Pub 3 2020-2021 Issue 1

35 Roadway noise is a distraction in your car and at home. Asphalt roads can reduce highway noise by as much as seven decibels. For scale of reference, reducing noise by just three decibels is the equivalent to doubling the distance from the source of the noise to the listener. Asphalt roads also reduce the need for costly and unsightly sound barriers, often exceeding $2 million per mile. National Asphalt Pavement Association According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 99.6 percent of the carbon in asphalt binder is stored instead of contributing to greenhouse gases. Not only are asphalt pavements a very effective means of sequestering carbon, the production of liquid asphalt from the heaviest fraction of a barrel of oil is much less energy intensive than trying to convert it to a fuel for energy use. Energy and Environmental Profile of the U.S. Petroleum Refining Industry. Energetics Inc. Columbia, Maryland and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Washington, D.C. The asphalt industry upholds a stellar reputation as a top recycler. If you took all the newspapers, aluminum and steel cans, glass, and plastic bottles the U.S. recycles annually and put them on a scale, they would still weigh less than three-fourths of reclaimed asphalt pavements (RAP). This makes asphalt America’s most recycled product. National Asphalt Pavement Association WHAT THE ASPHALT INDUSTRY WANTS YOU TO KNOW: