Case Study:

Envirotac II Recommended at Marine Corps Base at Twenty Nine Palms

Following Unbiased Tests

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Study Goal: Clean Air Act Compliance

With the goal of reducing particulate matter to levels in compliance with the Clean Air Act, the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center located at Twentynine Palms, CA is implementing measures to control dust generated from vehicular traffic on unpaved roadways and other areas of concern.

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Selection of Products to Test

The Naval Facilities Engineering Service Center put considerable effort into developing and implementing an equitable test of dust suppression products. In January 1997, information was solicited from interested companies and products were ranked in terms of material and labor cost and equipment requirements. Envirotac II was among the five top ranking products for further evaluation.

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Bench Scale Test Methods and Results

Test protocol consisted of both bench scale and field-testing. bench scale testing involved the implementation of six test beds, one for an untreated baseline and the others for the first selected products. Each test bed consisted of soil placed within a concrete containment system; a hydraulically powered test wheel to simulate a vehicle tire rolling over soil, and dust recovery system that isokintically collected the dust generated. Envirotac II from Environmental Products was the most effective dust control product, showing 97% improvement over the untreated baseline. The second most effective product showed a 90% improvement, and the others were considerably less effective.

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Field Test Methods and Results

In the field tests, Envirotac II and the second ranking product were applied on sections of an unpaved roadway. A representative from Environmental Products & Applications applied two passes of Envirotac II from a 800 gallon towable tank; the other product required two workers, a computer controlled sprayer/water truck, and three applications. The roadway was opened for traffic after four hours of curing, at which time both products were suppressing dust. After twenty eight days, however, the surface treated with Envirotac II was 50% more effective in preventing ruts than the other industry leading product.