http://www.artba.org/
Our wording of the title in this dispatch is simply a rephrasing, and a narrow one at that, of authoritative information presented by the report we enclose herein.
First, we have many times documented the many practical, economical and environmental benefits of utilizing Coal Fly Ash in the manufacture of Portland-type Cement and Portland Cement Concrete, both as a raw material for the Cement itself, replacing some of the natural raw materials otherwise used, and, as an aggregate for that Cement, to make Concrete, after the Cement itself has been produced.
A recent dispatch, accessible via:
West Virginia Coal Association | Coal Ash Conserves Energy, Reduces CO2 and Saves Trees | Research & Development; concerning the: "U.S.Geological Survey; Fact Sheet 076-01: Coal Combustion Products":
summed some of those applications for Coal Ash up, indicating, at the time "Fact Sheet 076-01" was published, that the annual economic benefits of utilizing Coal Ash totaled $770 Million annually.
Another:
West Virginia Coal Association | Coal Ash Used in More Than 50% of Ready Mixed Concrete | Research & Development; concerning: "'Specifying Fly Ash for Use in Concrete'; Concrete In Focus; 2008. National Ready Mix Concrete Association';
provides more details about how Coal Ash can be so utilized.
Herein, we present some information and data, from an organization that could and should be seen as a totally non-partisan group, demonstrating that the productive reuse of Coal Ash could have a positive economic impact even greater, much greater, than that indicated by the United States Geologic Survey, in their above-cited "Fact Sheet 076-01: Coal Combustion Products".
And, conversely, banning the productive reuse of Coal Ash, or, as the US EPA has seemingly proposed and intends, regulating Coal Ash as a toxic or hazardous waste, will have the net effect of preventing such use of Coal Ash, thus preventing the savings, and, thus, costing our economy at least that "$770 Million annually" suggested by the US Geologic Survey, and, as indicated herein by the American Road & Transportation Builders Association, perhaps much, much more than even that amount.
Comment follows excerpts from the initial link in this dispatch to:
"The Economic Impacts of Prohibiting Coal Fly Ash Use in Transportation Infrastructure Construction
September, 2011
Prepared by the American Road & Transportation Builders Association Transportation Development Foundation. In 1985, with a vision and commitment to “promoting research, education and public awareness,” ARTBA’s volunteer leaders created the association’s Transportation Development Foundation (TDF). Today, the Foundation has become the industry’s premier non-profit organization, conducting a multi-million dollar program of work annually that is aimed at educating the public about the many benefits of transportation improvements and articulating the need to significantly boost investment to meet the future demands of U.S. motorists and businesses.
(For more info, see:
About • American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA); "Established in 1902 at the Cadillac Hotel in New York City, ARTBA is the oldest and most respected national transportation construction-related association. We Advance the Interests of the Transportation Construction Industry. Period. ";
and:
http://www.artba.org/
Executive Summary: Fly Ash: A High-Return “Green” Building Material
Coal fly ash (hereafter referred to as “fly ash”) is a naturally-occurring product of the coal combustion process. It is nearly identical in composition to volcanic ash. When mixed with calcium hydroxide, it has many of the same properties as cement.
Replacing a portion of the cement with fly ash creates a cementitious material that, when used as an input with aggregates, water and other compounds, produces a concrete mix that is well-suited to road, airport runway and bridge construction.
Fly ash concrete has a number of very significant, well-documented benefits that make it a mixture of choice for many state and local transportation departments and transportation engineers. It is more durable, yet less expensive than other traditional portland cement blends.
Fly ash concrete has also been praised for its environmental benefits as a “green” building material—putting to use an energy production byproduct that reduces the demand for carbon-intensive portland cement and requires less water in the hydration process.
Use in the Transportation Construction Market:
Concrete is a major transportation construction material in the United States. Twenty-five percent of the Interstate Highway System is paved in concrete. And it has been used to build 65 percent of the nation’s bridges.
