September 4 , 2009

The Honorable Lisa P. Jackson

EPA Administrator USEPA Headquarters Ariel Rios Building 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N. W.
Mail Code: 1101A Washington, DC 20460

Subject : Fly A sh as a " H azardous Waste"

Dear Ms. Jackson:

A s one of the w orl d’s leading authorities on concrete technology , the American Concrete

Institute (ACI) urges the Environmental Protection A gency (EPA) to consider the technical and sustainability implications of classifying fly ash as a " hazardous waste " under subtitle C o f the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act ( RCRA )

. It is ACI’s opinion that designating fly ash

as a " h azardous waste " will result in little or no fly ash being used in concrete in the US. We anticipate the concrete industry will no longer specify its use; and fly ash producers would not permit its beneficial use due to liability concerns, preferring to impound fly ash rather than allow

its use. Further, t he designation of fly ash as a “hazardous waste” is counter to the goal of sustainability.

Who is ACI

The American Concrete Institute is a 501(c)(3) non

- profit technical and educationa l society organized in 1904 and is the leading inter national forum for the discussion of all technical

matters related to concrete

. Over the past hundred years, ACI volun tary members have significant ly advanced knowledge of

concrete materials and structures b y developing standards and publishing scholarly manuscripts, technical papers and articles. ACI is an American National Standards Institute (ANSI) accredited
Standards Developing Organization (SDO), and maintains national standards in the area of concrete technology and application. ACI currently supports over 100 technical committees whose expert members develop these national standards using the consensus process

.
AC I is not a trade organization and has no commercial interest in concrete or concrete products

. ACI members seek to advance concrete knowledge for the benefit of the general public.

F ly ash in c oncrete construction

Fly ash is commonly specified in concret e mixtures to improve durability, thus increasing service
life with both environmental and economical benefits

. Th i s is important not only to private owners, but also to Federal, State, and Local jurisdictions responsible for the design, construction, mai

ntenance and repair of building s
, bridges , roads, and infrastructure. Hungry Horse Dam, completed in 1953, was one of the first applications in which fly ash was used, and at least 100 major locks and dams using fly ash have been constructed under the dir ection of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, or private engineering firms.The d urability of concrete can be improved and service life extended by using fly ash

. F ly ash

can

• l ower concrete permeability and thus reduce the r ate of ingress of water and aggressive

chemicals ;

• resist delete rious alkali

- aggregate and sulfate reactions ;

• increase the compressive strength ;

• improve th

e workability of fresh concrete, enabl ing more thorough compaction ;

• reduce the heat of hydration in ma ss concrete.

Fly ash is recognized in the US Green Building Council’s LEED system as a post

- industrial recycled material. The use of fly ash in concrete enhance s the recycled mat erial content of a building and is recognized as a beneficial strategy for CO 2 reduction.

The use of fly ash in concrete is a n effective and often

- used environmentally responsible strategy to promote sustainability since it

• uses a typically land filled industrial by

- product (15 million tons diverted from landfills in 2007);

• r educe s cement content of concrete, and thus CO 2 generated (15 million ton reduction in

CO 2 in 2007);

• reduces the amount of embodied energy in concrete ;

• reduces virgin materials extracted from the earth.

Strategically, the effective elimination of fly ash in co ncrete would be a step backward in the

nation’s efforts to provide a more sustainable infrastructure

.

Impacts o f designating fly ash as a " hazardous waste "

ACI’s most notable contribution to the construction industry is the ACI 318 Building Code Requiremen ts for Structural Concrete and Commentary . The code is adopted by the ICC in the International Building Code. It satisfies ISO 19338 " Performance and Assessment Requirements for Design Standards on Structural Concrete ," and is used worldwide. This Code recognizes the use of fly ash as an effective supplementary cementi tious material , which leads to environmentally responsible construction

. It is not within the purview of ACI to determine whether fly ash is a " hazardous waste." As you know, EPA determine d in May, 2000 that these materials " do not warrant regulation under subtitle C of RCRA and is retaining the hazardous waste exemption un der RCRA section 3001(b)(3)(c)." F ly ash of any composition that is incorporated into concrete is to a high degree

seq uestered, and its environmental interaction is significantly reduced. Such sequestering remains even if the concrete is subsequently ground into aggregate

- sized particles and recycled.

D esignation of fly ash as a " hazardous waste" will likely eliminate it s inclusion in future project specifications for fear of possible legal exposure and liability

. Such a designation would also likely lead to its removal from future national codes and standards for the same reason.Summary

ACI is a technical society, a nd unlike trade organizations does not represent any trades related to or part of the concrete industry. Our concern deals with the impact that designating fly ash as a
“hazardous waste” will have on concrete technology, the best use of concrete, and conc rete’s sustainable impact on society.

Recognizing that

• fly ash i s commonly accepted and used world

- wide,

• fly ash can contribute to longevity and economy of concrete construction

, and

• fly ash use is a key strategy to sustainable construction

,
EPA should not risk harm to the environment al and material benefits of fly ash use in concrete
when addressing the impoundment requirements for fly ash , nor abrogate the ability to make

effective and safe use of this industrial by

- product

. ACI suggests that a nation al enforcement program for fly ash impoundment be developed to strengthen the current oversi ght and reduce

the likelihood of another catastrophic release such as occurred in Kingston

, Tennessee but without labeling fly ash a hazardous waste

.
ACI would be pleased to provide the EPA with technically accurate and credible resources on the use of fly ash in concrete during the EPA’s deliberations. A copy of ACI C ommittee 232 report dealing with fly ash's use in concrete is attached for your reference.

Sincer ely,

Florian G. Barth William R. Tolley

President Executive Vice President

Enclosure :

ACI Committee 232 Report entitled “ Use of Fly Ash in Concrete”

c c: Mathy Stanislaus, EPA Assistant Administrator Mr. Matt Hale, Director, Office of Resour ce John Sager

, EPA
Thomas J. Vilsack

, Secretary of Agriculture Gary F. Locke

, Secretary of Commerce
Steven Chu

, Secretary of Energy Raymond L. LaHood

, Secretary of Transportation

Rahm Emanuel

, Chief of White House Staff
Carol Browner

, Energy Coordinato r ACI Board of Direction David Sanders, Chair, ACI Technical Activities Committee