Pollution damage to the Powell Building, Reston, Virginia

B. R. Doe; M.M. Reddy; J.R. Eggleston

Home/Archive/USGS

USGS · 70020910

Pollution damage to the Powell Building, Reston, Virginia

B. R. Doe·M.M. Reddy·J.R. Eggleston

View original source ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

Concrete column segments of the Powell Building (Reston, VA) exposed to the elements and wetted by precipitation were `cleaned' and roughened, but sheltered portions of the columns retained their smoothness and pollution accumulates, similar to observations for limestone, marble, and sandstone. Weathering effects on the columns were dominated by precipitation run-off and not the acidity of the precipitation. The process may be dry deposition of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitric oxides (NOx) that formed soluble salts in the presence of humid air or dew, salts that were removed by precipitation run-off.

Explore related subjects

Materials Performance Article

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeX RIS

B. R. Doe, M.M. Reddy, J.R. Eggleston. 1999. Pollution damage to the Powell Building, Reston, Virginia. https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/70020910

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related USGS reports

USGS1994

Effects of acid rain and sulfur dioxide on marble dissolution

Acid precipitation and the dry deposition of sulfur dioxide (SO2) accelerate damage to carbonate-stone monuments and building materials. This study identified and quantified environmental damage to a sample of Vermont marble during storms and their preceding dry periods. Results from field experiments indicated the deposition of SO2 gas to the stone surface during dry periods and a twofold increase in marble dissolution during coincident episodes of low rain rate and decreased rainfall pH. The study is widely applicable to the analysis of carbonate-stone damage at locations affected by acid rain and air pollution.

Materials Performance↗

USGS1987

EFFECT OF AN ACID RAIN ENVIRONMENT ON LIMESTONE SURFACES.

Salem limestone samples were exposed to weathering for 1 y in several urban and one rural environments. Samples exposed in the rural location were chemically indistinguishable from the freshly quarried limestone, whereas all samples collected from urban exposure sites developed gypsum stains on the ground-facing surfaces where the stones were not washed by precipitation. The gas-solid reaction of SO//2 with calcite was selected for detailed consideration. It appears from the model that under arid conditions, the quantity of stain deposited on an unwashed surface is independent of atmospheric SO//2 concentration once the surface has been saturated with gypsum. Under wet conditions, surface sulfation and weight loss are probably dominated by mechanisms involving wet stone. However, if the rain events are frequent and delimited by periods of dryness, the quantity of gypsum produced by a gas-solid reaction mechanism should correlate with both the frequency of rain events and the atmospheric SO//2 level.

Materials Performance↗