DusTreat Control Treatment Programs

Used in mining, power and steel industries, GE’s DusTreat Control Treatment Programs are specifically formulated to control fugitive dust from unpaved plant and mine haul roads.

The Environmental Challenge

Unpaved industrial roads and mine haul roads produce excessive dust causing many health and safety hazards for employees and residents using the roads. GE sought to treat unpaved roads with a dust palliative with less environmental impact than other available treatment methods.

GE's Innovative Solution

GE created the DusTreat Program featuring the DC9138, a blend of wetting materials specially formulated to enhance the dust suppression capabilities of water to spread over dust particles minimizing excessive dust. GE’s DusTreat Program effectively suppresses dust while reducing the water requirement needed in alternate systems.

Environmental Impact

At one large gold mine in Nevada, switching to the DusTreat Program from a magnesium chloride treatment on seven miles of haul roads saved 48,000 gallons of diesel fuel per year by reducing the need to operate water trucks. Reduced water truck operation avoided the emission of 491 metric tons of CO2 emissions per year or the equivalent of removing 89 passenger vehicles from U.S. roads for a year.

Cutting Costs

In a large open pit coal mine in Wyoming, switching to DusTreat wetting agent program from water and magnesium chloride treatment on an area of more than 70 acres reduced water use for dust suppression by 38 percent and reduced water truck operating costs by $253,000 per year.