Cement Heavy Metal Content "Lower Than That of Children's Products"

Ministry of Environment's 13-Year Investigation and Analysis of Cement Purchases Since 2008 Shows 'Within Standard Limits'
National Institute of Environmental Research Confirms "Heavy Metal Content in Cement Already Verified for Safety"

Recyclable resources such as waste plastics scheduled to be used in the manufacturing process at a cement plant are being organized.
[Photo by Korea Cement Association]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jong-hwa] It has been confirmed that the concentration of heavy metals detected in domestic cement produced using circular resources (recyclable waste) such as waste plastics and waste tires is within the standard limits.

According to the Korea Cement Association on the 20th, the Ministry of Environment announced on the 13th that it had purchased cement products sold on the market over the past 13 years since September 2008 and investigated and analyzed six heavy metal items including hexavalent chromium and three radioactive substances including cesium (since September 2019). The results showed that the heavy metal content was all within the standard limits.

The Cement Association analyzed that this was due to the effective innovation in production technology necessary to supply safe and excellent cement. Therefore, the Cement Association stated, "It has been confirmed that domestic cement is of quality equivalent to that of advanced countries such as Europe and Japan," and "In the future, the cement manufacturing process will greatly help solve the rapidly increasing environmental problems such as the waste plastic crisis caused by COVID-19."

The cement industry responded to the Ministry of Environment's announcement with an expected result. During the 13 years (2008-2021) when the Ministry of Environment measured the concentration of heavy metals detected in cement products distributed on the market, the use of circular resources by the cement industry increased 2.9 times from 3.037 million tons to 8.902 million tons. Nevertheless, the almost unchanged heavy metal content is analyzed to be because there is no difference in heavy metal content between natural minerals and the circular resources used instead.

Trends in Cement Waste Usage and Heavy Metal Content. [Source=Ministry of Environment, Graphic=Korea Cement Association]

A cement industry official emphasized, "Since natural minerals also contain a certain amount of heavy metals, heavy metals are naturally included in the final cement products," and "The average heavy metal content in cement products analyzed by the National Institute of Environmental Research from January to October 2021, when the most circular resources were used, was lower than the heavy metal standard limits for sand (soil) in children's playgrounds and children's products, confirming safety."

Experts in academia also agree. Professor Emeritus Kang Tae-jin of Seoul National University said, "Coal or petroleum contains naturally occurring radioactive materials, heavy metals, cadmium, lead, etc., but plastics are refined petroleum, so cement made from waste plastics contains fewer pollutants than cement made from coal," and added, "If cement plants start using waste plastics as alternative fuel to fossil fuels in earnest, within 10 years, the words plastic waste or pollution will disappear."

Professor Kim Jin-man of Kongju National University also emphasized, "Cement concrete has the characteristic of trapping heavy metals, and it has already been scientifically confirmed that heavy metals contained in concrete do not affect the human body," and "About 5 million tons of domestic cement are exported annually, and there have been no cases of problems due to waste use or heavy metals."

Professor Kim further explained, "Switzerland is the only country in the world operating heavy metal guidelines (recommended standards) for cement products, but this is a measure to protect the Swiss cement industry from the entry of overseas cement industries," and "Thus, the safety of heavy metals in cement products is recognized worldwide."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.