There have been no reported cases of damaging alkali silica reaction (ASR) in Irish concrete but specifiers and producers of concrete for new works need to systematically consider the risk and act accordingly. National guidance on minimizing the risk of ASR in Ireland was jointly published in 1991 by the IEI and the Irish Concrete Society. It was an interim document that represented the best available knowledge of the time. The authors of that report, under the chairmanship of Prof. John W. de Courcy, recommended that the document should be reviewed periodically as new findings became available and that further study would be of value in selected topics. The working party was recently reconvened, under the chairmanship of Dr. Mark Richardson, University College Dublin, to review the latest ASR research and developments. The new guidance has now been published and is an essential document for specifiers and producers of concrete to standard I.S./EN206-1. It is available from the Irish Concrete Society at a cost of €30, contact Marie/Niamh at secretary@concrete.ie or (041) 9876466.
