The TxDOT highway letting is scheduled for November 1st & 2nd. The total tonnage of hot mix being let is 882,654.
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Don't miss out on these important dates...
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Thank you for your Scholarship nominations, we've received more this year than in the past few years.
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A little-known secret was unveiled during our Annual Meeting...
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Check out TxDOT's latest announcements...
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For accuracy purposes, the entire article below comes from Mike Acott's notice, NAPA's President:

IARC Issues Health Classification
For Occupational Exposures
During Road Paving

Dear NAPA Members and Partners,

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), based in Lyon, France, issued a statement today assigning occupational exposures to straight-run asphalt cement and its emissions during road paving a Group 2B ("possibly carcinogenic to humans") classification. This Group 2B classification puts road paving in the same category as numerous exposures, including cell phones and coffee.

Dr. Jim Melius, PhD, MD, the top occupational physician at the Laborers International Union of North America (LIUNA), commented, "People working in the asphalt paving industry should not be concerned about this new IARC classification. The two key animal studies on paving asphalt did not show any evidence of cancer risk, and the major IARC cancer study of people working in the paving industry in Europe did not show any increased risk for cancer."

Since questions about the health effects of asphalt fumes were raised in the early 1990s, NAPA has worked in partnership with government agencies, unions, and academic institutions to protect worker health and to answer the scientific questions.

In the process, our achievements have been notable. These include excellent relationships with NIOSH, OSHA, and labor unions. In addition, extensive steps have already been taken to reduce workers' exposure to asphalt fumes via engineering controls and warm mix.

NAPA has developed a PowerPoint presentation designed to answer your workers' questions about the IARC classification. To access the PowerPoint click here.

We believe it is unlikely that you will be contacted by the press; however, in case that does occur, we have developed a list of probable questions and answers for your reference. To access the Q&A click here.

IARC, which brings together international panels of scientists, is based in Lyon, France. Its assessments go to national health agencies for possible guidance. IARC has reviewed more than 900 chemicals and other agents since its founding in 1971. IARC categorizes chemicals, agents, mixtures and exposures into five groups:

Group 1: carcinogenic to humans (includes alcoholic beverages, solar radiation, and wood dust).
Group 2A: probably carcinogenic to humans (includes high-temperature frying, household wood fires, and hairdressing/barber occupational exposures).
Group 2B: possibly carcinogenic to humans (includes coffee and cell phones).
Group 3: not classifiable as to carcinogenicity in humans (includes tea).
Group 4: probably not carcinogenic to humans (only one substance, caprolactam, has been placed by IARC in Group 4).

Again, I am proud to say that the asphalt paving industry has played a proactive role in protecting the health and safety of its workers. These include exposure reductions, process advancements, and partnerships with government agencies and labor unions. And the asphalt paving industry has been recognized for its worker health initiatives.

I was in Lyon and participated in the IARC Monograph process as an official Observer, representing the road paving industry - both U.S. and European. If you have questions about the IARC classification and its possible effect on your business, please feel free to contact me at the NAPA office.

Best regards,

Mike Acott
NAPA President

 

In my continuing series of articles on the TXAPA Educational Toolkit inserts I discussed "America Rides on Us" last month. It is another in a long line of very good Asphalt Pavement Alliance (APA) inserts that TXAPA uses in our Educational Toolkit. This month I would like to introduce another helpful APA-produced insert which is actually an APA position paper entitled "Pavement Type Selection." This is also an insert I include in a TXAPA Alternate Pavement Toolkit that I use when I visit with public entities that wish to let alternate bid projects (flexible vs. rigid) or have an interest in switching from a flexible pavement history to letting a rigid pavement project.
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Thank you in advance for your help educating entities within Texas on the benefits our industry has to offer.

 

And the winners are...
Please note the corrected HMA Producer for the Overlay Medium and Overlay Small categories below. The correct producer should have been listed as Colorado Materials instead of Hunter Industries.
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Please save the following dates for our upcoming Partners In Quality meetings. All meetings are scheduled from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
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Mark these important special meeting dates on your calendar for 2012.
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The Texas Asphalt Pavement Association will be holding the 2012 Mid-Year Meeting at the Hyatt Regency in Lake Tahoe, Nevada. Our members had such a wonderful time in 2011 that we decided to go back and enjoy that nice cool weather in June.

The dates for the meeting are June 11-13, 2012. We have arranged to have a room block for the weekend before the meeting, June 8-10 for those of you who would like to arrive early. Please start making your hotel arrangements as early as possible, they are available now. The hotel does sell out rather quickly for the summer months.

The location and phone numbers are as follows:
Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe Resort, Spa and Casino
111 Country Club Drive
Incline Village, Nevada 89451
Phone: (775) 832-1234

The golf tournament will be held at the Championship Golf Course which is the larger course. Everyone had a wonderful time golfing at the Mountain Course this year so next year will be a real treat.

We are really looking forward to seeing everyone at Lake Tahoe in 2012.

 

The Texas Department of Transportation and the Hot Mix Asphalt Center present Quality Control/Quality Assurance Technicians an award for their efforts to achieve excellence in the performance of their assigned duties.
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Each one of us is aware that things seldom remain the same. The asphalt paving industry is certainly not immune from this and in the past few years many new tools, specifications, test procedures and a host of other changes have made their way into our industry.
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Beginning with the July 2010 Level 1A Training Course, candidates were required to pre-certify online at the Hot Mix Asphalt Center’s (HMAC) new website, www.txhmac.org. In order to pre-certify, candidates must go to the website and log in...
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2012 Hot Mix Asphalt Class Schedule is now available!

Check out the dates & Schedule with Karen before they fill up:

www.txhmac.org