Mechanisms Accompanying Chromium Release from Concrete

The use of mineral additives from the power and metallurgy industries in the production of building materials still raises questions about the ecological safety of such materials. These questions are particularly associated with the release of heavy metals. The article presents research related to the leaching of chromium from concretes made of Portland cement CEM I and slag cement CEM III/B (containing 75% of granulated blast furnace slag). Concrete was evaluated for leaching mechanisms that may appear during tank test over the long term (64 days). It has been presented that the dominating process associated with the leaching of chromium from both types of concrete is surface wash-off. Between the 9th and 64th day of the test, leaching of Portland cement concrete can be diffusion controlled. It has been proven that the participation of slag in the composition of concrete does not affect the level of leaching of chromium into the environment from concrete.