Clearing the Air
Options for dust control
R&M Recycling in Toledo, OH, had faced a multitude of dust challenges. Among them: heavy use of scrap and recycling areas, large volumes of traffic on an ongoing basis, heavy equipment that moves on tracks and not on rubber tires, and ongoing turning and vehicular articulation on surfaces—all resulting in dust complaints.
The company had previously used a dust control product that had barely worked for a day before it lost its effectiveness. Company officials turned to SynTech Products for the solution after observing success at a nearby trucking company.
SynTech’s approach was to consider the day-to-day operations of the scrap processing facility, engineer a program to mitigate emissions on an ongoing basis, facilitate a turnkey dust suppression program, curtail dust complaints, and improve safety.
To that end, the company suggested R&M Recycling use Petrotac, a non-volatile, environmentally safe specialized emulsion. The product is manufactured with virgin materials and is non-leaching.
Petrotac saturates, penetrates, and bonds dust and aggregate to stabilize unpaved road surfaces and is engineered to be applied as a topical palliative. It cures to a water-resistant surface that will not re-emulsify. It is diluted with water from 1:1 to 1:20 and applied through a pressurized spray system.
 |
Photo: Syntech |
| Millions of dollars are spent on dust problems across the US each year. |
Its performance has been verified through the EPA’s Environmental Technology Verification Program, indicating levels of control exceeding 95%.
SynTech Products provides ongoing applications on R&M Recycling’s 10-acre site.
“It works great,” says Robert Blackburn, a foreman with R&M Recycling. “We use it long-term, and we’re going to keep going because our yard is always going to be dirt. We have to use it—otherwise you can’t even walk through our yard on a windy day. Right now, it’s windy, and I don’t have any dust in the air.”
But for many entities, dust is a constant problem.
Clouding the Issue
Dust is defined by the Mine Safety and Health Administration as finely divided solids, which may become airborne, from an original state without any chemical or physical change other than fracture.
Those who manufacture dust control products advocate their necessity. MonoSol, maker of TerraLOC, points out the EPA estimates that more than 25 million tons of dust becomes airborne each year in the United States. Dust particles can be spread by traffic, machinery, activity, or wind.
Millions of dollars are spent annually by the construction, mining, and agricultural industries for loss of productivity, equipment maintenance, environmental fines, and costs associated with government safety measures due to dust problems.
SynTech Products points out that dust can be fibrogenic—including free crystalline silica or asbestos—and can sometimes be toxic, forming scar tissue and impairing the lungs’ ability to properly function.
Or it can take the form of nuisance or inert dust—with less than 1% quartz—and although it has little adverse effect on lungs, excessive exposure to it may reduce visibility and cause unpleasant deposits in eyes, ears, and nasal passages.
Dust is classified into three primary categories: respirable, inhalable, and total.
Respirable dust is made up of particles small enough to penetrate the nose and upper respiratory system and reach deep into the lungs. Those particles that penetrate deep into the respiratory system may be retained.
Research indicates the tiny particles account for tens of thousands of deaths each year from respiratory and coronary disease.
Inhalable dust is the fraction of dust that enters the body but is trapped in the nose, throat, and upper respiratory tract. Total dust includes all airborne particles, regardless of size or composition.
The EPA reviews its standards according to current scientific findings every five years as part of the Clear Air Act. The National Ambient Air Quality Standards address fine and coarse particle pollution known as particulate matter (PM).
In early 2007, the EPA issued a rule defining requirements for state plans to clean the air in areas with levels of fine particle pollution that do not meet national air-quality standards.
The EPA first established air-quality standards for fine particles (PM2.5, or particles 2.5 micrometers in diameter and smaller) in 1997. The EPA in 2005 established designations for areas of “attainment” or “nonattainment” for the PM2.5 standards.
For areas designated as “nonattainment,” the state must submit an implementation plan to the EPA within three years (state plans for 1997 fine particle standards are due in April 2008).
States must meet the PM2.5 standard by 2010, but in their 2008 implementation plans they may propose an attainment date extension for up to five years.
 |
Photo: MonoSol |
| New requirements for acceptable dust levels were developed by the EPA in 2007. |
Horse and Rider
While human health against dust exposure is of concern, so too is that of animals.
