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Dangerously soft sand puts construction at risk
By Li Qian |
January 18, 2013, Friday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
THREE sand mines in Weifang City in east China's Shandong Province have been closed for illegally selling cheap magang sand for use in local construction projects, Xinhua news agency reported yesterday.
Experts say magang sand is so soft and crumbly that it is dangerous to use for building, but it is still widely used in local construction projects, Xinhua reported.
The area is known as a supplier of building materials because some of the counties of Weifang are rich in high-quality river sands, often used in manufacturing as well as to make concrete, according to a CCTV investigation.
However, some replace costly river sands with a much cheaper sand called magang, obtained by crushing weathered local magang rocks.
A sandpit owner in Changle County said a shovel of magang sand costs him only 15 yuan (US$2.40), but is priced at 80 yuan. That's still 80 yuan lower than the price of river sand. The operator of even a small sandpit can generate daily cash flow of up to 20,000 yuan in slack seasons, CCTV reported.
Yan Peiyu, head of the materials research institute of Tsinghua University, said magang sand is not qualified for use in construction because of weak stress tolerance and softness.
Local villagers said they dare not use magang sand even to build henhouses and pigpens because the walls would be vulnerable to cracking.
The CCTV program showed a truck carrying magang sand driving to the construction site of a residential complex in nearby Linqu County, where workers mixed it to make concrete.
When asked whether the magang sand poses a risk, a sandpit owner was videotaped dismissing the question. "Dangerous? Chinese people aren't afraid of danger," he said.
Experts say magang sand is so soft and crumbly that it is dangerous to use for building, but it is still widely used in local construction projects, Xinhua reported.
The area is known as a supplier of building materials because some of the counties of Weifang are rich in high-quality river sands, often used in manufacturing as well as to make concrete, according to a CCTV investigation.
However, some replace costly river sands with a much cheaper sand called magang, obtained by crushing weathered local magang rocks.
A sandpit owner in Changle County said a shovel of magang sand costs him only 15 yuan (US$2.40), but is priced at 80 yuan. That's still 80 yuan lower than the price of river sand. The operator of even a small sandpit can generate daily cash flow of up to 20,000 yuan in slack seasons, CCTV reported.
Yan Peiyu, head of the materials research institute of Tsinghua University, said magang sand is not qualified for use in construction because of weak stress tolerance and softness.
Local villagers said they dare not use magang sand even to build henhouses and pigpens because the walls would be vulnerable to cracking.
The CCTV program showed a truck carrying magang sand driving to the construction site of a residential complex in nearby Linqu County, where workers mixed it to make concrete.
When asked whether the magang sand poses a risk, a sandpit owner was videotaped dismissing the question. "Dangerous? Chinese people aren't afraid of danger," he said.
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