Effect of housing construction material on childhood acute respiratory infection: a hospital based case control study in Bangladesh.

Despite several studies conducted to investigate housing factors, the effects of housing construction materials on childhood ARI symptoms in Bangladesh remain unclear. Hence, the study aimed to measure such a correlation among children under the age of five. A hospital-based case-control study was conducted, involving 221 cases and 221 controls from January to April 2023. Bivariate and multivariate binary logistic regression was performed to measure the degree of correlation between housing construction materials and childhood ARI symptoms. Households composed of natural floor materials had 2.7 times (95% confidence interval 1.27-5.57) and households composed of natural roof materials had 1.8 times (95% confidence interval 1.01-3.11) higher adjusted odds of having under-five children with ARI symptoms than household composed of the finished floor and finished roof materials respectively. Households with natural wall type were found protective against ARI symptoms with adjusted indoor air pollution determinants. The study indicates that poor housing construction materials are associated with an increased risk of developing ARI symptoms among under-five children in Bangladesh. National policy regarding replacing poor housing materials with concrete, increasing livelihood opportunities, and behavioral strategies programs encouraging to choice of quality housing construction materials could eliminate a fraction of the ARI burden.

Compression stress-strain curve of lithium slag recycled fine aggregate concrete.

As one of the key materials used in the civil engineering industry, concrete has a global annual consumption of approximately 10 billion tons. Cement and fine aggregate are the main raw materials of concrete, and their production causes certain harm to the environment. As one of the countries with the largest production of industrial solid waste, China needs to handle solid waste properly. Researchers have proposed to use them as raw materials for concrete. In this paper, the effects of different lithium slag (LS) contents (0%, 10%, 20%, 40%) and different substitution rates of recycled fine aggregates (RFA) (0%, 10%, 20%, 30%) on the axial compressive strength and stress-strain curve of concrete are discussed. The results show that the axial compressive strength, elastic modulus, and peak strain of concrete can increase first and then decrease when LS is added, and the optimal is reached when the LS content is 20%. With the increase of the substitution rate of RFA, the axial compressive strength and elastic modulus of concrete decrease, but the peak strain increases. The appropriate amount of LS can make up for the mechanical defects caused by the addition of RFA to concrete. Based on the test data, the stress-strain curve relationship of lithium slag recycled fine aggregate concrete is proposed, which has a high degree of agreement compared with the test results, which can provide a reference for practical engineering applications. In this study, LS and RFA are innovatively applied to concrete, which provides a new way for the harmless utilization of solid waste and is of great significance for the control of environmental pollution and resource reuse.

Experimental and numerical investigation on the reinforced concrete boundary beam-wall system subjected to axial compression.

This paper proposes a reinforced concrete (RC) boundary beam-wall system that requires less construction material and a smaller floor height compared to the conventional RC transfer girder system. The structural performance of this system subjected to axial compression was evaluated by performing a structural test on four specimens of 1/2 scale. In addition, three-dimensional nonlinear finite element analysis was also performed to verify the effectiveness of the boundary beam-wall system. Three test parameters such as the lower wall length-to-upper wall length ratio, lower wall thickness, and stirrup details of the lower wall were considered. The load-displacement curve was plotted for each specimen and its failure mode was identified. The test results showed that decrease in the lower wall length-to-upper wall length ratio significantly reduced the peak strength of the boundary beam-wall system and difference in upper and lower wall thicknesses resulted in lateral bending caused by eccentricity in the out-of-plane direction. Additionally, incorporating cross-ties and reducing stirrup spacing in the lower wall significantly improved initial stiffness and peak strength, effectively minimizing stress concentration.

Evaluation of the engineering properties of asphaltic concrete composite produced from recycled asphalt pavement and polyethylene plastic.

This study investigated the suitability of recycled asphalt pavement and polyethylene wastes as coarse aggregate in asphaltic concrete by evaluating the impact of the use of polyethylene polymer wastes and recycled asphalt pavement composite as aggregates on the physical and mechanical properties of the asphaltic concrete. The physical characteristics of the aggregate and bitumen were determined using relevant parametric tests. Recycled asphalt pavement was used to make asphaltic concrete samples using LDPE at 5%, 10%, 15%, RAP at 5% and HDPE at 5%, 10%, 15%, and a mixture of LDPE + HDPE at 5+5%, 7.5+7.5% and 10+10% RAP at 5% as additives. Marshall Stability test was conducted to assess the mechanical strength of the asphaltic concrete, and the results included information on the aggregate's stability, flow, density, voids filled with bitumen, voids filled with air, and voids in mineral aggregate. In addition, the surface and crystal structure of the aggregates was studied by carrying out a microscopic examination with a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and X-Ray diffraction (XRD). The results obtained from this study demonstrated that RAP, HDPE & LDPE are viable conventional aggregate substitute for asphalt concrete production.