The Alexandria Equestrian Association in Alexandria Township, NJ, had a significant dust problem in its arena. In part, it was caused by the extreme uses the area was put to; it was available to the public for all riding disciplines, including cattle cutting and roping and English- and Western-style horseback riding.
According to Environmental Security Systems Inc., maker of ArenaKleen, horses require 30 times more oxygen than humans. Respiratory problems and airway disease is the number-one health issue for horses and also affects their owners and trainers.
Alexandria Equestrian Association members sought a solution that would control the dust and keep the footing consistent for the safety of the horses and riders.
“There might be some problems with respiratory conditions, and even though it wasn’t an EPA-mandated issue, it was a humane standpoint for both the rider and the horse,” says David Marra, an association member with a scientific background.
The association chose ArenaKleen, a dust control measure designed for horse arenas, as a solution that eliminates the health risks of airborne dust for horses and those who work with and around them while helping preserve the footing as well as maintaining long-term footing consistency. It is made to work in areas where the surface will be continually disturbed.
ArenaKleen is not alkaline, acidic, corrosive, or hazardous. It is formulated to absorb into individual soil particles rather than surround and “float” the particles as water does. Therefore, the individual particles remain in direct contact with each other, keeping the soil surface firm with good traction and no stickiness.
ArenaKleen does not need watering; nor does it evaporate or wash away in rain. The product is a blend of highly refined, non-toxic organic fluids. It is used in indoor and outdoor horse arenas and does not freeze in cold-weather climates. It gradually creeps into the soil laterally and vertically below the surface. It also extends an arena’s lifespan by preventing it from being prematurely pulverized and compacted.
 |
Photo: Syntech |
| Dust control is a challenge at a heavily trafficked recycling facility. |
Any equipment that can spray water—such as a tank with pump and hose, a water truck, an agricultural sprayer, or a hydroseeding machine—can be used to apply the substance to the surface.
While most arena footing contains little or no clay, that with more than 12% clay content requires extra ArenaKleen. Arena footing that contains rubber also requires more ArenaKleen on initial application because it is very dry and absorbs much more than normal. Effective dust control lasts for about one year. Watering is never required.
“I understood enough to be able to take a look at different products that are on the market, analyze them, and work with the ArenaKleen distributors to do some of the analysis of what kind of material needs to be used, what mixture, and how much,” says Marra. “This group is the one that worked the best with me.”
Prior to the application, the association had been using only water to control the dust. “It took a lot of watering all of the time. That’s OK, but it’s expensive,” says Marra, adding that the arena is operated with private dues.
“There’s footing in the arena that’s level enough. But with people running cattle and events in there, you have to really manage dust and footing control with consistent leveling,” says Marra. “You’ve got to hydrate this just right and get the control and the dust down.”
The association has considered chlorides, magnesium salts, and magnesium and calcium but decided against those approaches because of concerns about hazard to the horses.
ArenaKleen was applied in February 2007 with a spreading device on the back of a truck. It ran through the device via a gravity drip; the product was then raked in.
The distributor took samples and analyzed them—some particles were clay, and some were sand—and determined the amount to put down based on the particle mixtures, says Marra.
After the first application, “The next application is about a third the amount of what you did before, and then you may or may not need a third application, which [would be] only about a quarter of the initial application,” explains Marra.
“After that, you should probably be OK for the rest of the life of the footing. Eventually, all footing needs to be replaced at some time.”
Nine months after the ArenaKleen was applied, association members are quite pleased with its ability to suppress the dust, Marra notes.
The association realized cost savings in that using the ArenaKleen was less expensive than watering “by a significant amount,” with a savings in energy as well, Marra notes.
 |
Photo: Zircon |
| Some products break down water and discourage evaporation to control dust. |
He points out that a partnership between a company offering dust suppressant products and clients is important in achieving successful results. “The reason it is important is that you have to measure your arena’s size accurately; you have to measure the type of dirt and footing you have and what it is composed of before you order any amount of material,” says Marra.
