Ukraine’s cement association, Ukrcement, has carried out a new study into the quality of cement on the consumer market. The research found that over 80 per cent of cement with incorrect labelling was counterfeit.
"According to the new quality study of 50 cement bags with wrong labeling, 82 per cent of cement proved to be counterfeit, more than 50 per cent of samples had less weight than declared, 56 per cent with weaker strength were not cement at all, because they did not comply with regulated national standard В.2.7-46 -2010 for the minimum compressive strength threshold... These products do not have their own consumer properties, namely they are not at all a binder," Ukrcement said in an open appeal to construction companies and builders.
The association said that the risks of using counterfeit cement depend on the scale of a construction project: from loss of money and time on a small construction site to a direct threat to human life due to structural integrity violation in high-rise construction.
The association said that the violation of the bag labelling is the main sign of poor-quality counterfeit cement. Regulatory documents state that five mandatory items must be indicated on the bag: the name of the cement manufacturing company, the conventional designation of cement, the designation of the normative document, the net weight and the conformity mark.
