A Blend to Strengthen Sealcoating

A revamped Pavement Coatings Technology Council (PCTC) has refocused itself to better promote refined coal tar sealer in an environment that has become increasingly hostile to that sealcoating material. It's not the first industry organization to want to promote a product - the Asphalt Sealcoat Manufacturers Association (ASMA) makes a similar effort on behalf of asphalt-based sealcoating materials - but good for PCTC and for the raw materials suppliers and sealer producers who have signed on to support the effort.

In the article PCTC Executive Director Anne LeHuray says, "The regulatory challenge we face is a sealing issue, not just a coal tar issue. We want to encourage makers of both products to understand we're all in this together. Coal tar sealer has PAHs but so does asphalt sealer so any concerns applied to coal tar can eventually be applied to asphalt's regulations. The goal of the restructured PCTC is to strengthen the sealcoating industry; it's as simple as that."

We completely agree. Here's a thought for another goal: Is now the time for these two organizations to pool their expertise and resources and somehow band together to present a unified industry front? Years ago asking that question was tantamount to asking the sheep and the lions to play nice, but we think those days are past. Many if not most sealer producers now market asphalt-based, coal-tar based, and even blended asphalt/coal tar materials, so it would seem the time has come to at least consider blending ASMA and PCTC as a real way to strengthen the sealcoating industry.