“The size and composition of matter is going to determine how much you have to buy and apply. What is critical to anyone looking at erosion control or dust control is also to not look for 100% dust-free conditions; that is not realistic. It’s how fast can it go back down and settle into the dirt, and there is where we’re very pleased with the product. We bought ArenaKleen because it is clean. They named it appropriately.”
Airfields, Roadsides, and Industrial Yards
Meanwhile, in an airfield in Arizona, crop dusting airplanes are now being protected from the challenge of dust.
A year ago, after trying a variety of methods to abate dust, Matt Fieldgrove, general manager with Tri-Rotor Ag Services in Somerton, AZ, turned to MonoSol for its TerraLOC product to solve the company’s airfield dust problems.
“With the airplanes and helicopters taking off, dust can be a problem as far as erosion on the propellers and rotor blades, so putting something down to help control the dust helps extend the life of the aircraft,” Fieldgrove says.
TerraLOC is a biodegradable, water-soluble dust suppressant and erosion control polymer that penetrates the soil and locks down dust particles.
erraLOC is a polyvinyl alcohol polymer that can be reactivated after application with water or the use of a cross-linking agent, allowing for flexibility according to various soil types. After it cures, TerraLOC traps the dust particles at the surface, forming a layer.
Fieldgrove has used the product on an ongoing basis and also utilizes water trucks in his dust control efforts.
“We’ve tried a lot of different things, so we decided to try TerraLOC to see if it worked. It did seem to help with most of the problems,” Fieldgrove says. “It definitely did stabilize the ground to where it controlled the dust more.”
 |
Photo: Zircon |
| Limestone dust was a problem at this construction materials supplier. |
Industrial applications are a common use of dust control products. LaFarge North America in Cleveland, OH, is a construction materials company that supplies cement, aggregates, and concrete for residential, commercial, institutional, and public works applications and as such produces a large amount of limestone dust.
The company uses Zircon Industries’ ZHP Water Wetter, an alternative to the sole use of water as a dust control agent. The product breaks the molecular structure of water so that it spreads and penetrates, resisting evaporation. The product contains resins that are cumulative to enhance performance.
LaFarge uses it “to keep the dust down and try not to water as often as we normally did,” says Butch Naugle, a supervisor at LaFarge. “We spray it down on our roadways and around our piles, the loaders, and the trucks.”
The product is introduced at a rate of 1 part ZHP to 2,000 parts water.
Because of the nature of the work at the plant, LaFarge must water all day long, but using the ZHP Water Wetter helps cut down on the amount of water needed to be applied, making it an economical choice, says Naugle.
Roadway construction is another common site for dust control applications. Ron Dean, an estimator for business development for American Civil Constructors (ACC) in Littleton, CO, says his company has successfully used Earth Chem several times on large highway projects.
One such project, the Transportation Expansion Project (dubbed T-REX), involved the widening and upgrading of Interstate-25 through south Denver and the southeast corridors.
During the construction, “A mountain of topsoil had been stockpiled in one of the large interchanges between two of the highways,” notes Dean. “They had a problem in that they had to have that remain there for a couple of years, and obviously it was high-visibility and very susceptible to both water and wind erosion.”
ACC initially sprayed it with Earth Chem’s EarthBound and then subsequently added more soil to the pile. EarthBound is a polymer product field-tested at the Texas Transportation Institute.
“Then we went back in with a different product, Guardian, and we also used a little bit of wood fiber to help the tackifier bridge over the soil,” Dean says. Guardian, from Rantec Corp., is a blend of polysaccharides and can be used as a standalone stabilizer or in conjunction with other methods.
The Guardian product held in place for a year before ACC had to return to re-apply it. ACC also applied Earth Chem products yearly for three years, beginning in 2003. The cost for dust control on the T-REX project was about a penny per square foot, including labor and materials.
ACC also used Soil Guard bonded fiber matrix at a job site further south on I-25.
With respect to the EPA’s strict air-quality regulations, ACC suggests erosion control measures on all projects that it has to leave fallow because perhaps the budget or the phasing of the project didn’t allow for temporary seeing.
During autumn 2007, for example, a large park and ball field that was going to be seeded with bluegrass could not be seeded, so it remained exposed through the winter.