Natural Radioactivity in Raw Building Materials for Underground Parking Lots and Assessment of Radiological Health Risk for the Population.

This article reports the results of an investigation into the activity concentration of natural radionuclides in raw building materials for underground parking lots, together with the assessment of the radiation hazard for the public related to exposure to ionizing radiations. To this purpose, high-purity germanium (HPGe) γ-ray spectrometry was employed in order to quantify the average specific activity of 226Ra, 232Th, and 40K natural radioisotopes. With the aim to assess any possible radiological health risk for the population, the absorbed γ-dose rate (D), the annual effective dose equivalent outdoor (AEDEout) and indoor (AEDEin), the activity concentration index (I), and the alpha index (Iα) were also estimated, resulting in values that were lower than the maximum recommended ones for humans. Finally, the extent of the correlations existing between the observed radioactivity and radiological parameters and of these parameters with the analyzed samples was quantified through statistical analyses, including Pearson's correlation, a principal component analysis (PCA), and a hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA). As a result, three clusters of the investigated samples were recognized based on their chemical composition and mineralogical nature. Noteworthily, this paper covers a certain gap in science since its topic does not appear in literature in this form. Thus, the authors underline the importance of this work to global knowledge in the environmental research and public health fields.

Review on physical performance, modification mechanisms, carbon emissions and economic costs of recycled aggregates modified with physical enhancement technologies.

With the continuous advancement of urban renewal, the application of recycled aggregates (RA) is a win-win measure to solve the treatment of construction waste and provide the required building materials. However, the existence of a large amount of old adhesive mortar (OAM) makes it difficult for RA to equivalently replace natural aggregates (NA) due to their higher water absorption and crushing index, as well as a lower apparent density. From the published literature on enhancing RA, the most mature and easiest method for construction is physical enhancement technology. Therefore, through a review of recent related researches, this article summarizes and compares the modification effects of mechanical grinding technology, traditional heating and grinding technology, and microwave heating technology on the physical properties of RA, including water absorption, apparent density, and crushing value. The related modification mechanisms were discussed. Additionally, the impacts of different physical enhancement technologies on the environment and economy effects are assessed from the perspectives of carbon emissions and cost required during processing. Based on multi-criteria analysis, microwave heating technology is more efficient and cleaner, which is the most recommended in the future.

Assessment of the mechanical and physical characteristics of PET bricks with different aggregates.

Construction and demolition waste, along with discarded PET plastic bottles, have evolved into a widespread global resource. However, their current disposal in landfills poses a significant environmental pollution challenge. This research is centered on evaluating the performance of cement mortar composed by larger PET particles in conjunction with sand, construction and demolition waste, and lightweight expanded polystyrene aggregates. The primary objective of this study is to formulate a blend suitable for non-structural elements that can be easily manufactured for social housing construction. This modified blend extends upon the original certified mixture employed at CEVE for brick production, which encompasses cement and 3 mm-long PET particles. The experimental analysis revealed that blend containing 8 mm-long PET particles, in combination with fine aggregates of construction and demolition waste, attained a required mechanical strength of 2 MPa, while preserving the bulk density and hydric properties of the initial PET bricks developed at CEVE in Argentina.

Fabrication of green anti-microbial and anti-static cement building bricks.

