German construction company Inklusiv Bau Ltd |07 September 2015

Jenny Camille is the manager of Inklusiv Bau Ltd, a German construction company engaged in ecological construction for over 30 years.

We have been researching and gained huge experience and knowledge in every aspect of healthy living i.e: places we live and work in, the food we eat, water we drink, clothes we wear and air that we breathe. In brief, we will look at our relationships with other humans and nature.

In the following articles, she will share with the readers the most valuable knowledge that is the source of healthy, happy and prosperous life.

Our health is in our hands: Dangers of concrete

We are all one family – people, animals, birds, all living beings. Everybody has its own duty towards people, society and nature. We shouldn’t forget about it. It is extremely important to remember about one’s duty. If everybody accomplishes his duty, the world around us will be ordered and become beautiful, prosperous and happy.

Healthy living: what does it mean?

Our motivation is to share with people living in Seychelles very important information. More than 30 years our company is engaged in researching and practicing a healthy lifestyle. This includes everything: construction, nutrition, clothes, nature, environment and biodiversity conservation. In this and future articles, we will delve into the details of all the components of healthy living.

Building material widely used for residential construction in Seychelles

Now let us talk about our homes. A third of our lives we spend inside the buildings, in our homes. We need to ask ourselves a question: which materials are used in building our houses? How ecological are they and are they harmless for the living beings that live in there?

Concrete is very widespread in Seychelles for building residential houses. All over the world concrete is used mainly for basement works and bearing constructions (i.e structures). In Europe and developed countries, living in the house made from concrete is considered very harmful and even dangerous for health. This information is available and everyone can check it. We will give you the basics that will help you to understand how dangerous it is to live in concrete. So, let us sort out what concrete is.

Concrete description, durability of concrete

In its simplest form, concrete is a mixture of paste and aggregates, or rocks. The paste, composed of Portland cement and water, coats the surface of the fine (small) and coarse (larger) aggregates. Through a chemical reaction called hydration, the paste hardens and gains strength to form the rock-like mass known as concrete.

Most use of the term "concrete" refers to Portland cement concrete or to concretes made with other hydraulic cements, such as cement fondu. However, technically road pavement is also a type of concrete, "asphaltic concrete", where the cement material is bitumen. Concrete is used to create hard surfaces that contribute to surface runoff, which can cause heavy soil erosion, water pollution, and flooding, but

conversely can be used to divert, dam, and control flooding. It is  widely used for making architectural structures, foundations, brick/block walls, pavements, bridges/overpasses, highways, runways, parking structures, dams, pools/reservoirs, pipes, footings for gates, fences and poles and even boats.

Concrete additives and their influence on human health

Concrete is used in large quantities almost everywhere mankind has a need for infrastructure. The presence of some substances in concrete, including useful and unwanted additives, can cause health concerns due to toxicity and radioactivity.

Natural radioactive elements (K, U and Th) can be present in various concentration in concrete dwellings, depending on the source of the raw materials used. If radioactivity exceeds 370 Bq/kg, such material may not be used in housing construction. Exposure to radiation can cause permanent changes in chromosomes (resulting in hereditary diseases and children with deformities), reduced immunity to infections, premature aging, non-healing ulcers, anemia, and even malignant tumors. Even the same producer can supply concrete batches with varying radiation levels, depending on the borrow pit where minerals for the concrete mix are sourced. Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for concrete with high radiation levels to be used in construction.

Other additives (the superplasticisers, phenol-formaldehyde and polycarboxylates) can be added by builders to ensure the required concrete strength and accelerate the setting process. Let's find out what these additives are made of.

Phenol-formaldehyde is a product of polycondensation of phenol and formaldehyde. Phenol-formaldehyde is a carcinogen and a toxin. When released into air, it inhibits the nervous system and affects the airways, eye mucosa, and the immune system.

Formaldehyde is a colourless gas with a pungent smell. A toxin, it affects the genetic code, respiratory organs, eyes, and skin. It is a potent nerve poison. Formaldehyde is an official carcinogen. Formaldehyde emissions and, by extension, its indoor concentration depend on the air temperature. Emissions are highest in warm and moist conditions in closed rooms that are seldom aerated. Formaldehyde emissions from construction materials (such as concrete used in building a home) never stop! Chronic poisoning by formaldehyde (resulting when a fairly high concentration of formaldehyde is constantly present in the room) include anemia, fatigue, loss of consciousness, depression, laboured breathing, headaches, and often muscle spasms in sleep. When inhaled at high concentrations, formaldehyde can cause sudden death due to swelling and laryngospasms. Meanwhile, there is no available information on what levels of formaldehyde are safe for housing, so the level of danger that formaldehyde poses to an individual depends on how strong this person's immunity is. Obviously, the lower the concentration of formaldehyde, the lower the risk of health problems.

Aerosols of Heavy Metals. Daily concentrations of heavy metals indoors by far exceed their concentrations in atmospheric air. For lead this difference is 2.3 times, for cadmium — 3.2 times, chromium — 10%, and copper — 29%. Cause: Certain types of wallpaper and floor carpeting accumulate large quantities of aerosols of heavy metals. Concrete, cement, plaster, and other construction materials with the addition of industrial waste are known to contain high concentrations of heavy metals. Possible consequences: Diseases of the cardiovascular system, liver, kidneys, and allergic reactions.

