| Asphalt Producer
Six Asphalt
Production Facts
You Should Share
by Margaret Blain Cervarich,
National
Asphalt Pavement Association.
 Emission controls, recycling, and reach-out make
producers good neighbors.
In an era when NIMBY (Not in My Back Yard) sentiment
can extend to the most innocuous proposals for changes in land use, in a
country where even churches can encounter resistance to expansion and
relocation plans, industrial operations are open to challenges from their
neighbors.
Hot-mix asphalt producers are as vulnerable to these
challenges as any other business, but they can educate critics by pointing
out the asphalt industry’s excellent track record for maintaining
environmental quality.
Here are six facts about the industry that producers
should share with their communities to ease public acceptance of plant
operations.
Fact #1
Production up, emissions down
Emissions from asphalt plants are very low and well
controlled. While annual production of hot-mix paving material has increased
by more than 250% since 1970, total emissions from asphalt plants have
dropped by more than 97%.
Improvements in the engineering of plants and
emission controls have made the difference. Prior to the implementation of
the Clean Air Act of 1970, plants released significant dust into the air.
Wet scrubbers were the first generation of emission
control equipment on asphalt plants. Today, these have been replaced for the
most part by baghouses. A baghouse is similar to a gigantic vacuum cleaner
bag which traps most of the dust produced by the mixing operation. The dust
particles are then used in the asphalt mix, so that this potential waste
product becomes an essential part of the pavement mixture.
Fact #2
Asphalt plants are not polluters
 Experts in the field of air emissions say that few
industries, if any, have been evaluated as thoroughly as the hot-mix asphalt
industry. The United States Environmental Protection Agency is estimated to
have spent more than $1.5 million on its testing program at asphalt plants.
In addition, the National Asphalt Pavement Association has spent more than
$400,000. These figures do not include the costs borne by NAPA’s member
companies, including both producers and manufacturers of plants and
equipment.
Based on data gathered through the EPA and industry
testing programs, the EPA published two Federal Register notices stating
that asphalt production facilities are not major sources of hazardous air
pollutants. First, in February 2002, the EPA declared, “In today’s notice,
we are deleting the source category Asphalt Concrete Manufacturing [from the
list of industries considered major polluters] because available data
indicate that there are no major sources. This source category was initially
listed in July 1992 because at the time, we believed there were major
sources in the category.”
The notice went on to detail the EPA’s testing of
hot-mix asphalt plants, and finished with these words: “Based on the above
information, we have concluded that no asphalt concrete manufacturing
facility has the potential to emit HAP [hazardous air pollutants]
approaching major source levels.”
In November 2002, the EPA published a second Federal
Register notice that removed asphalt production facilities from a list of
industries that contribute to 90% of all emissions of seven toxic airborne
substances that are known to be particularly harmful. In the November
notice, the EPA used the words “trivial” and “negligible” in describing the
impact of the entire hot-mix asphalt industry on air quality.
From the point of view of the industry, these two
notices were very welcome because they eliminated asphalt plants from
consideration for stringent new regulations that would have required them to
meet Maximum Achievable Control Technology standards, a costly process. From
the point of view of the public, knowing that asphalt plants do not have the
potential to be major sources of pollution is very reassuring.
Fact #3
Asphalt people work well with others
 The asphalt industry has built a track record for
working in partnership with government agencies, unions, and other
stakeholders on environmental, safety, and health issues. One example is the
research on air emissions, a years-long process in which NAPA and industry
representatives worked hand-in-hand with the EPA in qualifying and
quantifying the emissions from plants.
Another example is the engineering controls
partnership, in which the National Institute for Occupational Safety and
Health, NAPA, the unions, and others voluntarily placed industrial hygiene
systems on asphalt pavers. NIOSH recognized the extraordinary nature of this
venture by giving its first National Occupational Research Agenda Award to
the asphalt partnership.
A more recent instance of asphalt
industry/government partnership is a 2003 program in which the EPA and NAPA
conducted a testing program to accurately document the level of emissions of
formaldehyde from hot-mix asphalt facilities. This program was initiated
because, after publication of the EPA’s year 2000 version of the federal air
emission factors document, EPA officials discovered that the factor for
formaldehyde seemed to be awry.
The EPA approached NAPA with an invitation to
participate jointly in a testing program designed to objectively quantify
formaldehyde emissions from HMA facilities. When the joint research was
completed, it confirmed that such emissions were 99.9% lower than the EPA’s
original factor, which had been based on one test performed many years ago
with questionable protocol.
Fact #4
Asphalt plants don’t stockpile hazardous chemicals
 The liquids that must be handled with care at an
asphalt facility include the fuel oil for the burner and fuel for vehicles.
Solvents for quality control labs have been
virtually eliminated at many facilities, thanks to the ignition oven. This
innovation, which measures the asphalt content of a mixture, was introduced
by the National Center for Asphalt Technology in the mid-1990s and quickly
became the industry standard.
This is another instance of the hot-mix asphalt
industry moving to a new technology, unprompted by any regulation or
governmental action, in order to minimize any concerns about impact on the
environment and occupational health.
Fact #5
Asphalt is the #1 recycled material
Another aspect of asphalt operations that wins
friends for the industry is the fact that asphalt pavement is the most
recycled material in America. According to a study by the Federal Highway
Administration and the EPA, 100-million tons of asphalt pavement are
reclaimed every year, and 80.3-million tons are recycled, for a recycling
rate of 80%. We recycle more of our own product than any other industry.
Taking it further, we incorporate products from
other industries, including glass, furnace slag, and rubber, into pavements.
The asphalt producer’s everyday efforts conserve
precious natural resources, minimize the impact of operations on the
environment, and reduce reliance on landfills.
Fact #6
Asphalt plants are good neighbors
Many asphalt facilities across the country have
received good citizenship awards from local civic groups. Still, the
question remains: are asphalt plants good neighbors?
And, if they are, how can they prove it?
To help answer these questions, in 1999 NAPA and its
members initiated the Diamond Achievement Commendation for Excellence in Hot
Mix Asphalt Plant/Site Operations. The Diamond program encourages and
recognizes excellence in plant operations. For plant operators, it provides
an excellent blueprint for continuous improvement. Participation is
voluntary and is open to all in the industry, regardless of membership in
NAPA.
This rigorous self-assessment process includes a
provision for review by a local public official, community association
official, or neighbor. Plant/sites are evaluated on six aspects: appearance,
operations, environmental practices, safety, permitting and regulatory
compliance, and community relations. A passing score must be achieved in
each category, and excellence must be demonstrated in one or more areas.
When a plant earns the Diamond, neighbors and workers know that the
plant/site measures up nationally.
The industry’s acceptance of the Diamond Achievement
process has been extremely swift. When the program was launched, it was felt
that an optimistic goal would be 500 participants by 2005. By the end of
2003, two years ahead of schedule, there were 483 plants in the program
already.
We can be proud
No industry has worked harder or more effectively to
make itself a good neighbor in the communities it serves than the hot-mix
asphalt industry.
On a cooperative, voluntary basis, the asphalt
industry has reduced emissions to low levels. It recycles like no other
industry in the country. And it reaches out to workers and communities to
maintain a responsible, responsive role in American society.
These facts should be a source of pride for asphalt
producers, and they should be shared with our neighbors at every
opportunity.
Margaret Blain Cervarich is vice president for
marketing and public affairs for the
National
Asphalt Pavement Association.
Reprinted from Better Roads Magazine
June 2004 |
