Crumbling blocks in Donegal caused by pyrrhotite, not mica, expert claims

“It is not a mica problem, it is pyrrhotite,” he said. “[Engineers] have been looking at the wrong thing for years.”

“The reaction can be wide and different,” he said. “In the first phase, it leads to expansion, stress and cracking ... the second phase is strength loss. All the scientific evidence so far indicates we have an internal problem which is triggered by pyrrhotite oxidation.” European Union standards set down in 2002 “clearly state” if pyrrhotite is present in blocks then it has to be weighted against the content of sulphur, Dr Leemann said.

Claims that frost was a key factor in the crumbling of defective blocks “lack any scientific basis”, he added, pointing to a proportion of houses with cracks developing in the inner walls. Frost damage also “looks completely different” to cracks evident in affected homes.

So you mean that's another €billion then?

Sounds like a pyrrhic victory ahead.....

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