The design cement mix of grade 350 was created in accordance with Egyptian Standards by partially substituting the fine aggregate with WPVC waste in various weight percentages (10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 75, and 100%). A control mix with 0% replacement was also prepared. The W/C ratio was about 0.5 for all mixes. Compressive, flexure strength, bulk density, and absorption tests were studied. For WPVC replacement, until 30%, compressive strength and flexure strength are acceptable with respect to standerds. Thermal treatment at 200 °C improves the compressive strength, flexure strength and water absorption for 20% WPVC only. The dielectric properties of all cement paste mixes before and after heat treatment, over a frequency range (0.1-106 Hz), were measured as a function of frequency. For dielectric properties and conductivity, an improvement was obtained until 30% WPVC. After this percentage, the dielectric properties and the conductivity got worse. So, cement paste with 30% WPVC as replacement of sand is the optimum ratio with conductivity in range of 10-12 S/cm, which is a good choice for antistatic cement paste applications (10-10-10-12 S/cm). The antimicrobial efficacy of the prepared cement samples of WPVC concentrations (0, 20 and 30) % were studied, the number of grown microbial colonies decreased for all the samples compared to control tap water and decreased by introducing WPVC into the cement paste sample. So, it is recommended to use these samples in places that should be carefully shielded from bacterial infections and static electric charge dangers.

Assessment of radiological hazards from radioactivity natural of cement used in Dwellings in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Brazil is the fourth largest cement consumer in the world and the largest producer in Latin America, around 1.3% of global production. The main inputs in the manufacture of cement are limestone and clay. Few studies have been carried out in the country on the risk of these materials used in civil construction. Therefore, the objective of this present work is to evaluate the radiological danger that they can present to society. Gamma spectrometry analysis on 16 samples of different brands of cement used as construction material in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) was performed in this study, using an HPGe detector and the Genie 2000 data acquisition software. Samples were set to count for an accumulation time of 14,400 s (4 h) and all measurements were corrected to eliminate background and backscattering. Activity concentrations are determined for 226Ra was from (41.2 ± 1.6 to 174.9 ± 3.9) Bq kg-1, 232Th was from (15.7 ± 0.5 to 43.1 ± 0.7) Bq kg-1 and 40K was from (82.6 ± 7.2 to 254 ± 17) Bq kg-1. To assess radiological health risks: mean values of Radium Activity Equivalent 150.0 ± 3.4 Bq kg-1, Annual Gonadal Dose Equivalent 468 ± 11 µSv year-1 and Lifetime Excess Cancer Risk (ELCR) 2.42 ± 0.06 were calculated. Total Absorbed Dose Rates ranged from 72.2 ± 1.7 to 225.1 ± 5.2 nGy h-1. The damage to collective health was also estimated from the annual effective dose rates with an estimated total cost of damage to health of US$ 130 million. Values are generally within global limits reported by UNSCEAR.

The potential use of mass timber in mid-to high-rise construction and the associated carbon benefits in the United States.

Nonresidential and mid- to high-rise multifamily residential structures in the United States currently use little wood per unit floor area installed, because earlier building codes lacked provisions for structural wood use in those types of buildings. However, revisions to the International Building Code allow for increased wood use in the form of mass timber, as structural and fire safety concerns have been addressed through new science-based design standards and through newly specified construction materials and measures. This study used multiple models to describe alternative futures for new construction, mass timber adoption rates, and the associated carbon benefits in higher than three-story buildings in the United States. The use of mass timber, in place of traditional constructions (i.e., structures dominated by concrete and steel), in projected new higher than three-story buildings was shown to provide combined carbon benefits (i.e., global warming mitigation benefits), including avoided embodied carbon emissions due to the substitution of non-wood alternatives and additional biogenic carbon storage in mass timber materials, of between 9.9 and 16.5 million t CO2e/yr spanning 50 years, 2020 to 2070. These carbon benefits equate to 12% to 20% of the total U.S. harvested wood products carbon storage for 2020. Future research is needed to understand how greater mass timber adoption leads to changes in forest product markets, land use, and total forest sector carbon.

Recycling thermally deactivated asbestos cement in mortar: A possible route towards a rapid conclusion of the "asbestos problem".

The "asbestos problem" arises from the fact that asbestos is still abundant in many buildings and represents a hazard for human health. Current strategies adopted by law aiming at mitigating this hazard are far from being ideal. A smarter solution would be an energy sustainable detoxification treatment followed by recycling. If adopted, it would preserve the environment from pollution, natural resources from depletion and human health from hazard. Asbestos-cement slates were thermally deactivated through a sustainable process and reused in mortar for plaster applications. We found that the addition up to 7 wt% of the deactivated product does not affect significantly the water demand; does not affect thixotropy, stickiness and spreadability of the plastic mixture; slightly increases the strength of the mortar; does not compromise mechanical properties after aging. Considering the huge amount of traditional mortar employed worldwide, a rapid end of the "asbestos problem" is envisaged.

