Ensuring The Safe Use/Disposal of Recycled Concrete When Painted With Lead Based Paint
On this page we provide the Wikipedia cited content from an article titled, “Recycling Revisited” which was showing as a broken link in Wickipedia (En), and an update on current guidelines.Original – Cited Text
“The Army Corps of Engineers' Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (CERL) has been conducting studies to see if lead-based paint in crushed concrete actually poses a hazard.ﾠ
The corps is intensely interested in concrete recycling as hundreds of aging buildings on military bases are scheduled for demolition.ﾠCERL tested buildings and materials from 300 precast family housing units at Fort Ord, Calif. Prior to demolition, CERL conducted air-ambient, air-personnel, soil, dust, building structure, and pavement tests.ﾠDuring demolition, concrete was separated from other materials and crushed with an Eagle two-stage impact crusher. Researchers took samples from the aggregate pile and from under the conveyors.ﾠBuildings, foundations and streets were crushed together to base course for use in projects at Fort Ord and the surrounding area. CERL took samples from the finished recycled aggregate product.ﾠAccording to CERL, samples from the intact buildings contained an average of 3,700 mg/kg (milligrams to kilograms) lead concentration in the paint.ﾠThis number is typical for LBP-coated concrete and is lower than what is normally found for LBP on wood surfaces.ﾠMeanwhile, the crushed aggregate from the processed piles at the crusher site had lead concentrations averaging 17 mg/kg.ﾠThe U.S. EPA limit for lead in soil in residential areas is 400 mg/kg (total lead concentration). CERL tested the two highest concentration samples for leachate potential, and the result was less than 0.01 mg/kg — far below the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act limit of five.ﾠEven in the vicinity of the crusher, CERL found that lead concentration in fines was relatively low at 111 mg/kg.ﾠWhile this concentration is well within established limits for soil, workers should still wear respiratory protection to avoid inhaling these fines.ﾠHigher concentration in concrete from driveways could be attributed to leaded gasoline exposure over the years.ﾠBut the Wisconsin DNR had to do their own research to confirm the CERL findings.ﾠ“We did some samples from three properties in the Milwaukee area,” Koziar said. “We conducted lead leachate tests and found that we were getting between 4,400 and 8,400 parts per million (ppm).”ﾠThat reading was well within NR 538 guidelines for materials that can be used in-ground without an impervious cover.ﾠWhat this means is that according to Koziar, “concrete with lead-based paint would be able to be used as clean fill without impervious cover but with some type of soil cover.”
Recycling Revisited – Requirements Updated (December 2014)
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