Relative Effectiveness of Road Dust Suppressants

Abstract

The relative effectiveness of commercially available road dust suppressants in abating fugitive dust emission and loss of fines from unpaved road surfaces was assessed in a field-based research project. The dust suppressants studied, lignin derivatives and chloride based compounds, were used on unpaved road test sections during the severe dusty months of 1993 and 1994 in Colorado, which fell in the late spring to autumn period. To measure the relative effectiveness of the different dust suppressants, comparative fugitive dust emission studies were conducted on unpaved road test sections using the Colorado State University Dustometer, a dust-sampling device developed during this research. In addition, total aggregate loss from the surfaces of the test sections was measured. Based upon the prevailing costs, analyses were performed to determine the economics of using the different dust suppressants. The research indicated that all three dust suppressants studied reduced fugitive dust emission from the unpaved roadways by 50–70%. The treated test sections retained 42–61% more aggregate than the untreated control test section. The cost savings of retaining aggregate on the treated test sections more than offset the costs of the dust suppressants, resulting in an estimated cost savings of 28–42% over the untreated control test section.