[1] Improvements include increasing the weight-bearing capabilities, tensile strength, and overall performance of unstable subsoils, sands, and waste materials in order to strengthen road pavements.
[2] Traditionally and widely accepted types of soil stabilization techniques use products such as bitumen emulsions which can be used as binding agents for producing a road base.
Many environmentally friendly alternatives have essentially the same formula as soap powders, merely lubricating and realigning the soil with no effective binding property.
The National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) has explored newer types of soil stabilization technology, looking for effective and non-harmful alternatives.
Another alternative uses long crystals to create a closed cell formation that is impermeable to water, frost, acid, and salt.
Utilizing new soil stabilization technology, a process of cross-linking within the polymeric formulation can replace traditional road/house construction methods in an environmentally friendly and effective way.
This method uses a small, penny-sized injection probe and minimizes debris and is ideal for re-compaction and consolidation of weak soil strata, increasing and improving load-bearing capacity under structures, and the remediation of shallow and deep sinkhole problems.
Advocates claim (1) cleaner air, which leads to better health as fugitive dust can cause health problems in the young, elderly, and people with respiratory conditions;[6] and (2) Greater safety through improved road conditions,[7][8] including increased driver visibility and decreased risks caused by loose gravel, soft spots, road roughness, and flying rocks.
[9] It reduces foreign sediment in nearby surface waters[10] (dust that settles in creeks and streams), helps prevent stunted crop growth caused by clogged pores in plants, and keeps vehicles and property clean.
[23][24] A small percentage of owners of indoor arenas (for example, for horse riding) may apply magnesium chloride to sand or other "footing" materials to control dust.
Although magnesium chloride used in an equestrian (horse) arena environment is generally referred to as a dust suppressant it is technically more accurate to consider it as a water augmentation activity since its performance is based on absorbing moisture from the air and from whatever else comes in contact with it.