Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Combustor Ash Demonstration Program “The Boathouse”

This report presents the results of a research program designed to examine the engineering and environmental acceptability of using municipal solid waste (MSW) combustor ash as an aggregate substitute in the manufacture of construction quality cement blocks. Approximately 350 tons of MSW combustor ash was combined with Portland cement to form standard hollow masonry blocks using conventional block making technology. The resultant stabilized combustor ash (SCA) blocks were used to construct a boathouse on the campus of the University at Stony Brook. Periodically, over a 30-mo period, air samples collected within the boathouse were examined and compared to ambient air samples for the presence and concentrations of suspended particulates, particulate and vapor phase PCDD/PCDF, volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds and volatile mercury. Analyses of the air samples indicate no statistical difference between the air quality within the boathouse and ambient air samples. Rainwater samples following contact with the boathouse walls were collected and analyzed for the presence of trace elements. Results show that the SCA blocks retain contaminants of environmental concern within their cementitious matrix. Soil samples were collected prior to and following the construction of the boathouse and the results sμggest that block debris generated during the boathouse construction was responsible for elevated concentrations of trace elements in surface soils. Engineering tests show that the SCA blocks maintain their structural integrity and possess compressive strengths similar to standard concrete blocks. This Project Summary was developed by EPA’s National Risk Management Research Laboratory, Cincinnati, OH, to announce key findings of the research project that is fully documented in a separate report of the same title (see Project Report ordering information at back).