CHEMICAL DIFFUSION THROUGH CONCRETE

A Study Showing That Concrete Is Highly Porous, Allowing the Penetration and Diffusion of Chemicals
by Murray Thompson (BAppSci Environmental Health 1998, University of Western Sydney, Hawkesbury) June 2004 poisonedpeople@gmail.com

Preamble
This study has been created in order to demonstrate clearly that available and reputable scientific studies and industry experience highlight the fact that concrete slabs upon which residences are situated are extremely porous, and to the extent that almost slab. I have produced this study to specifically emphasize that it is much more than probable that the synthetic pyrethroid termiticide that was applied around, and immediately next to, the concrete slab under my Department of Housing (DOH) unit located at Unit 15, 30 Sirius Road BLIGH PARK NSW 2756, on the 7
th

any chemical

situated under or next to the slab will be absorbed by the

December

2000, diffused through that slab and outgassed into my unit as vapor for at least 1 years after application,

Murray Thompson August 2004 THROUGH CONCRETE_822.doc

CHEMICAL DIFFUSION

resulting in the production of a series of extremely distressing poisoning symptoms over that period of time and beyond in both myself and my child, and also in my neighbour (whose unit shares the same concrete slab as mine).

Discussion
1. First, what is concrete?
Concrete is a heterogeneous material constituted of a rigid skeleton with sand and aggregates embedded into a porous hydraulic binder. A hydraulic binder as Portland cement is a finely ground material which is first in a plastic and workable state on mixing with water and then reacts with water to form hydrates responsible for the rigidity. The concrete behavior is linked to the evolution of the cementitious matrix which can be considered as permanently aging material. Concrete is therefore the site of chemical, mechanical and physical events like hydration, moisture transfer or shrinkage that can cause premature cracking before any external loading occurs (Lamour, Haouas & Moranville [online]).

Also:
Concrete is a porous material. flow, diffusion, or sorption Therefore, moisture movement can occur by (Advanced Cement Technologies [online]).

Concrete structures are thus highlighted as porous, ageing, and the site of mechanical and chemical events .

2. How open or consistently spread are the pores or spaces inside concrete, and do these pores affect the concrete in any way?
Concrete contains two types of pore: capillary and gel pores.

Murray Thompson August 2004 THROUGH CONCRETE_822.doc

CHEMICAL DIFFUSION

Capillary pores (approx) 1,3 um in size are the largest and form an interconnected system, randomly distributed throughout the binder, which provides a fairly direct path for aggressive ions. Gel pores on the other hand comprise some 28% of the gel, but are much smaller than capillary pores, and do not play a significant role in the permeability of the paste. However, they do have an impact on time dependent movements in concrete, such as shrinkage and creep (Eagle Cement (Natal Portland Cement) [online]).

Also:
The presence of capillary pores and air voids influence concrete permeability to a large extent. The ingress of aggressive agents into the pore structure is responsible for various durability problems in concrete structure. The deterioration of concrete in a structure is a result of several degradation mechanisms that caused a decreased in the integrity of the structure. The state of deterioration is often invisible and is only evident when there is a significant reduction in the load carrying capacity (

Sutan, Hamdan and

Jin, 2002 [online] ).

So, concrete, by its very nature, is porous. As well, concrete may then deteriorate with chemical reactions
3

of unhydrated cement and water, C [online]).

A and chloride ions,

carbonic ions and calcium silicate hydrates (Watanabe

Further: Slab failures from caustic attack, in particular, can reduce the service life of slabs down to as little as five years, with most slabs providing an average life of only ten years, even though some predict a service life of 40 years with the application of current best practice (CSIRO 2001 [online]). There exist products designed specifically to take advantage of the porosity of concrete. One such product is named Xypex, which is designed to penetrate and

Murray Thompson August 2004 THROUGH CONCRETE_822.doc

CHEMICAL DIFFUSION

react with the mineral constituents of cement-based materials. It can be applied on concrete, concrete-block, cement stucco or the mortar between bricks (Xypex Chemical Corporation 2002a [online]). What is Xypex?
XYPEX is a non-toxic, chemical treatment for waterproofing, repair and protection of concrete from a range of aggressive media, uniquely generating a non-soluble crystalline formation deep within the pores and capillary tracts of concrete (Xypex Chemical Corporation 2002b [online]).

Xypex is therefore designed to penetrate concrete in order to prevent the concrete from allowing such penetration of fluids .

3. By what process does Xypex penetrate concrete?

Why must the concrete be wet prior to a XYPEX application? The active ingredients in XYPEX penetrate the concrete by a process of chemical diffusion in which chemicals in a highly concentrated solution (the XYPEX slurry mixture) will spread through a solution of lower density (water in the pores and capillaries of the concrete) until the two are equalized (Xypex Chemical Corporation 2002a [online]).

