The short answer
These are the words you'll hear when people talk about road dust, like dust palliative, fines, crown, washboarding, pre-wet and right-of-way permit. I kept each definition short and took it from federal road guides, Oregon rules or Jackson County's program. Each one links to the guide that covers it in depth.
A-B
- Aggregate loss
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Gravel lost from a road surface to traffic, to dust and to stone thrown off to the edges. The FHWA gravel roads manual cites studies showing as much as one ton of aggregate per mile lost each year for each vehicle that passes daily. 1
- Annual treatment
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Treating a road again each season. The gravel roads manual notes that "virtually all methods of dust control require annual treatment." 1
- Applicator
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The company that applies a dust treatment. Under Jackson County's dust abatement program on county-maintained gravel roads, the applicator gets the right-of-way permit from Jackson County Roads and handles any warranty claims, not the county. 4
- Binder (residual)
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The part of a dust product that does the binding. The Forest Service guide defines the residual, also called solids or binder, as what remains after the water evaporates. 2
- Blading (grading)
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Running a grader over a gravel road to reshape the surface. Federal guides say a tightly bound surface needs much less blade maintenance. 1
- BOD (biochemical oxygen demand)
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A water-quality test of the oxygen microbes use as they digest a product in water. The Forest Service guide says organic non-petroleum products, the group lignin belongs to, are the most likely to have high BOD results. 2
C-F
- County-maintained road
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A road the county maintains. In Jackson County, a county-maintained gravel road can be treated through the county's dust abatement program, and the county may grade it first at no cost. 4
- Crown
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A road surface that is higher in the middle than at the edges, so water runs off. The gravel roads manual says to make sure the driving surface has a good crown before dust control goes down. 1
- Dust abatement
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Reducing dust from unpaved roads, lots and yards, usually by applying a dust palliative. Not the same as indoor or asbestos abatement. 2
- Dust palliative (dust suppressant)
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A product applied to an unpaved surface to reduce dust. The Forest Service guide says they work by agglomerating the fines, binding the surface particles together or increasing the surface's density, and are not a permanent solution. 2
- Fines
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The smallest particles in surface gravel, passing a No. 200 sieve. The Forest Service guide calls them "smaller than the eye can see." They help hold the surface together. The FHWA handbook says 12 to 15 percent fines is typically required. 23
- Fugitive emissions (fugitive dust)
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Dust that gets into the air from roads, materials or equipment. For DEQ orders under OAR 340-208-0210, visible emissions leaving a property for more than 18 seconds in a six-minute period. 6
G-L
- Gap-graded
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Gravel missing some particle sizes. The FHWA handbook says this leads to poor aggregate interlock, and gap-graded material with few fines tends to washboard and ravel. 3
- Hygroscopic
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Drawing moisture from the air. The gravel roads manual uses it for chloride products, which pull moisture out of the air and keep the road surface damp. Lignin sulfonate works differently, as a binder. 1
- IFPL (Industrial Fire Precaution Level)
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One of four levels, I to IV, that the Oregon Department of Forestry sets during fire season to limit when industrial operations may run on lands it protects west of the Cascades. 5
- Leaching
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A product washing out of, or down through, the road surface in rain. The FHWA handbook notes that most organic non-petroleum products, lignin included, are water soluble and may leach out in heavy rain. 3
- Lignin sulfonate (lignosulfonate)
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A by-product of the pulp milling industry, sometimes called "tree sap" in the field, that binds road fines together. It is the one product we apply. 3
O-R
- Organic non-petroleum
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The group of dust treatments made from plant-based by-products: lignosulfonates, tree resins and oils, vegetable oils and molasses-based products. The FHWA handbook says they work like a glue for the fines. 3
- Pre-wet
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Spraying water on a dry road just before treatment. The gravel roads manual says a water-truck pre-wet "dramatically improves the success of the treatment." Every job we do starts with one, and then the truck sprays. 1
- Raveling
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A gravel surface coming apart into loose stone. The Forest Service guide says raveling increases as fines are lost, and the FHWA handbook links it to gap-graded gravel. 23
- Right-of-way permit
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The permit an applicator needs from Jackson County Roads to work in a county road right-of-way. It covers surface preparation, traffic control, signage, application, cleanup and warranty. 4
S-W
- Soil stabilizer
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A treatment that adds strength to the road material, not just dust control. The FHWA handbook says lignin-type products are effective dust palliatives but do not add enough strength to count as stabilizers. 3
- Surface stabilization (county)
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Treatments Jackson County Roads applies on selected sections of its own gravel roads to reduce grading frequency. Separate from the dust treatments residents pay for. 4
- Test section
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A short trial stretch of road treated first. The gravel roads manual suggests 500 to 1,000 feet when a product, gravel or equipment is untried. 1
- Washboarding (corrugation)
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Rows of ripples across a gravel road. The FHWA handbook ties it to poorly graded gravel lacking fines. Under about 10 percent fines, a road "will washboard and require regular grader maintenance." 3
Your road, your call
Questions this guide didn't answer?
Call and we'll talk your road through. Seven days a week, 8am to 6pm.
541-613-0067Sources
The public sources this guide quotes, read on October 24, 2026. What we say about the product we apply comes from the product, not from an independent test of our own.
- FHWA and South Dakota LTAP (hosted by the U.S. EPA) Gravel Roads Maintenance and Design Manual, Section IV: Dust Control and Stabilization (2000)
- USDA Forest Service Dust Palliative Selection and Application Guide (1999)
- Federal Highway Administration Unpaved Road Dust Management: A Successful Practitioner’s Handbook, Chapter 5 (2013)
- Jackson County Roads Dust Abatement Program
- Oregon Department of Forestry Industrial Fire Precaution Levels (IFPLs) for ODF protection west of the Cascades
- Oregon DEQ rules (via Cornell LII) OAR 340-208-0210, Requirements for Fugitive Emissions