The U.S. Navy is working to develop a new high-tech gadget that can quickly identify whether a debilitating mineral exists in concrete. That mineral is at the heart of a problem plaguing thousands of Connecticut homeowners with crumbling foundations.
Late last year, unbeknownst to many Connecticut officials, the Navy began seeking out small businesses to invent a device that can quickly detect the iron sulfide pyrrhotite in concrete. It’s known to naturally react over years with water and oxygen, causing devastating damage to concrete basements and foundations.
The Naval Facilities Engineering Command in Washington recently chose three companies to begin developing a portable device or test kit that can analyze pyrrhotite in damaged concrete structures.
U.S. Representative Joe Courtney, D-CT2, says the Navy took on the project since it’s a large consumer of concrete, and they wanted to make sure their structures were sound. He acknowledges the technology could be years away.
Courtney’s district includes many of the 36 Connecticut communities identified as potentially having the crumbling basement problem.
The estimated cost of replacing such foundations is between $75,000 and $150,000 per home. State officials have determined that thousands of foundations built after 1983 and poured with defective concrete from the Becker Quarry in Willington are at risk.
