Soilworks products are the industry’s top standard due to our insistence on creating high performance soil stabilization and dust control products that stand up to rigorous testing – both in the lab and in the field. Our commitment to quality and performance has led to our involvement and testing in hundreds of real-world situations. The following library of reports, presentations, specifications, approvals and other similar documents provide you, our customer, the transparency and dependable assurance that is expected from Soilworks.
A U.S. Navy student research project explored the use of dust abatement products to prevent the airborne spread of hantavirus and other bacterial pathogens in high-risk environments such as military base camps. Laboratory trials evaluated Soiltac®, a synthetic copolymer emulsion from Soilworks, and Surtac®, a polymer-based dust suppressant, for their ability to suppress soil-borne bacterial spores under simulated wind conditions. Soiltac demonstrated a greater than 29% reduction in colony-forming units (cfu) of anthrax surrogate spores compared to untreated controls, while Surtac achieved over 81% reduction. These findings support the potential use of Soilworks’ products to limit biohazard dispersion in dust-prone areas.
For military health and safety officers, biohazard response teams, and base operations planners, Soilworks provides:
Soiltac®: Surface-binding polymer that reduces the risk of airborne transmission of soil-based pathogens
Surtac®: Lightweight, polymer-based dust suppressant with significant microbial suppression performance
Field-adaptable formulations for bio-containment, dust control, and environmental hazard mitigation
To enhance environmental health safety in contingency zones or base camp sanitation protocols, contact Soilworks for laboratory-tested dust abatement solutions compatible with bioaerosol risk mitigation.
In this study, two effective, non-toxic, wind erosion palliative materials were analyzed for their efficacy in preventing the spread of bacterial spores. Desert sand was employed in a laboratory setting with a non-toxic simulant bacterium in an attempt to accurately represent the spreadability of the Hantavirus. Spore simulants were used instead of viruses due to availability, decreased susceptibility to desiccation and detection ability without involving tissue cultures. The simulant was used to contaminate sand in a controlled environment, and an artificial turbulence was introduced using compressed air to generate airflow that could be expected in a desert environment. The airborne spores were identified both qualitatively and quantitatively through microscopy, Gram staining, plating, and incubation to monitor effectiveness. A water-based polysaccharide product, Surtac, was found to be most effective for the immobilization of bacteria on sand and greatly reduced the amount of contaminant that becomes airborne. The results suggest that the two wind erosion products used in this study may be successfully employed to reduce the ability of bacterial spores to spread in arid regions.
