[Cement, Misunderstandings and Truths] ① Controversy Over the Introduction of Cement Grading System

The appearance of waste before being placed in the kiln at a cement factory.
[Photo by Korea Cement Association]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jong-hwa] Recently, controversy has arisen as calls to introduce a cement grading system have emerged, mainly from the National Assembly and some civic groups.

No Woong-rae, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, stated at the recently held "Waste Cement Ingredient Labeling and Grading System Introduction Forum," "Cement products containing massive amounts of waste, and even human excrement, have been identified as causes of sick house syndrome and atopy, leading to serious problems," adding, "Management standards must be urgently established and strictly enforced." He argued that the composition of cement produced using such waste should be labeled and a grading system introduced.

Choi Byung-sung, the executive representative of the National Cement Countermeasure Committee, also pointed out at the forum, "Waste cement was created through a collusion between the Ministry of Environment, which struggles with waste disposal, and the cement industry, which faces difficulties securing fuel," and added, "Switzerland sets thallium standards for cement products, and France manages 16 heavy metals, but South Korea has not even established standards."

Choi further argued, "Cement mixed with human excrement absorbs indoor moisture and then emits gases, which include ammonia that causes sick house syndrome and atopy."

Some civic groups claimed that this photo shows waste just before being fed into the kiln, causing controversy. In reality, it is not fed in this state. After going through various processing steps, it is made into uniform granules (top photo) before being fed into the kiln.
[Photo by Korea Cement Association]

Here, waste refers to materials such as waste plastics used to replace fossil fuels like bituminous coal or raw materials. Globally, the use of such 'alternative raw materials and fuels (circular resources)' is considered standard practice, and Europe has been using them since the 1970s. Even in Europe, drinking water pipes were made with cement using circular resources, and no safety issues were reported.

Only in South Korea does the controversy over the harmfulness of waste cement persist. In response to the claims by Representative No and Executive Representative Choi, the cement industry states that "this is completely untrue."

Kim Jin-man, chairman of the Cement Green New Deal Committee and professor at Kongju National University, dismissed Choi's claim that "Switzerland sets thallium standards for cement products," saying, "Switzerland is the only country operating recommended heavy metal standards for cement products, but this is merely a measure to protect its domestic cement industry from foreign cement companies entering the Swiss market."

Regarding the claim that 'human excrement' is used, the cement industry called it "absurd." Cement plants do not use human waste. An industry official explained, "The 'sludge' used in cement plants is not directly recycled sewage but stabilized sludge that has undergone physical and chemical pretreatment processes at wastewater treatment and human waste treatment facilities."

The recycling of sludge as cement raw material after pretreatment is widely used in overseas cement industries due to its environmental safety advantages. According to the industry, Japan processes and uses 224,000 tons annually, China 36,000 tons, and Belgium 65,000 tons of sewage sludge.

Processed waste (recyclable resources) is piled up in the recyclable resource storage.
[Photo by Korea Cement Association]

The Ministry of Environment formed and operates a public-private consultative body composed of over 20 experts from various sectors, including government, industry, and academia, when the harmfulness controversy first arose 15 years ago in 2007. The consultative body established relevant standards to dispel the controversy despite no differences compared to European and Japanese standards for heavy metals. According to these standards, monthly random sampling of cement products distributed in the market is conducted to test for heavy metals and radioactivity, investigating the harmfulness of cement.

The Ministry of Environment recently announced that, based on investigations from September 2008 to the present, all tested cement products purchased from the market contained heavy metals within the standard limits after analyzing six heavy metals, including hexavalent chromium. During the same period, the cement industry's use of circular resources increased 2.9 times from 3.037 million tons to 8.902 million tons, but there has not been a single case of harmful determination exceeding heavy metal standards.

Professor Kim said, "It has already been scientifically confirmed that heavy metals contained in cement concrete do not affect human health," adding, "The heavy metal safety of domestically produced cement products is recognized worldwide, so the idea of introducing a cement grading system, which does not exist in any other country, is difficult to understand."

An industry official argued, "If a cement grading system is introduced, manufacturing cement using only natural raw materials will become impossible, and the domestic cement industry will perish," adding, "Implementing a grading system solely for cement based on the use of circular resources, regardless of safety, violates the principle of fairness."