“The erosion control is typically done to keep both the water and wind erosion from disturbing the neighbors or getting into the waterways,” Dean points out.
“This project is a design-build, so we are helping the designers and engineers come up with these ideas so they can then fit their phasing and budget to the real circumstances that are going on.”
ACC uses hydroseeding equipment in many of its erosion control applications. “Our hydroseeding trucks can shoot a stream of water a great distance and with great accuracy,” Dean notes. “With this ball field project, the fields go through some soil preparation and grading, so you don’t want to put a big water truck out there making ruts and disturbing sprinkler heads.”
Showdown in Tombstone
Environmental Products & Applications has a soft spot for historical sites and often donates dust control products and services in areas where doing so would help preserve the historical significance. Military applications are another area where the company lends a hand.
It did so for George Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate & Gardens in Mount Vernon, VA, where caretakers had been concerned not only about being environmentally friendly but also about preserving the rich history embodied at the facility and its surroundings—as exemplified in its 18th century-type gravel roads that become very dusty.
In early 2007, John Vermillion, the company’s owner, had been visiting Tombstone, AZ, when he noticed someone wearing a “Save Our Streets” T-shirt. The shirt, he learned, represented one of two factions at odds with each other over either paving Allen Street, a dirt road that went through town, or keeping it as is.
Those who favored paving the street no longer wanted to breathe in the dust or have it tracked into local businesses as dirt or mud following rain.
Vermillion knew he had a solution in Envirotac II, an acrylic polymer dust suppressant. It binds the soils particles and forms a clear plastic and resin bond without compromising the environment because it binds to the surface and does not infiltrate the ground.
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He got in touch with town officials, relaying what his company had done at other historical sites and for the military. Tombstone officials voted to permit Environmental Products & Applications to apply Envirotac II to Allen Street.
The project was completed in just a few days in sections as to not impact local commerce and provided a long-term solution to the problem. “Now they have a hard road that keeps the same look and provides dust control at the same time,” says Vermillion.
Author's Bio: Carol Brzozowski is a journalist living in Coral Springs, FL.
March-April 2008
Clearing the Air
Options for dust control
R&M Recycling in Toledo, OH, had faced a multitude of dust challenges. Among them: heavy use of scrap and recycling areas, large volumes of traffic on an ongoing basis, heavy equipment that moves on tracks and not on rubber tires, and ongoing turning and vehicular articulation on surfaces—all resulting in dust complaints.
The company had previously used a dust control product that had barely worked for a day before it lost its effectiveness. Company officials turned to SynTech Products for the solution after observing success at a nearby trucking company.
SynTech’s approach was to consider the day-to-day operations of the scrap processing facility, engineer a program to mitigate emissions on an ongoing basis, facilitate a turnkey dust suppression program, curtail dust complaints, and improve safety.
To that end, the company suggested R&M Recycling use Petrotac, a non-volatile, environmentally safe specialized emulsion. The product is manufactured with virgin materials and is non-leaching.
Petrotac saturates, penetrates, and bonds dust and aggregate to stabilize unpaved road surfaces and is engineered to be applied as a topical palliative. It cures to a water-resistant surface that will not re-emulsify. It is diluted with water from 1:1 to 1:20 and applied through a pressurized spray system.
|
Photo: Syntech |
| Millions of dollars are spent on dust problems across the US each year. |
Its performance has been verified through the EPA’s Environmental Technology Verification Program, indicating levels of control exceeding 95%.
SynTech Products provides ongoing applications on R&M Recycling’s 10-acre site.
“It works great,” says Robert Blackburn, a foreman with R&M Recycling. “We use it long-term, and we’re going to keep going because our yard is always going to be dirt. We have to use it—otherwise you can’t even walk through our yard on a windy day. Right now, it’s windy, and I don’t have any dust in the air.”
But for many entities, dust is a constant problem.
Clouding the Issue
Dust is defined by the Mine Safety and Health Administration as finely divided solids, which may become airborne, from an original state without any chemical or physical change other than fracture.
