(WWLP) – UConn has been granted money from the federal government to conduct tests on concrete that could help out thousands of homeowners in the future.
Crumbling foundation are cracks caused by the mineral pyrrhotite, it causes concrete to crumble and crack when it’s exposed to oxygen and water. To test for it engineers with The Connecticut Transportation Safety Institute drill a one inch hole into different areas of the foundation.
The engineers take those concrete samples back to UConn to get tested for pyrrhotite levels. They hope one day to have enough samples to know exactly what amount of pyrrhotite makes a foundation unsafe.
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“We are trying to build a risk assessment program so that we can have some level of confidence – low, medium, high or however we define that as we go forward – as to whether or not there’s enough pyrrhotite in the foundation to be of concern, or is it low enough that it’s a minimal risk type of thing?” James Mahoney, Associate Director at Connecticut Transportation Safety Institute
You can see the full I-Team on testing for crumbling concrete Tuesday on 22News at 6 p.m.
