Is it blue concrete around the stove?

[morgonspöket]

Hello!

I'm renovating the kitchen and have removed the tiles that were around the wood stove.

For some reason, the previous owner finished the masonry with one row of something strange and blue... there was an oven with hotplates placed close to it, so maybe that's why? To protect the oven from the wood stove's heat?

Is it blåbetong?
Should we remove it?
Should we be worried?

We are going to place a built-in oven + microwave in a tall cabinet next to it but with a spacer of about 5 cm to create an air gap. Should we place a minarit board there?





This is how it looked before we started demolishing:

 

[Tiger79]

Yes, it looks like blåbetong.

 

[Stefan N]

Is it blåbetong?
Should we remove it?
Should we be worried?

Yes
No
No

 

[morgonspöket]

Yes
No
No

Why shouldn't we remove it?
What function does it serve?

Isn't it better to replace it with some modern material that isn't "dangerous"?

 

[Demmpa]

It is better to remove the blåbetong than to leave it.

It was probably easier to saw the blåbetong to the right thickness than to try to chip away the refractory brick to the right thickness.

 

[MagHam]

As is well known, blåbetong can emit radioactive radon.
In this case, it is so little that it probably doesn't have any practical impact on health, so do what is easiest.

 

[Boende45]

It is clear that it should be removed even if it is not life-threatening. Why keep a limited part of blue concrete in a newly renovated kitchen?

The concrete emits radon gas, which can, over a long period, damage the lungs and cause lung cancer.

Just the knowledge of this makes everyone with an IQ level over 60 replace the concrete with a harmless material.

 

[Isakare]

I should save these images, it's probably the first time someone asks about blåbetong, and it IS blåbetong.
Otherwise, it's usually pictures of woodlice or slag plates.
Delete them if it feels right, it's easy to replace with something else.

 

[Jonatan79]

Of course you remove it even if it's not life-threatening. Why keep a limited part in aerated concrete in a newly renovated kitchen? The concrete emits radon gas that can, over a long time, harm the lungs and cause lung cancer.

Just knowing this makes anyone with an IQ level over 60 replace the concrete with a harmless material.

And everyone quits smoking too...

 

[halj]

Of course, you should remove it even if it's not life-threatening. Why keep a limited part of blue concrete in a newly renovated kitchen?
The concrete emits radon gas which can, over time, damage the lungs and cause lung cancer.

Just the knowledge of this makes everyone with an IQ level over 60 replace the concrete with a harmless material.

But calm down. It's hard to see that four blocks of blue concrete would give elevated levels in a house. I myself have all exterior walls and some interior walls in blue concrete. Had about 300 Bq/m3 before new ventilation.

Furthermore, it's not the radon gas itself that's dangerous; it's the substances that radon decays into, the so-called radon daughters, that emit harmful radiation.