by Curt Anderson on June 29, 2021 11:07 am
I just saw on cable news a building engineer explaining what happens with buildings in areas near the coast like that collapsed high-rise.

He said concrete is porous; microscopically it looks like a sponge. He said near the ocean there are chlorides (aka salt) in the air. Over time, the concrete absorbs these chlorides which eventually gets to the iron rebar inside. The rebar then quickly rusts like a cancer which leads to a possible collapse.

That's rather a grim reality. There are a lot or high-rises near ocean salt water.

I've seen rebar at building sites. It often has rust on it BEFORE it is put into the concrete. When it's used in sidewalks, there won't be catastrophic failure, but when used in buildings and bridges, yikes!