Decalcification mechanism of concrete by organic matters in atmosphere

This study confirmed that concrete structures and historical structures made of limestone absorb environmental endocrine disrupters such as anion surfactant and phthalic acid esters contained in windshield washer fluid by using 1 H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), gas chromatograph mass spectrometer (GC-MS), and other analytical techniques. Furthermore, it was confirmed that environmental endocrine disrupting organic matter, including phthalic acid esters, penetrated into concrete and accelerated its deterioration and that calcium salt of phthalic acid esters existed in decalcified concrete by means of solid-state cross polarization magic angle spinning carbon-13 (CPMAS 13 C) NMR and electron probe microanalysis (EPMA). This phenomenon was demonstrated in a laboratory experiment. Bone mineral content (BMC) and a specific surface area of decalcified concrete slabs were measured in each layer in the depth direction, and it was revealed that deterioration was more severe and cement paste was more porous in the layers closer to the slab surface.