There are new types of “rocks” born from human waste: they are waste from the steel industry which in the space of 35 years have transformed into stone.
Research carried out along the coast of Derwent Howe (West Cumbria, England) has detected a new type of “rock” born from human waste: waste from the steel industry which in just 35 years has transformed into stone-like material.
Record times. Normally the formation of rocks takes thousands or millions of years, but in this case the waste, already rich in cementing minerals, underwent a rapid lithification process called “anthropoclastic rock cycle”.
Embedded objects. Researchers at the University of Glasgow managed to extract some objects such as a King George V coin from 1934 and a tin pull from 1989 which allowed them to date the age of the anthropogenic rocks, which now show mineral structures such as calcite (calcium carbonate), goethite (iron oxide) and brucite (magnesium hydroxide) similar to those of traditional sedimentary rocks. Rich in calcium, iron, magnesium and manganese, the waste underwent chemical reactions in contact with sea water and oxygen, triggering the formation of natural mineral cements which led to the birth of the rock.
And the environment? This phenomenon has important environmental implications: the rapid formation of these rocks alters coastal erosion, changes the distribution of sediments and, potentially, alters the surrounding marine ecosystems, for example by releasing toxic metals or modifying the alkalinity of the water.
