The Pavement Coatings Technology Council (PCTC) is excited by the opportunity provided by Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction to directly communicate with you through a column in the magazine. I know I speak for all sealcoaters and suppliers in thanking Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction for their continued efforts to support the sealcoating community. In this, the first of what will be a regular column, an introduction is in order.
First, a little history. The Pavement Coatings Technology Center was founded in 1992 as an engineering and testing organization at the Engineering Department of the University of Nevada-Reno (UNR). In its UNR days, PCTC developed standards such as mix design specifications that enabled contractors in the field to reproduce high-quality results. In 2008, PCTC was reorganized as a 501(c)(6) trade association with a new name: Pavement Coatings Technology Council. The new PCTC was formed by sealcoat manufacturers and suppliers to address a broader range of challenges to the industry, starting with the now-debunked assertions that refined tar-based sealers were a major source of a class of chemicals called PAHs in the environment. Goals of the new PCTC include supporting the sealcoating community through environmental health and safety research, education and communication, as well as providing information about sealcoating to local, state, national and international governments and the general public.
In 2011, PCTC sponsored a successful seminar at the annual National Pavement Expo (NPE). At that event, the sealcoat community heard about the beginnings of PCTC’s environmental research projects. In conjunction with the seminar, PCTC produced a video that sealcoat contractors to use when customers ask, “why should I sealcoat my paved surface?” PCTC plans to continue outreach to sealcoaters and is working on new initiatives, starting with this column that will appear regularly in Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction magazine. At the 2013 NPE, PCTC is working on a short program that, although the timing is not yet finalized, is likely to be presented in conjunction with the Sealcoat Roundtable. We are also planning a webinar as part of Pavement magazine’s webinar series this winter to update the community on PCTC’s continued environmental research. PCTC is also working on a new website – watch for the announcement soon!
PCTC is stepping up its efforts to communicate with you, the sealcoating community. We also want to hear from you. Suggestions for topics of future columns and questions about sealcoats are welcome. Most importantly, PCTC can’t help you when a local government asks questions if we don’t hear about it. So let us know as soon as possible if you hear about challenges to sealcoating in your community.
Anne P. LeHuray, Ph.D.
Pavement Coatings Technology Council
2308 Mount Vernon Avenue, Suite 134
Alexandria, VA 22301
Phone: (703) 299-8470
Fax: (703) 842-8850
Email: [email protected]
Web Site: http://www.pavementcouncil.org
