The inherent mass of heavyweight construction materials like concrete provides important benefits from homes to classrooms to nuclear power plants and operating theatres:
- Keeping the peace: concrete provides good sound insulation in walls and floors. Its damping qualities help control the spread of sound between noisy neighbours or children in adjoining school classrooms, for example.
- Steady hands: concrete’s mass helps to control vibrations in important settings like hospital operating theatres and laboratories which need precise regulation.
- Radiation shielding: high density concrete is used for radiation shielding in hospitals, protecting staff and patients from radiation emitted by machines that diagnose and treat diseases. It also performs the same critical function in nuclear power facilities.
- Protecting drivers: concrete safety barriers help keep road users and workers safe by containing the damage from traffic accidents in high speed situations. More than 1,500km of concrete safety barriers protect users of the UK’s motorways.