Fly Ash: Green Building Material, Hazardous Waste?
My first legal case involved "fly ash." I had no idea what fly ash was so I looked it up in the dictionary. Fly ash is a "coal-combustion by-product" (CCB) that is often used in concrete as a replacement for portland cement. When used in massive concrete structures, like dam construction, fly ash can result in a significant cost savings.
Despite all of my work with fly ash, I had never read or heard anyone mention that fly ash could be the "new asbestos." That was, until I read an ENR article titled "Fly Ash Looms as the 'New Asbestos":
"Concrete groups are on tenterhooks, waiting for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to publish a proposed rule that aims to designate fly ash and other coal-combustion by-products as hazardous waste. The concrete sector is concerned even about the ramifications of a 'hybrid' rule that would allow beneficial uses of CCBs to continue."
"[T]he USGBC has issued a credit interpretation that allows for an innovation credit if 40% less cement is used than in typical construction, or if 40% of the cement in concrete is replaced with slag cement, fly ash, or both."
What do you think?
