Specialists of Ural Plant of Deicing Materials (UZPM) participated in the Saint Petersburg International Road Forum dedicated to the best practices and technologies for winter maintenance of roads, artificial structures, and pedestrian zones. The Forum brought together leading experts and the industry leaders of Russia, Estonia, and Finland.
Among the most important topics of the business programme were international experience and innovations in GOST R 58426-2020 and GOST R 59204-2022 national standards which significantly change the approach to road maintenance and tighten the requirements concerning deicing materials.
The main emphasis was placed on the environmental friendliness and safety of deicing materials used in cities. GOST specifies that deicing materials must be hypoallergenic and soluble materials demonstrating reduced corrosive activity and reduced dusting. The new national standards follow global trends in winter road maintenance. The discussion platform of the Forum focused exactly on the experience of road deicing in the Baltic and Scandinavian countries.
When choosing a winter road maintenance method, European partners take into consideration a lot of factors, and the most important ones include traffic intensity and category of roads. Over the last decade weather forecasting, preventive treatment of the road surface with advanced multi-component agents, as well as measuring the adhesion coefficient in assessing the quality of cleaning have been used for this purpose.
UZPM used to be a supplier of Bionord multi-component agents to city management companies in Norway and Estonia. Today these materials are widely used Perm, Novosibirsk, Kazan, Yekaterinburg, Ufa, Izhevsk, and other cities.
At the Forum UZPM specialists presented 3E technology agents against slipperiness; 3E technology is based on Effectiveness, Environmental friendliness, and economic Efficiency. As compared to conventional deicing materials, these products demonstrate much lower consumption rate per 1 m2; they easily melt ice even at extremely low temperatures and have passed a comprehensive assessment of their environmental impact; they are safe for people and animals.
“The quality and environmental compliance of products are paid particular attention to,” Evgeniy Nemirovskiy, Expert of Ural Plant of Deicing Materials, said. “That is why exactly UZPM was the first company in Russia to receive GOST R 58427-2020 certificates for deicing materials. We deem the confirmation of compliance with severe requirements of the national standard to be consistent with the quality management policy pursued by the Company and with keeping to the main trends of the environmental agenda.”