Dust Control

The Need for Gravel Road Dust Control is Real

For every vehicle that travels over an unpaved road for one mile, one ton of dust is created annually. This is interpreted as for every 500 trucks or cars that travel over 100 miles of these roads that 50,000 tons of dust is thrown up into the surrounding air every year.

This also means that for every mile of unpaved road lacking road dust control, that a ton of material from that road is removed every year for every automobile that travels on it. Without the help of wind, this nuisance dust can travel up to 500 feet from the road into the air. Not only is this affecting the inhabitants near a busy unpaved road, but this dust also negatively impacts the growth of plant life. For these reasons the need for road dust control is real.

Air Pollution and Unpaved Roads

Unpaved roads are considered the largest source of particulate air pollution in the the country. According to the EPA unpaved roads produce almost five times as much particulate matter as construction activities and wind erosion, which are the next two largest, combined.

Where does this dust come from?

The dust is part of the road, it’s the fines being ground down by traffic and blowing off in the wind. Regarding road materials, we want a well-graded aggregate with fines to lock everything together and keep it in place. If we lose the fines, we lose the road.

This is an informative video showing how the dust control product is applied for gravel road dust control.