Global Road Technology’s innovative dust control products and research are at the forefront in the prevention of black lung disease.
The
potentially
deadly disease,
which has been
diagnosed in
workers
underground and
in open cut
environments,
is the more
serious in a
raft of
health-related
issues that
stem from
exposure to
airborne
dust.
Managing
dust and
fugitive dust
has been
serious
workplace
issues within
the mining,
construction,
infrastructure
and farming
sectors,
leading to
investigations
by government
agencies,
unions and
mainstream
media.
GRT’s
range of
specially
formulated,
dust control
products work
by preventing
the generation
of dust while
stabilizing the
treated
surface,
improving
safety and
eliminating
dust complaints
from staff and
surrounding
landholders.
Engineered
in GRT
laboratories
and tirelessly
tried and
tested, the
non-toxic
products (Road
Stabilization
and Dust
Suppression
Chemical
Ecological Risk
Assessment
Technical
Report, ERM)
have a low
carbon
footprint and
offer further
environmental
and community
health
protection by
reducing the
damage caused
by fugitive
dust.
Government
agency Simtars
was engaged by
Global Road
Technology to
provide
independent
evaluation/measurements
based on a
statistical
comparison of
field data, the
test data
reveals
improved air
quality by 96
per cent while
independent
test results
exceed
recommended air
quality
indicators.
Air
quality
management
relating to
dust and
particles
occurs through
local, state
and national
measures. On a
national level,
air quality
objectives for
health and
wellbeing
related to dust
is delivered
through the
Environmental
Protection
(Air) Policy
2008. The
policy does not
specify an
objective for
deposited
matter but
recognizes the
New Zealand
Ministry for
the
Environment’s
recommended
trigger level
of
130mg/m2
per day as an
appropriate
goal for
deposited
dust.
An
independent
evaluation on
dust production
from roads
treated with
GRT products
was measured
using
techniques that
calculate the
mass of dust
per unit of
surface area
and the amount
of suspended
particulates
per cubic metre
of air (dust
which may be
inhaled).
GRT
treated sites
came back at
47-61mg/m2
per day –
some 50 per
cent lower than
the recommended
trigger levels.
This compares
to untreated
sites which
recorded
readings of
387-499mg/m2
per
day.
Compared
to conventional
processes,
GRT’s dust
suppression
solutions offer
other distinct
advantages and
financial
benefits
including easy
application,
operational
efficiencies,
and long
lasting
protection
across extreme
climatic
conditions on a
wide variety of
soil types and
raw material
stockpiles
without any
negative
impacts on the
environment.
GRT’s dust control technologies fall under five main products:
- GRT: Haul-Loc–Developed for haul roads, and added into existing water truck cycles, it saves greater than 50% of water used and extends dust suppression timeframes by at least 400%.
- GRT: Wet-Loc – Perfect for high wear trucking, machinery and container yards, it is a non-drying, non-setting waterless synthetic fluid designed to absorb into soil particles preventing them becoming airborne.
- GRT: Wetting Agent – Super activates water sprayed from existing systems at the long wall face to effectively remove coal dust from the air.
- GRT5000 – a tough, polymer-based technology that dries onto dust-generating surfaces to form a stable layer resistant to traffic, wind erosion, rainfall impact, and overland flow.
- GRT: Broad-Scale Products – designed to control dust over large areas without traffic such as stockpiles, cleared unprotected areas, and cropping lands.