Investigation on the source of VOCs emission from indoor construction materials using electronic sensors and TD-GC-MS.

Indoor air quality (IAQ) is critical to the health and wellbeing of people. As the majority of people spend greater amounts of time indoors, either in office spaces or households, the level of air pollutants in such environments is critical. Building materials and furniture are known sources of air pollutants such as Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) and may be associated with discomfort, detrimental health of the occupants, etc. In this study, the VOCs found in a brand new office complex were monitored over a period of 6 months, with an emphasis on monitoring and quantifying harmful VOCs and identifying their emission source. Air samples were taken from a closed, unoccupied office space on a weekly basis and analysed using Thermal Desorption-Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (TD-GC-MS), while continuous monitoring of the air quality was performed using two commercially available IAQ sensors. To identify the source of the emitted VOCs, pieces of all construction material that were used in the office, including flooring, finished wall material, and adhesive glues, were removed, and placed in air-tight glass containers prior to analysis confirming that the source of VOCs is indeed the flooring. Identified compounds included mainly material origin VOCs such as BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene) and styrene, but also common VOCs such as acetone and propan-2-ol. Of significant importance was the concentration of toluene that was found to be the most abundant VOC in both the flooring material and the indoor air.

Optimizing City-Scale Demolition Waste Supply Chain Under Different Carbon Policies.

In order to establish a green, low-carbon circular development economic system, imperative goals include achieving carbon peaking and carbon neutrality. This research delves into the resource utilization of city-scale demolition waste (C&DW), aligning with environmental protection needs and sustainable development principles. The paper introduces a unique closed-loop supply chain (CLSC) model tailored for C&DW and employs a distinctive mixed integer nonlinear programming (MINLP) model for optimization. Guangzhou serves as a case study for thorough analysis, verification, and practical application of the proposed model, especially under diverse scenarios of carbon price (CP) and carbon trading (CT) policies. The key conclusions drawn from this study include the following: (1) The cost of carbon emissions is intricately influenced by both carbon emissions and carbon price, with the latter effectively regulating the carbon emissions during C&DW recycling. (2) The implementation of a CT policy, with a fixed carbon price, contributes to a further reduction in the cost of C&DW recycling treatment. (3) Under equivalent conditions, the CT policy demonstrates the potential to decrease costs and enhance the economic benefits within the building environmental protection product market. The research outcomes not only contribute to the advancement of management theory in the C&DW recycling supply chain (SC) but also provide a robust theoretical foundation for governmental initiatives aimed at introducing effective C&DW recycling management policies.

Investigation of the interface of fungal mycelium composite building materials by means of low-vacuum scanning electron microscopy.

Low-vacuum scanning electron microscopy (low-vacuum SEM) is widely used for different applications, such as the investigation of noncoated specimen or the observation of biological materials, which are not stable to high vacuum. In this study, the combination of mineral building materials (concrete or clay plaster) with a biological composite (fungal mycelium composite) by using low-vacuum SEM was investigated. Fungal biotechnology is increasingly gaining prominence in addressing the challenges of sustainability transformation. The construction industry is one of the biggest contributors to the climate crises and, therefore, can highly profit from applications based on regenerative fungal materials. In this work, a fungal mycelium composite is used as alternative to conventional insulating materials like Styrofoam. However, to adapt bio-based products to the construction industry, investigations, optimisations and adaptations to existing solutions are needed. This paper examines the compatibility between fungal mycelium materials with mineral-based materials to demonstrate basic feasibility. For this purpose, fresh and hardened concrete specimens as well as clay plaster samples are combined with growing mycelium from the tinder fungus Fomes fomentarius. The contact zone between the mycelium composite and the mineral building materials is examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The combination of these materials proves to be feasible in general. The use of hardened concrete or clay with living mycelium composite appears to be the favoured variant, as the hyphae can grow into the surface of the building material and thus a layered structure with a stable connection is formed. In order to work with the combination of low-density organic materials and higher-density inorganic materials simultaneously, low-vacuum SEM offers a suitable method to deliver results with reduced effort in preparation while maintaining high capture and magnification quality. Not only are image recordings possible with SE and BSE, but EDX measurements can also be carried out quickly without the influence of a coating. Depending on the signal used, as well as the magnification, image-recording strategies must be adapted. Especially when using SE, an image-integration method was used to reduce the build-up of point charges from the electron beam, which damages the mycelial hyphae. Additionally using different signals during image capture is recommended to confirm acquired information, avoiding misinterpretations.

