.

Read more in The New York Times.