Sources: ASTM International, West Conshohocken, Pa.; CP staff
ASTM C13 Committee on Concrete Pipe has approved a first of its kind performance measurement: C1904 Standard Test Methods for Determination of the Effects of Biogenic Acidification on Concrete Antimicrobial Additives and/or Concrete Products. The document is vital to concrete pipe and sanitary sewer structure producers as it will augment development of solutions to prevent microbially-induced concrete, according to British Columbia-based consultant and C13 member Mel C. Marshall. C1904 will help concrete producers, admixture suppliers and specifying agencies to determine agents’ effectiveness. Biogenic acidification is achieved in the test methods by sulfur-oxidizing bacteria, which can convert sulfur agents—mirroring deleterious chemical compounds common in sewer systems—without the use of hydrogen sulfide gas.