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ASSESSMENT OF ROAD CARPET FOR CONTROL OF FUGITIVE EMISSIONS FROM UNPAVED ROADS
Citation:
Blackwood, T. ASSESSMENT OF ROAD CARPET FOR CONTROL OF FUGITIVE EMISSIONS FROM UNPAVED ROADS. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/7-79/115 (NTIS PB298874), 1979.
Description:
The report gives results of an assessment of the use of carpeting to control fugitive emissions from unpaved roads. Historically, emissions from unpaved roads have been controlled by watering, oiling, or chemical soil stabilization. An analysis of the forces which produce emissions shows that, if fine material can be reduced, fine particle emissions (<15 micrometers) will also be reduced. A new concept for control has been proposed: it uses a stable, rot-resistant, water-permeable fabric to separate road ballast from subsoil. Fine material is not accumulated in the ballast due to gravitational and hydraulic forces during normal rainfall. Preliminary studies indicate that fine material will pass through the fabric without blinding, and that fines in the subsoil do not pump into the ballast from the subsoil. Economic evaluations show that roads constructed with the fabric are cheaper for emissions control than with conventional control methods. The effectiveness of control cannot be directly calculated; however, research is continuing. Construction and testing of a prototype road in anticipated in 1979.