Is Concrete Toxic? Is There Latex in Concrete?

Recently I was working on finally fixing the deer fence around our garden…. more than a year after it starting breaking. Oops.

Part of repairing the fence is setting fence posts, which requires concrete! And thus, this article was brought to mind and it seemed a good time to update it.

This article answers the following questions:

• Is concrete toxic?

• Is Portland cement toxic?

• Is concrete tolerable for those with chemical sensitivities?

• Is concrete latex-free?

Updated 2025; originally posted on November 19, 2019.

As I am wading through the research for all of the things required to install a UL approved rocket heater for a backup heat source, the necessity of a floor protector is high on the priority list. After all, we only want fires in the stove!

Thus far I have reached out to all of the manufacturers of hearth pads I can find online. Most have ignored me. I'm used to it. Their loss. The two that have responded, though, are absolutely not options, using newspaper-derived cellulose. As surprising as it may seem, there are multiple sources of natural rubber latex in newspaper, making it deadly for those with latex allergies. Besides the latex allergy, there were some likely toxic ingredients that were protected by our good friend, trade secret law- and some divulged materials that were likely toxic as well. So, manufactured hearth pads aren't safe for me, and while we could use mineral board and tile, we may as well build something with some thermal mass to act as a heat sink.

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This is not medical information or advice. Always consult your doctor about everything.

To Lowes.com I Go

Perusing Home Depot, Menards, and Lowes online, I am disappointed in the brick options. Only one of these big box stores offer bricks, and they're red. It's pretty rare that I make a decision for aesthetic purposes, but red brick wouldn't look good in here. I haven't researched the toxicity of the specific brick available and won't since I've decided it's not an option. (Unless of course you require a consultation.)

These concrete pavers from Lowes aren't anything fancy. My husband describes our decor style as "fancy barn," so they would fit right in. Later on if it seemed as though there was too much gray, I'm sure I could figure out a non toxic homemade stain or paint and jazz it up a bit. After a decent amount of communication with the company, it seems safe enough to at least test- but I want to examine the MSDS (now referred to as the SDS) first.

The MSDS

According to the company, these are indeed latex-free. Added natural rubber can be a problem for concrete. Natural rubber helps increase flexibility, so it's added to what seems to be everything. But not this concrete…. I don’t think. As far as the overall toxicity, that's another issue entirely.

Prior to receiving the MSDS, which took longer than I expected to obtain, I had been told that these concrete pavers consisted of: Portland cement, iron oxide-based colorant, sand, and limestone aggregates. None of those materials are red flags for me, but my gut tells me there's more to the mix.

Always trust your gut.

Check out this snippet from the MSDS: almost half of the materials used have "unknown acute toxicity."

Well that doesn't give me the warm fuzzies. Just because something hasn't been studied as to the short-term health impacts certainly doesn't make it safe. Teflon didn't have public studies regarding toxicity, so it was considered safe for decades. Then it was studied, people reported health problems and in my opinion it's clearly not safe- and the manufacturer allegedly knew of the risks long ago. (For more on that, check out the documentary on Netflix "The Devil We Know.")

Is Portland Cement Toxic?

Many people use the terms "cement" and "concrete" interchangeably, but they aren't the same thing. Concrete is the finished product that we use to build structures, basements, concrete pavers, and sidewalks. Cement is Portland cement, an ingredient used to produce concrete.

Portland cement is manufactured by heating clay and limestone in a kiln to form lumps of clinker, which is then ground, with gypsum added. The base ingredients generally aren't of concern from a toxicity standpoint.

The process used to produce Portland cement, however, is certainly not beneficial for our environment, so when possible, please limit the use of concrete. Our home is 600 square feet and comfortably houses myself, my husband, and two felines (one as of this update, and she is very happy being the Queen Bee, thankyouverymuch). No one needs massive homes with rooms they don't use filled with stuff they only save for the sake of keeping it around.

Earthjustice attorney Keri Powell states that cement plants are one of the worst polluters in the United States. There have been multiple lawsuits in regards to the pollution emitted as a result of this industry, some requiring residents to even fight the agency that should be protecting us: the EPA. The damage caused by cement plants is perpetrated on both humans and the environment. Mercury, arsenic, chromium, lead, particulates, chlorine gas and more are legally released into the air in levels known to be toxic. The toxic emissions coat everything, humans and animals breathe it in, and it permeates our water supply.

Cement kilns themselves are legally permitted to burn hazardous waste as fuel and due to legal loopholes are not regulated as stringently as hazardous waste incinerators. In theory, the high heat is supposed to incinerate and render harmless the material, but considering the known impact upon the health of nearby residents and the environment, I think that cat is out of the bag. According to the Healthy House Institute, approximately half of the cement kilns in the US burn hazardous waste, which includes old tires, making them very dangerous for anyone with a latex allergy to reside near regardless of the other toxins.

Recommended article: Is Latex Toxic?

With all of that said, it's pretty difficult these days to build a home without Portland cement somewhere, and most extremely sensitive people are able to tolerate Portland cement. If it's of significant concern, one can minimize how much is used in designing the building and avoid exposing it to the indoor air. I am unaware of any studies or tests evaluating toxins in Portland cement, but the state of “science” today is more scientism than quantifiable fact. It is quite possible that Portland cement is, in general, minimally contaminated. We simply do not know for certain.

Toxic Materials in Portland Cement

The issues with silica and Portland cement are generally limited to breathing in the dust, as with diatomaceous earth. Those ingredients don't concern me, nor does the water or even the ferric oxide.