Strong double networked hybrid cellulosic foam for passive cooling.

Up to now, energy conservation, emission reduction, and environmental protection are still the goals that humanity continuously pursues. Passive radiative cooling is a zero-consumption cooling technology, which gains more and more attention. However, the contraction between mechanical strength and cooling performance of traditional radiative cooling materials still limits their scalable production. In this work, we developed a strong double-networked hybrid cellulosic foam via crosslinking recyclable CNF and PVA with a silane coupling agent in the freeze-drying process. Meanwhile, nano zinc oxide and MOF were added to improve the mechanical and solar scattering of foam. Benefiting from the synergistic solar scattering of ZnO and MOF and the stable double crosslinking network, the as-prepared hybrid cellulosic foam exhibits high solar reflectivity of 0.965, high IR emissivity of 0.94, ultrahigh mechanical strength of and low thermal conductivity. Based on above results, the hybrid cellulosic foam shows high-performance daytime cooling efficiency of 7.5 °C under direct sunlight in the hot region (Nanjing, China), which can serve as outdoor thermal-regulation materials. This work demonstrates that biomass materials possess the enormous potential of in thermal regulating materials, and also provides great possibilities for their applications in energy conservation, environmental protection and green building materials.

Hydration and properties of hydrogen-based mineral phase transformation iron ore tailings as supplementary cementitious material.

Almost all iron ore tailings (IOTs) required activation prior to use as SCMs, which limited their application in building materials. This study investigated HMPT-IOTs and discovered that they possess latent hydraulic and pozzolanic properties. In order to better utilize as SCM, mechanical properties, hydration reactions, hydration products, microstructure, and pores were comprehensively studied through mechanical tests, hydration heat tests, XRD, SEM, TG, and MIP. The results show that when HMPT-IOTs replace cement at 10 wt%, 20 wt% and 30 wt%, the compressive strength at 28 days is 41.9 MPa, 47.9 MPa and 37.5 MPa, respectively. When the substitution amount reaches 30 wt%, it will reduce the cumulative heat of hydration and promote early hydration reactions. The main hydration products are ettringite and Ca(OH)2. As the nucleation site of C-S-H, hydration products are interconnected, making the microstructure denser. At this substitution level, Ca(OH)2 consumption was about 2% at 28 days of age. Simultaneously, the total pore volume was only 0.01 mL/g greater than that of the control group, and the number of micropores and transition pores decreased by approximately 3%.

Sustainable building materials-recycled aggregate and concrete: a systematic review of properties, modification techniques, and environmental impacts.

Resource utilization of construction and demolition (C&D) waste has great potential to significantly reduce the consumption of natural resources and improve the environment. Meanwhile, establishing a sound policy system and reducing production are the key ways to solve the problem of C&D waste. Numerous studies on C&D waste, recycled concrete aggregate (RA), and recycled aggregate concrete (RAC) have been reported in the literature, with few systematic summaries. From a global perspective, this paper assessed the current situation of C&D waste and the countermeasure of several major economies. Then, this paper systematically introduces the composition structure and characteristics of RA. Modification techniques from macro and micro perspectives of RA and its effect on RAC were also presented. Paper also reviews the environmental impacts of RA and RAC. The results showed that bonded mortar was the most significant defect of RA than natural aggregate (NA). Thus, RA weakened RAC's microstructure, workability, mechanical properties, and durability. The research on the modification of RA mainly focused on removing bonded mortar and enhancing bonded mortar containing physical or chemical methods. Enhancing bonded mortar was a more effective method than removing bonded mortar. Carbonation and microbially induced calcium carbonate precipitation were highly efficient and environmentally friendly for RA modification. Research progress in quantifying the environmental impacts associated with concrete from waste materials through the LCA methodology is presented. Suggestions and an outlook were given on the critical issues facing RA and RAC. We expect that this work can provide more technical support for C&D waste utilization.

CODD: A benchmark dataset for the automated sorting of construction and demolition waste.