Those who manufacture dust control products advocate their necessity. MonoSol, maker of TerraLOC, points out the EPA estimates that more than 25 million tons of dust becomes airborne each year in the United States. Dust particles can be spread by traffic, machinery, activity, or wind.
Millions of dollars are spent annually by the construction, mining, and agricultural industries for loss of productivity, equipment maintenance, environmental fines, and costs associated with government safety measures due to dust problems.
SynTech Products points out that dust can be fibrogenic—including free crystalline silica or asbestos—and can sometimes be toxic, forming scar tissue and impairing the lungs’ ability to properly function.
Or it can take the form of nuisance or inert dust—with less than 1% quartz—and although it has little adverse effect on lungs, excessive exposure to it may reduce visibility and cause unpleasant deposits in eyes, ears, and nasal passages.
Dust is classified into three primary categories: respirable, inhalable, and total.
Respirable dust is made up of particles small enough to penetrate the nose and upper respiratory system and reach deep into the lungs. Those particles that penetrate deep into the respiratory system may be retained.
Research indicates the tiny particles account for tens of thousands of deaths each year from respiratory and coronary disease.
Inhalable dust is the fraction of dust that enters the body but is trapped in the nose, throat, and upper respiratory tract. Total dust includes all airborne particles, regardless of size or composition.
The EPA reviews its standards according to current scientific findings every five years as part of the Clear Air Act. The National Ambient Air Quality Standards address fine and coarse particle pollution known as particulate matter (PM).
In early 2007, the EPA issued a rule defining requirements for state plans to clean the air in areas with levels of fine particle pollution that do not meet national air-quality standards.
The EPA first established air-quality standards for fine particles (PM2.5, or particles 2.5 micrometers in diameter and smaller) in 1997. The EPA in 2005 established designations for areas of “attainment” or “nonattainment” for the PM2.5 standards.
For areas designated as “nonattainment,” the state must submit an implementation plan to the EPA within three years (state plans for 1997 fine particle standards are due in April 2008).
States must meet the PM2.5 standard by 2010, but in their 2008 implementation plans they may propose an attainment date extension for up to five years.
|
Photo: MonoSol |
| New requirements for acceptable dust levels were developed by the EPA in 2007. |
Horse and Rider
While human health against dust exposure is of concern, so too is that of animals.
The Alexandria Equestrian Association in Alexandria Township, NJ, had a significant dust problem in its arena. In part, it was caused by the extreme uses the area was put to; it was available to the public for all riding disciplines, including cattle cutting and roping and English- and Western-style horseback riding.
According to Environmental Security Systems Inc., maker of ArenaKleen, horses require 30 times more oxygen than humans. Respiratory problems and airway disease is the number-one health issue for horses and also affects their owners and trainers.
Alexandria Equestrian Association members sought a solution that would control the dust and keep the footing consistent for the safety of the horses and riders.
“There might be some problems with respiratory conditions, and even though it wasn’t an EPA-mandated issue, it was a humane standpoint for both the rider and the horse,” says David Marra, an association member with a scientific background.
The association chose ArenaKleen, a dust control measure designed for horse arenas, as a solution that eliminates the health risks of airborne dust for horses and those who work with and around them while helping preserve the footing as well as maintaining long-term footing consistency. It is made to work in areas where the surface will be continually disturbed.
ArenaKleen is not alkaline, acidic, corrosive, or hazardous. It is formulated to absorb into individual soil particles rather than surround and “float” the particles as water does. Therefore, the individual particles remain in direct contact with each other, keeping the soil surface firm with good traction and no stickiness.
ArenaKleen does not need watering; nor does it evaporate or wash away in rain. The product is a blend of highly refined, non-toxic organic fluids. It is used in indoor and outdoor horse arenas and does not freeze in cold-weather climates. It gradually creeps into the soil laterally and vertically below the surface. It also extends an arena’s lifespan by preventing it from being prematurely pulverized and compacted.
|
Photo: Syntech |
| Dust control is a challenge at a heavily trafficked recycling facility. |
Any equipment that can spray water—such as a tank with pump and hose, a water truck, an agricultural sprayer, or a hydroseeding machine—can be used to apply the substance to the surface.