The above quote implies that water may be found inside a concrete slab, and that this water offers a transmission route for chemicals to move via the agency of diffusion . Note:
Baroghel-Bouny (1994) among others showed that water transport occurs in porous cementitious materials through different modes: vapor diffusion, liquid

chemical

Murray Thompson August 2004 THROUGH CONCRETE_822.doc

CHEMICAL DIFFUSION

water and air pressure driven transports (Lamour, Haouas & Moranville 2004). On the largest scale water or chemicals may move through cracks, rock pockets, construction joints and other large defects or joints in the concrete structure. This scale of flow is of primary importance with respect to waterproofing and involves keeping water out or in.... A considerable amount of water can be transported through concrete in the vapour or gaseous state. The direction of flow will be from high vapour pressure to low vapour pressure by the process of diffusion. Diffusion is simply described as flow of species (gas, dissolved ions etc) from a location of high concentration to low concentration (or more precisely from high chemical potential to low chemical potential).... The actual flow of moisture in an exterior concrete building wall is much more complex owing to the effect of wetting and drying and heating and cooling cycles. These produce flow direction reversals. For instance rain on the outside surface would immediately raise the external vapour pressure to saturation and flow may move from vapour to liquid transport or some combination thereof. Partially saturated flow is described in more detail in the next section.... Diffusion of gasses may also occur. It has already been mentioned that water vapour moves by diffusion. Other gasses too may be of concern, for example, atmospheric carbon dioxide that can cause carbonation damage. In some regions, radon or methane gas may be present in soil and may diffuse into occupied space causing health hazards. Diffusion is not the only means by which dissolved ions such as chloride can move into concrete. Salts may be dragged along with water during liquid flow. This occurs when water flows through cracks or during wetting (sorption) of concrete. Salts are also dragged along with liquid flow in the case of the basement wall efflorescence example. The understanding of diffusion is important to concrete for the following reasons: * Diffusion of aggressive chemicals, particularly chloride ion, is the leading cause of failure of concrete structures world-wide. The application of a

Murray Thompson August 2004 THROUGH CONCRETE_822.doc

CHEMICAL DIFFUSION

coating (and to a lesser extent a sealer) greatly reduces diffusion and is a primary defence against durability problems. * Vapour moves by diffusion as mentioned above. Even seemingly dry concrete may have significant vapour flow by diffusion" (McGrath 2000 [online]).

It is therefore clear that chemicals can be transported through concrete in either a liquid or vapor form .

4. Can pesticide, specifically, enter a residence via a concrete slab?

Pores in concrete naturally draw in water from the surrounding soil by capillary action, just like a wick. The moisture usually evaporates as invisible dampness, while it releases dissolved contaminants, such as minerals and radon. The average basement absorbs 18 gallons of water each day. Soil gas, rich in moisture, pesticide, radon and biological decomposition gases, collects in the gravel and disturbed soil around foundations, and is drawn into homes by the lower air pressure indoors through openings and pores in concrete. Pesticide moisture flow upwards through the concrete slabs by vapor diffusion and capillary transmission passes through the top surface of the concrete slabs as well as through floor surface treatments (carpet, tile, wood floors) and leads to un-healthy contamination problems. Today's almost airtight buildings let in little fresh air and draw from the ground more "soil gas", rich in moisture and vapors from pesticides below ground. Pores in concrete draw in water by capillary action. The average (slab) lets in over (10) gallons of water each day, several times more than showering and cooking combined! (Healthy Home Association 2003 [online]).

So readily does the building industry accept that pesticides can penetrate concrete slabs, that the product features brochure entitled: Underseal
TM

XT 750 Positive

Side Vertical Waterproofing Membrane with Built-in Protection Board , lists its products property, test

Murray Thompson August 2004 THROUGH CONCRETE_822.doc

CHEMICAL DIFFUSION

method, and results (English and Metric) as: Resistance to Penetration by Pesticides F- 2130 percentage of penetration [online]) (my emphasis). If cautions regarding the use of mildewcides in buildings are advocated in United States product literature, then why are they not advocated by government bureaucracies that deal directly and intimately with dwellings and tenants, such as the DOH in Australia? Where does the DOH tenant fit into what should be an ethical discussion in terms of chemical applications in and around a tenants home? Are they worthy of consultation at all, especially, as in my case, I had already made it patently obvious to the DOH prior to moving into my DOH unit that I suffered from chemical sensitive asthma? Note:
Safe Encasement Systems believes that the use of a coating that contains a potentially harmful or poisonous substance such as an EPA-registered pesticide (mildewcide) is a step that should be taken only after extensive consideration and discussion with all parties involved (Safe Encasement Systems Midwest 2001).

, ASTM

, and 0.0 %

0.0% , respectively (Polyguard Products Inc. 2003

Concrete slabs are well known to soak up water and chemicals from their surrounds readily.

5. Can organic chemicals enter a residence any other way?

Recent investigations have found that organic chemicals may contaminate drinking water by permeating buried plastic pipes and gasket materials...

