Train Bridge Goes Full Speed with Concrete

When the Agua Hedionda Lagoon Railroad Bridge in Carlsbad, Calif., needed to be replaced to enable passenger trains to run at full speed, engineers recommended precast concrete.

The 14-span wood bridge was rebuilt with a 99-foot-long, 7-feet-deep precast bulb-tee that allowed the main span to clear the priority wetland section of Agua Hedionda Lagoon. The use of a cast-in-place concrete deck and ballast retainers built over the girders made it possible to open the bridge just four months after the girders were placed. 

In addition, precast concrete expedited the environmental review process.

A winner of the PCA 2008 Bridge Awards Competition, the jury applauded the use of precast concrete for not only avoiding stream impacts, but providing “a bridge with low maintenance costs for the future.”
Contact Sue Lane
Submit an entry for the 2010 competition, due September 4, 2009, at www.cement.org/bridges.

May PPI: Asphalt Prices Up Sharply

Asphalt prices rose 3.5 percent from April to May, reversing the downward trend that began late last year, according to Department of Labor’s monthly Producer Price Index (PPI). Asphalt prices have increased 11.7 percent during the last year.

Steel prices declined for the ninth consecutive month in May, decreasing 2.7 percent. In the past year, steel prices have declined 33.8 percent.

Concrete prices posted a 0.1 percent decrease from April to May and are up 2.1 percent for the last year.

Lumber prices were down 1.0 percent in May and have declined 15 percent during the past year.

Source: Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. PCA provides this information to aid in the promotion of concrete and cement-based products.
Contact Ninab Maradkel
More information

PCA Presents at EPA Public Hearings

PCA presented last week at a series of EPA public hearings on proposed changes to the portland cement National Emission Standard for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP).  Andy O’Hare, vice president of regulatory affairs, presented on June 16 and 17, in Los Angeles and Dallas, respectively.  John Shaw, senior vice president of government affairs, presented June 18 in Washington, D.C.

Stephen Bledsoe with the Southern California Rock Association testified at the Los Angeles hearings, and Rick Waddell from the Texas-Lehigh Cement Company and Jan Prusinski, the Cement Council of Texas, presented in Dallas.

PCA prepared a news release and on-line newsroom with the public hearing statements, FAQs, and links to other resources in preparation for the hearings.  O’Hare was interviewed by several media outlets including Reuters, Los Angeles Times, Dallas Morning News, and Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Announced April 22 and published in the Federal Register on May 6, the proposed rule addresses emissions of mercury, total hydrocarbons, particulate matter, hydrochloric acid, and sulfur dioxide. EPA will take public comments on the proposal until September 4, 2009.
Contact Andy O’Hare
Visit the NESHAP Press Room

PCA Announces Webinar Series

PCA is well known for providing the highest quality of education in concrete technology and will now make some its most popular topics available via Webinar.  The Webinars are an excellent way to provide employees with the latest information while minimizing the time spent away from the job.

The following courses have been scheduled:

> Portland, Blended, and Other Hydraulic Cements for Use in Concrete - June 23, 2009
> Impact of Water on Concrete Properties - July 9, 2009
> Aggregates for Use in Concrete - July 16, 2009
> Hot Weather Concreting - July 23, 2009
> Chemical Admixtures for Use in Concrete - August 27, 2009
> Top 10 Myths in Concrete Construction - September 3, 2009
> Decorative Concrete-Finishing with Color and Texture - September 9, 2009
> Supplementary Cementitious Materials for Use in Concrete - September 15, 2009
> Impact of Cement Characteristics on Properties of Concrete - September 29, 2009
> Pervious Concrete - October 8, 2009
> Volume Changes of Concrete - October 15, 2009

Verified participants in the Webinars will be awarded appropriate CEUs or PDHs.  In additional, several of the Webinars also include free downloads of PCA publications.
For more information and to register visit www.cement.org/learn

Landfill Gas to Power Lafarge Plant

On June 20, officials dedicated an 8,000-foot pipeline that will deliver methane gas from a landfill to the Lafarge cement plant in Tulsa, Okla.

Lafarge will use the methane gas, generated from a residential waste landfill, as an alternative to coal to tap into a renewable energy resource and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The landfill gas will supply 8 to 9 percent of the plant’s fuel requirements. The plant currently uses tires as an alternative fuel to supply 15 percent of its fuel needs.

62 Plants Honored for Safety Record

On June 3, PCA hosted the annual Safety Award Luncheon in conjunction with the 51st IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement Industry Technical Conference in Palm Desert, Calif. In all 65 facilities received awards or recognition for their records in the calendar year 2008.

Nine North American cement plants received the first Chairman’s Safety Performance Awards.  These plants are recognized for the best injury incidence rates, based on the number of combined hours that employees work.  Chairman’s Awards were distributed to CEMEX (Brooksville, Fla. and Lyons, Colo.), Holcim (Artesia, Miss. and Midlothian, Texas), Keystone Cement Company (Bath, Pa.), Lehigh Cement Company (Delta, British Columbia), Lafarge North America (Paulding, Ohio), St. Mary’s Cement Company (Bowmanville, Ontario), and Titan America LLC (Troutville, Va.).

The ceremony honored 52 facilities that operated without a lost-time accident (three categories of awards, 1-year, 2-4 years, and 5 years or more), while 10 facilities received an award for 1 million or more hours of operation without a lost-time accident.

Neal Merrifield, acting administrator for Metal and Non Metal Mine Safety and Health and co-chairman of the MSHA-PCA Alliance, addressed the lunch group, and Jim Repman, CEO and president of CalPortland Cement Company and co-chairman of the MSHA-PCA Alliance, presented the awards.
Contact Thomas Harman

Four Papers Honored at Technical Conference

Four papers presentations were recognized for excellence at the 51st IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement Industry Technical Conference held May 31-June 4, in Palm Springs, Calif.

After a competitive process that included grading by the Paper Review Committee and audience scoring during the oral presentation, four rose to the top of the nearly 40 that were presented.

The 2009 winning papers were:

First place—“Electrical Wind Generation for Cement Manufacturing, A Case Study: CalPortland Mojave Plant's 24 MW Wind Project,” by Bruce Shafer, CalPortland Cement; Environmental Maintenance and Safety Working Group

Second place—“Application of AC Induction Motors with Variable Frequency Drives,” by Barton Sauer and Patrick Brady, Siemens Energy & Automation; Drives Working Group

Third place (tie)—“Using Power System Event Data to Reduce Downtime,” by Karl Zimmerman & Ryan McDaniel, Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories,  Inc.; Power Generation, Distribution & Related Products Working Group

Third place (tie)—“Infrared Monitoring Techniques for Real-Time Monitoring of Rotary Ball Mills,” Daniel Longhurst, Georgia Tech Research and Donald Longhurst, Polysius; General Practices Working Group
Contact Rick Bohan

Decorative Concrete Awards Open

The American Society of Concrete Contractors (ASCC) has announced its second annual Decorative Concrete Awards. 

Entries are invited in the following categories:  overlays – spray textures and stamped, cast-in-place – stamped and special finishes, stained, stenciled, polished, countertops, vertical application and concrete artistry.  With the exception of countertops, two awards may be given in each category.

Submittals will be judged on design, economy and craftsmanship, degree of difficulty, site compatibility, project challenges, ecological and environmental factors, and problem solving.

The deadline for submittal is September 30, 2009.  The awards will be presented at the World of Concrete 2010.
For more information go to www.ascconline.org or call 1-866-788-2722.