While most arena footing contains little or no clay, that with more than 12% clay content requires extra ArenaKleen. Arena footing that contains rubber also requires more ArenaKleen on initial application because it is very dry and absorbs much more than normal. Effective dust control lasts for about one year. Watering is never required.
“I understood enough to be able to take a look at different products that are on the market, analyze them, and work with the ArenaKleen distributors to do some of the analysis of what kind of material needs to be used, what mixture, and how much,” says Marra. “This group is the one that worked the best with me.”
Prior to the application, the association had been using only water to control the dust. “It took a lot of watering all of the time. That’s OK, but it’s expensive,” says Marra, adding that the arena is operated with private dues.
“There’s footing in the arena that’s level enough. But with people running cattle and events in there, you have to really manage dust and footing control with consistent leveling,” says Marra. “You’ve got to hydrate this just right and get the control and the dust down.”
The association has considered chlorides, magnesium salts, and magnesium and calcium but decided against those approaches because of concerns about hazard to the horses.
ArenaKleen was applied in February 2007 with a spreading device on the back of a truck. It ran through the device via a gravity drip; the product was then raked in.
The distributor took samples and analyzed them—some particles were clay, and some were sand—and determined the amount to put down based on the particle mixtures, says Marra.
After the first application, “The next application is about a third the amount of what you did before, and then you may or may not need a third application, which [would be] only about a quarter of the initial application,” explains Marra.
“After that, you should probably be OK for the rest of the life of the footing. Eventually, all footing needs to be replaced at some time.”
Nine months after the ArenaKleen was applied, association members are quite pleased with its ability to suppress the dust, Marra notes.
The association realized cost savings in that using the ArenaKleen was less expensive than watering “by a significant amount,” with a savings in energy as well, Marra notes.
|
Photo: Zircon |
| Some products break down water and discourage evaporation to control dust. |
He points out that a partnership between a company offering dust suppressant products and clients is important in achieving successful results. “The reason it is important is that you have to measure your arena’s size accurately; you have to measure the type of dirt and footing you have and what it is composed of before you order any amount of material,” says Marra.
“The size and composition of matter is going to determine how much you have to buy and apply. What is critical to anyone looking at erosion control or dust control is also to not look for 100% dust-free conditions; that is not realistic. It’s how fast can it go back down and settle into the dirt, and there is where we’re very pleased with the product. We bought ArenaKleen because it is clean. They named it appropriately.”
Airfields, Roadsides, and Industrial Yards
Meanwhile, in an airfield in Arizona, crop dusting airplanes are now being protected from the challenge of dust.
A year ago, after trying a variety of methods to abate dust, Matt Fieldgrove, general manager with Tri-Rotor Ag Services in Somerton, AZ, turned to MonoSol for its TerraLOC product to solve the company’s airfield dust problems.
“With the airplanes and helicopters taking off, dust can be a problem as far as erosion on the propellers and rotor blades, so putting something down to help control the dust helps extend the life of the aircraft,” Fieldgrove says.
TerraLOC is a biodegradable, water-soluble dust suppressant and erosion control polymer that penetrates the soil and locks down dust particles.
erraLOC is a polyvinyl alcohol polymer that can be reactivated after application with water or the use of a cross-linking agent, allowing for flexibility according to various soil types. After it cures, TerraLOC traps the dust particles at the surface, forming a layer.
Fieldgrove has used the product on an ongoing basis and also utilizes water trucks in his dust control efforts.
“We’ve tried a lot of different things, so we decided to try TerraLOC to see if it worked. It did seem to help with most of the problems,” Fieldgrove says. “It definitely did stabilize the ground to where it controlled the dust more.”
|
Photo: Zircon |
| Limestone dust was a problem at this construction materials supplier. |
Industrial applications are a common use of dust control products. LaFarge North America in Cleveland, OH, is a construction materials company that supplies cement, aggregates, and concrete for residential, commercial, institutional, and public works applications and as such produces a large amount of limestone dust.
The company uses Zircon Industries’ ZHP Water Wetter, an alternative to the sole use of water as a dust control agent. The product breaks the molecular structure of water so that it spreads and penetrates, resisting evaporation. The product contains resins that are cumulative to enhance performance.