Murray Thompson August 2004 THROUGH CONCRETE_822.doc

CHEMICAL DIFFUSION

Many lipophilic compounds tested were found to permeate to a detectable level in consumers tap water within a month at one third of their aqueous solubilities. It was also found that PB [polybutylene] was more permeable than low-density polyethylene to toluene and that chlorinated hydrocarbons permeated PB faster than unchlorinated hydrocarbons. Gasoline compositions such as benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene, and xylenes appeared to be highly permeable to PB and gasket material (Park, Bontoux, Holsen, Jenkins & Selleck 1991).

The Pesticides Act (1999) obviously needs a significant overhaul in order for it to take into account the duel imperatives of the concept of Chemical Trespass and basic human rights (the right to be notified of a chemical application). This is, in fact, currently a task being undertaken by the Australian Chemical Trauma Alliance (ACTA) in South Australia, which is making a submission to the DEC (old EPA) in respect to prior notification rights for pesticide applications under the NSW Pesticide Act (Personal email, Mr. Don Want, 16
th

May 2004).

As well, given that the reliability of concrete slabs is essentially an unknown factor when chemical pesticide barriers are applied around a residence, building codes also need to be seriously addressed. Slab integrity needs to be tested for porosity before any decision to introduce a toxic nerve agent to a human habitation is made. REFERENCES
Advanced Cement Technologies [online], Technical Bulletin 10.106 CONCRETE PERMEABILITY High Reactivity Metakaolin (HRM) Engineered Mineral Admixture for Use With Portland Cement , http://metakaolin.com/member/10.106%20Concrete %20Permeability.htm , accessed: July 04, 2004)

Murray Thompson August 2004 THROUGH CONCRETE_822.doc

CHEMICAL DIFFUSION

Baroghel-Bouny V. (1994), Caractrisation microstructurale et hydrique des ptes de ciment et des btons ordinaires et trs hautes performances, Ph. D. thesis, Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chausses, LCPC Paris, pp. 467.

CSIRO 2001 [online], New Solution to Costly Alumina Industry Concrete Failure, http://www.cmit.csiro.au/innovation/200108/concrete.htm , accessed: July 27, 2004. Eagle Cement (Natal Portland Cement) [online], Concrete Durability , http://www.npc-eagle.co.za/site/awdep.asp? dealer=5011&depnum=2145 , accessed: June 26, 2004) Healthy Home Association 2003 [online], http://www.healthyhomeassociation.com/1/hhmoisture.htm accessed: June 25, 2004. ,

Lamour, V., Haouas, A. & Moranville, M. [online], Chemo-hydromechanical behavior of concrete at early ages, LMT Cachan 61, Avenue du Pdt Wilson 94235 Cachan Cedex France, http://arwbled2004.scix.net/Files/acceptedpapers/Accepted/NATOVL.pdf , accessed: June 25, 2004. McGrath, Patrick F. Ph.D., 2000 [online], Water Permeability vs Waterproof -- ASCE Met Section Construction Group, Cooper Union Student Chapter, May 25, 2000 , Xypex Chemical Corporation, Richmond, B.C., Canada; 45 Union

Road, PO BOX 255 Lavington NSW 2641, Australia,

http://www.xypex.com.au/support/papers/200211121471.htm accessed: May 15, 2004.

Park, J.K., Bontoux, L., Holsen, T.M., Jenkins, D. and Selleck, R.E. 1991 [online], Permeation of Polybutylene Pipe and Gasket Material by Organic Chemicals, Journal of the American Water Works Association (October), AWWA Bookstore Download Center, http://www.techstreet.com/cgi-bin/detail?product_id=883493 ), accessed: June 2004. Safe Encasement Systems Midwest 2001, Technical Bulletin No. 015 December 2001; revised June 5, 2003, Encasement For Mold And Mildew Situations, http://www.safeencasement.com/articles/MOLD %20and%20COATINGS-TB-01-5-Rev.6.pdf , accessed: June 26, 2004. Sutan, N. Mohamed, Hamdan, S. and Jin, E.C.C., 2002 [online], Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, 94300 Kota Samarahan, Sarawak, Malaysia, http://www.ndt.net/article/v07n11/sutan2/sutan2.htm , accessed: July 04, 2004) Polyguard Products Inc. [online] 2003, http://www.polyguardproducts.com/products/architectural/datashee ts/750.pdf , Underseal TM XT 750 Positive Side Vertical Waterproofing Membrane with Built-in Protection Board , Ennis, TX, 75120-0755, accessed: June 25, 2004.

Murray Thompson August 2004 THROUGH CONCRETE_822.doc

CHEMICAL DIFFUSION

10

Watanabe, GENERAL STRATEGIES FOR PREDICTING PHYSICAL DURABILITY OF BUILDING AND BUILDING COMPONENTS , K. Building Research Institute, Tsukuba, Japan, http://www.cmit.csiro.au/research/special/se_asia/harm_conf1/paper _watanabe.pdf , accessed: July 27, 2004. Xypex Chemical Corporation 2002a [online], Frequently Asked Questions , http://www.hi-dry.com/faq/ , accessed: June 19, 2004. Xypex Chemical Corporation 2002b [online],
accessed: June 25, 2004) (http://www.xypex.com.au/ ,

* * *