Selecting the right substance to be utilized as a dust suppressant is a lesson that has already been well documented. It is easy to remember when a whole town had to be abandoned because the wrong dust suppressant was sprayed by mistake.

For those that it might have slipped from their thought, I have two words: Times Beach. From 1972 to 1973, used oil was sprayed over the vacant lots and unpaved roads of this small Missouri town as a dust suppressant. The oil was contaminated with Dioxin, a known cancer causing agent. While the result did include a reduction in dust, it also carried with it an increase in cancer among the residents. The final result was that the entire town had to be evacuated. The town was classified as a Superfund site, which has cost taxpayers in excess of $80 million dollars, not to mention the hazardous health effects of the townsfolk.

There are over 2.5 million kilometers of unpaved roads in America today. Over 25 percent of these roads are treated with some form of chemical dust suppressant. With the number of places increasing every year, the amount being used is also on the rise.

Today there are many different chemicals in use to control the dust in the air. The most common form is water. Other chemical dust suppressants are salts, asphalt emulsions, wood chips, synthetic polymers, vegetable oils, mulches, lignin and molasses.

The purpose of the dust suppressant is to change the physical properties of the soil's surface so that the fine particles do not become airborne. But this has to be done without harming the surrounding environment and its occupants.

Knowledge is our main weapon when we use any chemical as a dust suppressant. Being prepared with lessons learned like in Times Beach can help prevent it from happening again.