The Role Of Road Sweepers In Protecting Our Environment And Our Health

Road sweepers do much more than keep the roads clean. They remove trash, dirt, chemicals, oil and other substances that pollute the environment. Ensuring that these harmful substances are removed from a city's streets, construction sites and parking lots before they're washed into storm drains means they're less likely to reach nearby rivers and lakes.

Most urban areas have a street sweeping program as a means of improving the appearance of roads, eliminating accumulated sediment and removing large debris from the gutters. Cities in colder climates often use road sweepers during the spring snowmelt in order to minimize pollution from road salt and sand. Factors that should be taken into account when developing a road sweeping program include the frequency and intensity of rainfall, street conditions, geographical location, the skill of the operator, the presence of parked cars and the amount of impermeable rooftop area.

In the United States there are laws in place to combat the pollutants targeted by road sweepers. The PM-10 standard was enacted in 1987 in order to regulate the number of airborne particles that are 10 microns or smaller in size. Such particles impact human health because their size allows them to reach the lower parts of the lungs. Most road sweeper manufacturers offer machines that meet the PM-10 standard, thereby keeping our streets cleaner and protecting our health. However, the EPA is looking to enact even more stringent standards so as to regulate particles measuring 2.5 microns or less.

In some places of the United States there are policies in place which regulate the amount of pollution the road sweepers themselves are allowed to release into the environment. For instance, California's South Coast Air Quality Management District, which encompasses the country's smoggiest areas including Orange County and a large portion of Los Angeles, passed a regulation (Rule 1186) that requires all large new outdoor street sweepers to be powered by alternative fuels. A number of companies offer road sweepers which operate on compressed natural gas (CNG), liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) or liquid natural gas (LNG) in order to comply with this law.

These innovative road sweeping technologies aren't cheap, however. Conventional mechanical street sweepers cost around $100,000 while vacuum-assisted models cost $150,000 or more. Road sweepers featuring alternative fuel engines and compliance to pollution regulations can cost over $200,000. Nevertheless, given the beneficial impact these machines can have on our environment and our health, they are a small price to pay.

By: Holly Robertson

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Oliver Newton is the owner of Priority Plant, a leading supplier of ICS chain saws in the UK.