</ref> The carbon dioxide from the air reacts with the alkali in the cement and makes the pore water more acidic, thus lowering the pH. Carbon dioxide will start to carbonate the cement in the concrete from the moment the object is made. This carbonatation process (in Britain, called carbonation) will start at the surface, then slowly move deeper and deeper into the concrete. If the object is cracked, the carbon dioxide of the air will be better able to penetrate into the concrete. When designing a concrete structure, it is normal to state the concrete cover for the rebar (the depth within the object that the rebar will be). The minimum concrete cover is normally regulated by design or building codes. If the reinforcement is too close to the surface, early failure due to corrosion may occur.

One method of testing a structure for carbonatation is to drill a fresh hole in the surface and then treat the surface with phenolphthalein. This will turn [pink] when in contact with alkaline cement, making it possible to see the depth of carbonatation. An existing hole is no good because the exposed surface will already be carbonated

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