LaFarge uses it “to keep the dust down and try not to water as often as we normally did,” says Butch Naugle, a supervisor at LaFarge. “We spray it down on our roadways and around our piles, the loaders, and the trucks.”
The product is introduced at a rate of 1 part ZHP to 2,000 parts water.
Because of the nature of the work at the plant, LaFarge must water all day long, but using the ZHP Water Wetter helps cut down on the amount of water needed to be applied, making it an economical choice, says Naugle.
Roadway construction is another common site for dust control applications. Ron Dean, an estimator for business development for American Civil Constructors (ACC) in Littleton, CO, says his company has successfully used Earth Chem several times on large highway projects.
One such project, the Transportation Expansion Project (dubbed T-REX), involved the widening and upgrading of Interstate-25 through south Denver and the southeast corridors.
During the construction, “A mountain of topsoil had been stockpiled in one of the large interchanges between two of the highways,” notes Dean. “They had a problem in that they had to have that remain there for a couple of years, and obviously it was high-visibility and very susceptible to both water and wind erosion.”
ACC initially sprayed it with Earth Chem’s EarthBound and then subsequently added more soil to the pile. EarthBound is a polymer product field-tested at the Texas Transportation Institute.
“Then we went back in with a different product, Guardian, and we also used a little bit of wood fiber to help the tackifier bridge over the soil,” Dean says. Guardian, from Rantec Corp., is a blend of polysaccharides and can be used as a standalone stabilizer or in conjunction with other methods.
The Guardian product held in place for a year before ACC had to return to re-apply it. ACC also applied Earth Chem products yearly for three years, beginning in 2003. The cost for dust control on the T-REX project was about a penny per square foot, including labor and materials.
ACC also used Soil Guard bonded fiber matrix at a job site further south on I-25.
With respect to the EPA’s strict air-quality regulations, ACC suggests erosion control measures on all projects that it has to leave fallow because perhaps the budget or the phasing of the project didn’t allow for temporary seeing.
During autumn 2007, for example, a large park and ball field that was going to be seeded with bluegrass could not be seeded, so it remained exposed through the winter.
“The erosion control is typically done to keep both the water and wind erosion from disturbing the neighbors or getting into the waterways,” Dean points out.
“This project is a design-build, so we are helping the designers and engineers come up with these ideas so they can then fit their phasing and budget to the real circumstances that are going on.”
ACC uses hydroseeding equipment in many of its erosion control applications. “Our hydroseeding trucks can shoot a stream of water a great distance and with great accuracy,” Dean notes. “With this ball field project, the fields go through some soil preparation and grading, so you don’t want to put a big water truck out there making ruts and disturbing sprinkler heads.”
Showdown in Tombstone
Environmental Products & Applications has a soft spot for historical sites and often donates dust control products and services in areas where doing so would help preserve the historical significance. Military applications are another area where the company lends a hand.
It did so for George Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate & Gardens in Mount Vernon, VA, where caretakers had been concerned not only about being environmentally friendly but also about preserving the rich history embodied at the facility and its surroundings—as exemplified in its 18th century-type gravel roads that become very dusty.
In early 2007, John Vermillion, the company’s owner, had been visiting Tombstone, AZ, when he noticed someone wearing a “Save Our Streets” T-shirt. The shirt, he learned, represented one of two factions at odds with each other over either paving Allen Street, a dirt road that went through town, or keeping it as is.
Those who favored paving the street no longer wanted to breathe in the dust or have it tracked into local businesses as dirt or mud following rain.
Vermillion knew he had a solution in Envirotac II, an acrylic polymer dust suppressant. It binds the soils particles and forms a clear plastic and resin bond without compromising the environment because it binds to the surface and does not infiltrate the ground.
He got in touch with town officials, relaying what his company had done at other historical sites and for the military. Tombstone officials voted to permit Environmental Products & Applications to apply Envirotac II to Allen Street.
The project was completed in just a few days in sections as to not impact local commerce and provided a long-term solution to the problem. “Now they have a hard road that keeps the same look and provides dust control at the same time,” says Vermillion.