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An industry point of view
“Cutback asphalts that do not meet code
of practice are still widely used in some
applications. If they weren’t, there would
be no reason to have this code of prac-tice,”
said Ontario Hot Mix Producers’
Association Environmental Committee
chair, Steve Manolis.
Options for meeting the code of prac-tice
include switching from a high VOC
cutback to a low-VOC emulsion or to low-
VOC version of the cutback, if one is avail-able.
He points out that cutback asphalts
can be used all year round, while the
water-based emulsion asphalts may not
be able to perform as well in below freez-ing
temperatures.
“If a contractor uses cutbacks and
switches to emulsion, he may have to
watch application temperatures more
carefully than in the past,” he said. “While
we expect low VOC products to work,
we’re going to have to learn about their
lifetime performance compared to exist-ing
products. These are some of the things
contractors are going to run into.”
Low-VOC cutback asphalt products have
been developed and trialed with success,
but Manolis says there may be instances
where the low-VOC cutback or emulsion al-ternatives
haven’t stood the test of time yet.
He’s also concerned about regulatory re-percussions
should the code of practice be-come
law.
“It will be interesting to see how aware
municipalities and provincial governments
are of the code of practice,” said Manolis,
noting that RFBs may include the use of
asphalt cutbacks in their material spec-ifications.
“If these agencies choose to
tender grades of asphalt cutbacks that
don’t comply, it will need to be report-ed
to Environment and Climate Change
Canada.”
Environment and Climate Change
Canada maintain that the code of practice
is non-binding and strictly voluntary, but
Manolis predicts that if there isn’t sufficient
compliance within the five-year review pe-riod,
it could become a regulation.
“Some agencies could be inadvertently
incompliant, which will have an impact on
the contractor,” said Manolis. “What does
the contractor do if they receive a tender
that doesn’t meet the code of practice? The
contractor may be able to work with the
tendering agency to change tender so that
the specified product(s) comply with the
code of practice or may find themselves in a
position where they have to decide whether
or not to bid on the project and be deliber-ately
incompliant.”
Despite his concerns, Manolis believes
the new code of practice may ultimately
prove successful.
“I think there’s a reasonable chance that
this will be a successful transition, but there
are some things that need to be paid atten-tion
to as we go along,” he said. “It’s impor-tant
to note that the code of practice is not
yet finalized and we will have a better un-derstanding
of the requirements and the
timelines once that occurs.”
Environment and Climate Change
Canada is currently finalizing the code of
practice and plans to publish it by the end
of the year.
“Once in place, we will evaluate how the
code is doing, how it’s been adopted and see
if other control instruments are required to
better manage emissions from this sector,”
said Pineault.
52 Think BIG | Quarter 4 2016 | saskheavy.ca
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