Environmental and manufacturing aspects of concrete

The manufacture and use of concrete produce a wide range of environmental and social consequences. Some are harmful, some welcome, and some both, depending on circumstances.
A major component of concrete is cement, which has environmental and social effects. The cement industry is one of the three primary producers of carbon dioxide, a major greenhouse gas (the other two being the energy production and transportation industries). As of 2001, the production of Portland cement contributed 7% to global anthropogenic CO² emissions, largely due to the sintering of limestone and clay at 1,500 °C (2,730 °F).
Both concrete and asphalt are the primary contributors to what is known as “the urban heat island effect”.
Production of cement is not environmentally friendly. Cement kilns are extremely large, complex, and inherently dusty industrial installations, and have emissions which must be controlled. Of the various ingredients used in concrete the cement is the most energetically expensive. Even complex and efficient kilns require 3.3 to 3.6 gigajoules of energy to produce a ton of clinker and then grind it into cement. Many kilns can be fueled with difficult-to-dispose-of wastes, the most common being used tyres.
The cement industry is involved in the development of structure of this advanced and modern world but generates dust during its production. Cement dust causes lung function impairment, chronic obstructive lung disease, restrictive lung disease, pneumoconiosis and carcinoma of the lungs, stomach and colon. Other studies have shown that cement dust may enter into the systemic circulation and thereby reach essentially all the organs of body and affects the different tissues including heart, liver, spleen, bone, muscles and hairs and ultimately affecting their micro-structure and physiological performance.

Disposal of concrete and concrete degradation

Recycling of concrete also raises a lot of concerns. Concrete debris was once routinely shipped to landfills for disposal, but recycling is increasing due to improved environmental awareness, governmental laws and economic benefits. Concrete and its products are the biggest wastes in countries’ landfills. On March 3, 1983, a government-funded research team (the VIRL research.codep) estimated that almost 17% of worldwide landfill was by-products of concrete based waste.
Workers who cut, grind or polish concrete are at risk of inhaling airborne silica, which can lead to silicosis. Concrete dust released by building demolition and natural disasters can be a major source of dangerous air pollution. Wet concrete is highly alkaline and must be handled with proper protective equipment.
In fact  concrete is not so strong and durable as it might seem from the first glance. Concrete can be damaged by many processes, such as the expansion of corrosion products of the steel reinforcement bars, freezing of trapped water, fire or radiant heat, aggregate expansion, sea water effects, bacterial corrosion, leaching, erosion by fast-flowing water, physical damage and chemical damage (from carbonatation, chlorides, sulfates and distillate water). The micro fungi Aspergillus Alternaria and Cladosporium were able to grow on samples of concrete used as a radioactive waste barrier in the Chernobyl reactor; leaching aluminium, iron, calcium and silicon.

Fungus in concrete and its dangers

Concrete has a property to absorb moisture all the time. Moisture is a perfect environment for mold development, fungus. Thus, building from concrete we create an environment for fungus, which finally kills us. Fungus cause body imbalance which in turn is the reason of different sicknesses like cancer, sugar diabetes, atrophy of muscles and joints, mental illnesses, insomnia, high blood pressure, nervousness, asthma, allergic reactions, sexual disfunctions, inhibited thinking. You can see how fungus appears on the outside wall of concrete houses on the picture 1. And it is just what you can see with your eyes! In fact, there is much more of it inside and we poison our bodies everyday by breathing air containing fungus spores. Just imagine it!

Wood – the best construction material

Our attention is not to frighten you, rather we want to inform you. During thousands of years the best construction material was, and still is, wood.

Taking into consideration the distance from Seychelles to big continents and absence of clay, massive wood is the perfect construction material for Seychelles in terms of climate and the country’s location.

There are different qualities of wood. To find out more on this subject, you need a bit of information. Certain types of wood are eaten by termites because they eat only the wood that possess a certain amount of moisture, thus it should be correctly and qualitatively dried. In this case there is no necessity to treat wood with chemical substances that have negative impact on human health. Formaldehydes, chemical elements are basically used in the varnishes against termites, they affect lungs and cause cancer and paralysis. When you choose the wood you need to ask yourself a question – what wood is it? Does it have an ecological standard?

Particularly in Germany and Europe there is a norm used to define ecological wood, EU norm. According to it ecological materials should be certified not to possess poisonous or toxic chemicals. The Inklusiv Bau company uses only massive wood in our constructions, particularly Siberian larch, which doesn’t need additional treatment against termites and mold because it has natural oils which at freezing create a resin strength of similar strength to diamonds. Termites cannot eat it because of its hardness. The wood is correctly dried, is very hard and water-resistant, it is certified according to German ecological standards. Taking into consideration the very damp climate of Seychelles, constant temperature of +28 and more it is necessary to have dry walls otherwise you are doomed to breathe the mold.

Conclusion

It’s important to care for your health and your family. Investments in health are the best you can do. Think seven times before taking decisions about the materials you will use to make your own house. Remember that these decisions will have an influence on your future life that of your descendants. Think about the meaning of the following phrase: Material richness is valued only by poor people, the real richness is in knowledge.
In our next article, we will talk in details about food we eat. For more info, please write to info@inklusivbau.de

Contributed by Jenny Camille