Dangerous substances in concrete - Future requirements of the European construction products directive on the environmental impact of concrete

The future requirements of the European Construction Products Directive on the environmental impact of concrete are discussed. The European Commission has engaged the European Standards Organization (CEN) Mandate M/366 to prepare the standard determinations by working out conceptual assessment principles in the form of technical reports and to make available the required test procedures and criteria in the form of harmonized European specifications. Mandate M/366 differentiates between construction products that can be classified as non-harmful, which require no further testing and construction products for which proof of conformity assessment must be provided. The designation Without Testing (WT) and Accepted Without Testing (AWT) are also introduced for the first category of products and Without Further Testing (WFT) and Further Testing (FT) for the second category.