Inspection raised concerns about a 'major error' in Champlain Tower design, records show

[MineralMan]

11. It is a global problem.

When I was stationed in Turkey in the late 60s in the USAF, I watched out of my barracks as workers built a six story apartment building just off the base where I was stationed. As I watched, I saw them mixing concrete on site, using dirt excavated from the site, rather than clean gravel and sand. So, lots of organic material was being mixed with into bearing concrete. Not a good thing at all.

In that city, Samsun, every earthquake caused multi-story buildings to collapse. Most were apartment buildings. There were building codes there, but they were simply not enforced, or inspectors were bribed not to see poor practices.

There's less of that in the USA, but it still goes on. Besides, building codes and specs in the 80s were not as strict as they are now, especially with engineering requirements.