EnviroKleen Dust Suppression for Training Areas at the Arizona Army National Guard
Background. On one to two weekends each month, the Arizona Army National Guard conducts combat training at the Florence Military Reservation, located 1.5 miles north of the town of Florence. This training area is used primarily for live ?re exercises, unit maneuvers, simulated engagements and small arms training. In preparing for the training exercises, personnel and equipment organize at the Equipment Staging Area, located south of Florence Gardens. Some of the equipment used includes tracked vehicles, wheeled vehicles and helicopters. The helicopters take o? from the helipad located at the southwest corner of the Equipment Staging Area. The vehicles access the training area by traveling along the Track Road to access the Main Supply Route located east of and parallel to U.S. Highway 79.
Problem. The soil at the Equipment Staging Area and along the Main Supply Route is fine grained, which historically has resulted in dust when subjected to vehicular movement or moderate wind.
Solution. Whitney Kirk, an environmental specialist at the National Guard said, “To help minimize the amount of dust from military operations, we evaluated various dust suppressant products to determine what might work best in this environment.” As a result of the study, EnviroKleen® and Soil-Sement® were selected.
EnviroKleen was applied in the wash areas along the Main Supply Route as well as the unpaved area around the helipad at the Equipment Staging Area. EnviroKleen® is a mineral oil-like product that coats the soil but does not bind it. It was applied by trucks speci?cally suited and calibrated for the application and are equipped with a spray bar close to the ground. EnviroKleen dried clear, but darken the soil slightly. It is safe to humans, animals, plant life and groundwater.
EnviroKleen was evaluated for one year to assess the long-term effectiveness of the dust suppression treatment.
