The Environmental Protection Agency amended Part 247 Comprehensive Procurement Guideline (CPG) for Products Containing Recovered Materials to include “concrete containing silica fume.” This ruling, entered into the Federal Register on April 30, implements the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act that requires the EPS to designate items that are or can be made with recovered materials. Once this happens, any procuring agency that uses federal funds must purchase the item containing the highest percentage of recovered materials practicable.

As identified in the CPG silica fume, a byproduct from silicon and ferrosilicon metal production for use in concrete products and said to withstand harsh weather and deicing chemicals, has been added to Part 247.12 Construction Products.