Dusty city road (Photo 102517900 © natthawut nungensanthia | Dreamstime)

By Kevin Rothwell

New grit and additional sweeping

Road grit under the microscope as dust advisories continue

Mar 9, 2021 | 2:15 PM

City of Vernon public works has been spending a lot of time examining the aggregate used on city streets in the winter months, with an eye on reducing air quality advisories linked to road dust.

“These are all dust related issues, what is our status? I know we were going to be looking at the type of grit we use on our roads, I don’t think its a matter of using very fine dust or moving to Prince George sized boulders on the road,” Coun. Scott Anderson inquired.

Staff have been reviewing the type of aggregate used by public works and have changed to a supply with less fine particulate matter.

The .6 mm has been reduced from 26 per cent to 9.5 per cent, .3 mm from 10.9 per cent to 5.2 per cent, .150 mm from 5.7 per cent to 2.5 per cent and .075 mm from 3.9 per cent to 1.1 per cent.

“Our product is similar, if not better, than comparable communities. We have focused on the .6 mm and less portion of our aggregate, which is what causes road dust,” Chris Ovens, Director of Operations, replied.

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The .6 mm grade is about what would go through a childs beach sand sieve.

“The use of the old product was minimal this winter, the timing was good and most of what was used was the new aggregate,” Ovens added.

Staff has also investigated washing the product to remove finer material. The process would quadruple the supply cost which is currently $30,000 per year.

While washing the sand might improve the dust situation, it would also require additional salt being added to the mix to make sure it doesn’t freeze with a higher water content.

Six new smart tech monitoring systems are being added to gather additional data, and Environment Canada is considering a request for an additional PM 10 monitoring station, in addition to the Vernon Science Centre location.

The city will also take possession of a new vacuum street sweeper next month, to add to the current fleet.

“I know we have a lot of seniors and people with respiratory issues, I don’t want this to fall onto the back burner,” Anderson said.