Pollutant Potential from Building Materials: Laboratory and Field Evaluations

Development in sensitive watersheds continues to pose environmental problems for receiving waters. Materials, such as galvanized metal, concrete, asphalt and wood products, may release pollutants into urban runoff and snowmelt; however, the long term effect of commonly-used building materials on the environment has not been quantified. Laboratory testing on common roofing materials indicated that the potential for release (primarily nutrients, hydrocarbons, pesticides, and metals) is substantial. Further testing on painted, galvanized roofing tiles that were exposed to the Pennsylvania climate for 60+ years indicated that material continued to be released from these panels — indicating a deeper reservoir than simply the loss of a sacrificial surface coating. The ongoing research project involves testing a variety of construction materials (roofing materials, treated and untreated woods) to determine their long-term pollutant release after typical installation and exposure to the weather. The goal is to develop a better understanding of how the aging and exposure processes will impact the release over time. Understanding the ‘release vs. time' of a pollutant from a material will be crucial for translating the laboratory results to the actual environment and to developing predictive models for evaluating new materials for their pollutant potential.