This study presents the Construction and Demolition Waste Object Detection Dataset (CODD), a benchmark dataset specifically curated for the training of object detection models and the full-scale implementation of automated sorting of Construction and Demolition Waste (CDW). The CODD encompasses a comprehensive range of CDW scenarios, capturing a diverse array of debris and waste materials frequently encountered in real-world construction and demolition sites. A noteworthy feature of the presented study is the ongoing collaborative nature of the dataset, which invites contributions from the scientific community, ensuring its perpetual improvement and adaptability to emerging research and practical requirements. Building upon the benchmark dataset, an advanced object detection model based on the latest bounding box and instance segmentation YOLOV8 architecture is developed to establish a baseline performance for future comparisons. The CODD benchmark dataset, along with the baseline model, provides a reliable reference for comprehensive comparisons and objective assessments of future models, contributing to progressive advancements and collaborative research in the field.

Optimally leveraging depth features to enhance segmentation of recyclables from cluttered construction and demolition waste streams.

This paper addresses the critical environmental issue of effectively managing construction and demolition waste (CDW), which has seen a global surge due to rapid urbanization. With the advent of deep learning-based computer vision, this study focuses on improving intelligent identification of valuable recyclables from cluttered and heterogeneous CDW streams in material recovery facilities (MRFs) by optimally leveraging both visual and spatial features (depth). A high-quality CDW RGB-D dataset was curated to capture MRF stream complexities often overlooked in prior studies, and comprises over 3500 images for each modality and more than 160,000 dense object instances of diverse CDW materials with high resource value. In contrast to former studies which directly concatenate RGB and depth features, this study introduces a new depth fusion strategy that utilizes computationally efficient convolutional operations at the end of the conventional waste segmentation architecture to effectively fuse colour and depth information. This avoids cross-modal interference and maximizes the use of distinct information present in the two different modalities. Despite the high clutter and diversity of waste objects, the proposed RGB-DL architecture achieves a 13% increase in segmentation accuracy and a 36% reduction in inference time when compared to the direct concatenation of features. The findings of this study emphasize the benefit of effectively incorporating geometrical features to complement visual cues. This approach helps to deal with the cluttered and varied nature of CDW streams, enhancing automated waste recognition accuracy to improve resource recovery in MRFs. This, in turn, promotes intelligent solid waste management for efficiently managing environmental concerns.

Strength development and self-desiccation of saline cemented paste backfill.

Given that many mines around the world are located in areas where fresh water is scarce, and companies are being held to increasingly stringent sustainability and environmental responsibility standards, many mines are looking to use locally available saline groundwater or seawater as mixing water in cemented paste backfill (CPB). However, the impacts of this decision on key engineering properties of CPB (e.g. strength and self-desiccation) that affect its mechanical stability need to be better understood to allow confident selection of this practical and more sustainable solution. Thus, the effect of mixing water salinity and binder type on the strength (unconfined compressive strength, UCS) development and self-desiccation (measured by suction and volumetric water content) of CPB is explored in this research. NaCl concentrations from 0 to 300 g/L were used in CPB made with silica tailings and Portland cement type I (PC). Concentrations of 10 and 35 g/L were found to moderately increase UCS, while a concentration of 100 g/L had comparable UCS to non-saline CPB and a concentration of 300 g/L was found to significantly decrease UCS over all curing times. The overall trend is 10 g/L > 35 g/L > 0 g/L > 100 g/L > 300 g/L. The UCS of the 60-day-old CPB with a NaCl of 300 g/L is significantly lower, registering a 26% decrease compared to the UCS of the 60-day-old CPB without salt. In contrast, the UCS of the 60-day-old CPBs containing 10 g/L and 35 g/L of salt exhibits a notable improvement, being 15% and 10% higher, respectively, than the UCS of the 60-day-old CPB without salt. Water content and suction monitoring were conducted up to 28 days of curing time, and it was found that suction only slightly contributed to UCS gain of the saline CPB, and high salt contents (100 and 300 g/L) significantly inhibited the self-desiccation ability of CPB due to inhibition of cement hydration by the excessive amount of salt. The increase in strength of both saline and non-saline samples was attributed primarily to the increase in cement hydration products, while the increased strength of the samples with salinities of 10 and 35 g/L was mainly attributed to the enhancement of the binder hydration due to the low amount of salt and the presence of Friedel's salt in the pores. The effect of PC replacement by 25 to 75% with slag on CPB with 35 g/L mixing water salinity was also studied. Slag replacement of 50% and higher resulted in significantly higher UCS over most curing times. Suction likely moderately contributed to UCS of the saline CPB with slag, in addition to the presence of Friedel's salt in the pores and the acceleration of cement and slag hydration by the presence of NaCl.