EXAMINING THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITIONS OF MINERAL CONCRETE AGENTS IN TERMS OF THEIR ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS

Abstract

The increase in population throughout the world and the concentration of population in urban areas in the recent century necessitated the construction of new buildings in urban areas. These buildings are mainly the reinforced concrete buildings and the main component is concrete. Concrete consists of different additives. Nowadays, many studies are carried out on the concrete agents because of the extensive use of concrete. However, there are only very few studies carried out on the chemical contents of these additives. There is an important lack of information about the chemical content of these agents and it creates a lack of knowledge about the environmental effects of construction operations, as well as the health of individuals working in this industry. In the present study, the concentrations of Pb, Cr, Zn, Ba, Mn, and Li, which are among the heavy metals that are very harmful to human health, in several additives used as concrete agents were investigated. The results achieved showed that, in several types of cement and several agents such as blast furnace slag and copper slag, the concentrations of heavy metals could reach up to 128.2 ppm for Pb, 204.8 ppm for Cr, 852 ppm for Zn, 2102.5 ppm for Ba, 7964.1 ppm for Mn, and 77.9 ppm for Li. It might pose a significant danger to the individuals working in this industry and the environmental health.