Concrete represents about 15 percent of the total cost of building and maintaining transportation infrastructure in the U.S. each year.
More than 75 percent of that concrete - $9.9 billion worth - utilizes fly ash as a partial cement replacement blend.
In some states, like California, Florida, Louisiana, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah and Texas, fly ash is used for virtually all of their concrete projects.
Economic Impacts on Transportation Projects if Fly Ash is Unavailable:
Despite the many established benefits of fly ash as a construction material and its widespread utilization, new proposed disposal regulations may limit or eliminate its availability.
This study was conducted to forecast the potential economic impacts of the loss of fly ash availability in just one U.S. construction market - transportation infrastructure.
Our analysis has found that such an action would increase the average annual cost of building roads, runways and bridges in the United States by nearly $5.23 billion. This includes a $2.5 billion increase in the annual price of materials and an additional $930 million each year in pavement repair work and $1.8 billion in bridge work due to the shorter pavement life of portland cement concrete without fly ash.
Over 20 years, the additional cost would be $104.6 billion.
To put an excess $5.23 billion in perspective, that is almost $2 billion per year more than the federal government currently invests in the national Airport Improvement Program (AIP) and about 13 percent of the federal government’s current total annual aid to the states for highway and bridge work.
American taxpayers would bear the cost of such an action - either paying more for the same level of transportation improvements, or dealing with the consequences of a scaled back improvement program.
In addition to these direct costs, limited or eliminated availability of fly ash use would have other potential economic ramifications for state transportation programs.
For example, the “opportunity cost” for state DOTs -in cost savings and/or delivery of additional projects that might be undertaken if fly ash concrete were widely used and concrete roads did not have to be repaved or reconstructed as often - would be estimated at $4.5 billion per year.
Similarly, states would have to forego the potential additional benefits and savings derived by using fly ash in new, high performance concrete pavements.
Fly ash is a key component of high performance concrete pavement designed for a lifespan of 30 to 60 years for concrete roads, compared to the current average of 20 to 25 years.
If the transportation construction industry routinely used fly ash as a construction material in concrete to design pavements with an extended life span in mind, there would be significant savings because those roads would last longer and would not have to be repaved or reconstructed until later in their life cycle."
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Our excerpts don't do justice to the work of the American Road and Transportation Builders Association in their research for and presentation of this report.
They, through their own industry contacts, were able to asses individual state highway department specifications for, and actual use of, Coal Ash, and, results are presented for a number of states, including West Virginia and Pennsylvania, that might be of interest.
The upshot of it all is, though, that, since Coal Ash Cement and Concrete is, simply, better, in terms of chemical resistance, strength and durability, then,banning the use of Coal Ash Cement and Concrete, in terms only of road construction and repair, and in increased maintenance expenses, will cost us, overall, over the course of the next twenty years, more than 100 Billion Dollars.
And, again: That amount is only as banning the use of Coal Ash in Cement and Concrete applies to road and highway construction and maintenance.
It does not address the additional, lost opportunity, costs of utilizing Coal Ash in Concrete destined for use in the construction of, for instance, buildings, as seen, for one telling example, in:
US EPA Headquarters Housed in Coal Ash | Research & Development; wherein it's confirmed, that: "In addition to its beneficial reuse in our fiber cement products, fly ash has been used in concrete since the 1930’s. Most notably, it has been used in several construction projects and prominent buildings, including the Ronald Reagan Government Office building, home to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in Washington, D.C.".
All in all, if we allow things to progress the way they seem to be, with no Coal Country public voices raising the general alarm, or, at least providing the public with the information, then, not only will every US citizen be, ultimately, paying the $100 Billion price tag, but, every Coal Country citizen, and their children, will be paying an even greater price tag in terms of lost financial opportunity and sidetracked prosperity.
Coal Ash is a valuable raw material resource; and, we need to start seeing, and treating, it that way.