Work on a slew of major projects in the southern Chinese metropolis of Shenzhen has been abruptly suspended following reports that the concrete used for their construction was made from cheap, unprocessed sea sand.
emphasis on cheapThe Shenzhen Housing and Construction Bureau held an emergency news conference on March 15 to announce that it had launched a full-scale investigation into the practice. Their investigations have thus far established that 15 of the 92 concrete-mixing plants in Shenzhen used untreated sea sand as a raw material in concrete which had been sold to local developers.
oops
The use of unprocessed sea sand as a raw material in concrete is considered highly hazardous due to the large amounts of salt and chloride it contains, which can corrode steel reinforcements and lead to the collapse of entire buildings.
"Say goodbye, rebar"