Assessing the Use of Magnesium Chloride as a Dust Suppressant
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Date
2025-04-17
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Uganda Christian University
Abstract
Dust on unpaved roads is one of the major tragedies affecting Uganda and the world at large especially in sub-Saharan climates with high temperature and traffic which results into the disintegration of the soil particles by moving trucks on the road surface. The study aims at assessing the use of magnesium chloride as a dust suppressant on unpaved roads in Uganda with the focus on Bbaale-Galilaya road in Kayunga district due to high dust levels on this road which reduces visibility resulting into accidents. So the material aims at the reducing on particulate matter to correspond with the air quality standards of Environment Protection Agency (EPA) and World Health Organization (WHO).The study identifies key and specific objectives such as Assessing the use of magnesium chloride as a dust suppressant as the main objective and determining the concentration of particulate matter present in dust, assessing the properties of magnesium chloride and the optimum amount required to suppress the dust levels along Bbaale-Galilaya road. On Bbaale-Galilaya road, the particulate matter was above the environmental protection agency (EPA) and the World Health Organization (WHO) standards which included 84.485/m3, 115.835/m3,138.5/m3, 128.5/m3 and 111.165/m3 at various distances of 50m, 100m, 150, 200m and 250m which were 50m apart or away from each other. After magnesium chloride application, the optimum percentage attained or obtained was 15% of the magnesium chloride solution which achieved the environmental protection agency compliance with a particulate matter of 28.5/m3 which is below 35 standard for environmental protection agency therefore balancing environmental safety and indicating a 80% reduction in particulate matter present in dust along Bbaale-Galilaya road in Kayunga district.
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Undergraduate