- Coarse aggregate: Well that's vague. This could be leftover debris from a local limestone mine, which wouldn't be concerning. On the other hand this might be crushed brick from a demolished industrial plant heavily contaminated with all manner of toxins or from a demolished gas station. It might be something I overlook though if everything else checks out, if a radon test kit came back clean and I confirmed that the aggegate wasn't toxic. (You can simply place the test kit and material in a plastic tote for testing. I would also test granite, natural stone, and tile for radon.) However, these days, I don’t really trust most tests. Let's keep digging.

- Ashes (residues): Wood ash isn't something that would concern me. I plan to put that on my garden. This doesn't look like wood ash though. This is likely fly ash, also known as coal ash. Check out this MSDS for fly ash:

Bottom ash; Bottom ash residues; Waste solids, ashes under TSCA are defined by the US EPA as: “The residuum from the burning of a combination of carbonaceous materials. The following elements may be present as oxides: aluminum, calcium, iron, magnesium, nickel, phosphorus, potassium, silicon, sulfur, titanium, and vanadium.” Ashes including fly ash and fluidized bed combustion ash are identified by CAS number 68131-74-8. The exact composition of the ash is dependent on the fuel source and flue additives composed of a large number of constituents. The classification of the final substance is dependent on the presence of specific identified oxides as well as other trace elements.

That doesn't sound so good. I already have issues with heavy metals, I don't need to add to that toxic load. Even Wikipedia, which I generally would never link to, states "Coal ash contains many toxic substances that can negatively impact the human body," including lead, cadmium, mercury, and chromium. It focuses on inhalation dangers, but particles will slough off of the concrete inside our home. Some will declare that this is only a danger under severe conditions. This might be the case, but my health is not worth the risk.

Additionally, fly ash can easily be sourced from cement kilns. Can you imagine what toxins would be lurking in the ash from hazardous waste? At least two ash disposal sites for cement kilns are on the Superfund list. If all of the toxins are truly rendered harmless, these sites would not need be classified as Superfund sites. Food for thought, eh?

- Slags, Ferrous Metal, Blast Furnace: My discussion of ashes/residues fits here as well. I would expect to see high heavy metal content in this product. I do understand that this reduces the amount of crud in landfills, which is a positive aspect of concrete products such as this. Perhaps these could be used outdoors in an area where food plants are not grown.

- Admixtures (organic and inorganic):

Ah, good old admixtures. These are added to concrete for a variety of reasons: reducing setting time, limiting the amount of water needed, reducing shrinkage, etc. Superplasticizers are something that some contractors get very excited about despite the extreme toxicity. Most of the time admixtures are big on chemicals and not on safety, though there are the few here and there that are simply derived from minerals. For the most part, though, one can assume toxicity when it comes to admixtures if they aren't divulged.

One exception is air entrained concrete, which may require a chemical agent. Sometimes soap, hydrogen peroxide, or other non-toxic products are used to make the thousands of little bubbles to help make air entrained concrete resistant to cracking in freezing temperature. Since the concrete pavers we are looking at are designed to be used outside, these may be air entrained concrete. But, as we don't know what the admixtures are, we simply don't know what is lurking behind the admixture label.

I think you get the picture. This doesn’t seem to be a product for a healthy home.

Is All Concrete Toxic?

Our little non-toxic home does have concrete pillars. The concrete was brought from the local concrete supplier in one of those spinning concrete trucks and was comprised of Portland cement, water, and locally sourced crushed limestone as aggregate. That's it. So is all concrete toxic? Well, some concrete is healthier than others.

While many contractors use toxic form release agents, that's not necessary. Though I would never eat it, we used the cheap vegetable oil from Dollar General as form release agent. It worked perfectly and the concrete contractor actually used it himself previously, so we weren't re-inventing the wheel.

In order to ensure your concrete isn't toxic, you have to learn all of the materials that are in it. As I've shared, this can be more difficult than it sounds. Many companies have their MSDS forms readily available online, and that is an excellent starting point.

Don't forget about what you put on the concrete, whether it is paint, stain, or sealants. Those can be more concerning than what is in the concrete itself.

Concrete and the Chemically Sensitive/ Environmental Illness

We didn’t want to build a house. It’s expensive, stressful, and pretty much all things terrible. However, nearly every house I looked at (thousands) was moldy or water damaged. That’s a problem, and it’s only gotten worse in recent years.

One home we visited, that is actually down the road from where we live now, was made of concrete blocks, with floors of concrete and a standing seam roof.

It felt amazing inside! We made an offer on it, but couldn’t meet the seller’s price, unfortunately. If we’d been able to, we’d have a lot more money on hand these days, as turning a woods into a home is incredibly expensive. But everything happens for a reason.

Despite having mainstream cabinets, pine paneling (I didn’t tolerate pine well at the time), etc., the home truly was tolerable for me. I know I already stated this, but it felt so good to be in the home. There was barely any cell service, which could very well be a huge factor.

So, just because concrete isn’t a perfect product, that doesn’t mean it isn’t tolerable for the chemically sensitive/ those with environmental illness. Many tolerate concrete quite well after it’s cured and off-gassed for quite some time.

However, everyone is different.

More Information on Concrete and Toxins

Two excellent sources of information on building a healthy home are the books The Healthy House and Prescriptions for a Healthy House. While some of the information is dated, they are solid sources for additional information on concrete and healthy home building.

Many with chemical sensitivities are indeed able to tolerate mindfully sourced and finished concrete. In fact, if you really want to go all in, you can make your own concrete, though I'm not sure how structurally sound I would consider the end product.

Simply because some options have concerns in regards to toxicity does not mean that all options would compromise one's health. Many with EHS seem to have reduced symptoms in concrete buildings or by laying on concrete, presumably as it helps to block nnEMFs and in some designs assists with grounding. Know that basements and concrete buildings are often risky when it comes to mold avoidance, though.

Last but not least, if you need more extensive assistance or research, feel free to reach out for a consultation.

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