BACKGROUND 

State departments of transportation (DOTs) routinely receive requests from vendors to approve new products and materials. These products may involve in-the-field curing of materials such as sprays, foams, epoxies, or resins in constructing or maintaining culverts, pipes, or bridge supports. These products are in contact with surface water and may pose adverse impacts to water quality. Although manufacturers may provide evidence of meeting required laboratory testing standards indicating minimized or no impacts to water quality, several studies have nonetheless documented adverse effects during and after installation. Although some DOTs have developed specifications for certain repair methods, they do not have methods to screen products for environmental impacts. Finally, the fast-paced nature of product innovation presents DOTs with several challenges to ensuring products will not put surface waters at or near project sites at risk.  

Products should be screened before use and properly field-cured to minimize adverse water-quality effects. Even with screening, risks may manifest from (1) the product not performing outside of laboratory conditions due to differing environmental conditions that are difficult to simulate, (2) installation not being performed to manufacturer specifications, (3) incomplete cure or extended cure times, and/or (4) long-term abrasion of the product from debris or sediment flows. Research is needed to provide DOTs with a standard framework to consider a range of products and installation procedures that require in-the-field curing and mechanisms to minimize risks to water quality. 

OBJECTIVE 

The objective of this research is to develop a three-part guide for evaluating products that cure in the field, such as sprays, foams, epoxies, or resins used in constructing or maintaining culverts, pipes, or bridge supports that may be in contact with surface water.  

At a minimum, the guide will deliver (1) a testing protocol for manufacturers to follow so that DOTs can qualify in-the-field curing products prior to product approval, (2) an implementable and consistent protocol with methods for field testing to ensure minimum impact on water quality, and (3) procedures or processes for DOTs to address risk factors.