Getting to know asphalt

By Juliet Piacsek
NAPA 2024 Summer Intern

NAPA Intern Juliet Piacsek writes about learning to look at asphalt pavement – and civil engineering as a whole – through a lens of sustainability and continuous improvement.

Throughout my life, asphalt has never been anything more than the roads I drive on — material that allows my everyday life to function, but virtually a stranger to me. During my time as a summer intern at NAPA, I learned a very different story from the one I thought I knew.

The most important thing I learned is that asphalt is the number one recycled material in the United States (and NAPA staff, don’t worry I will never forget it). Around 99% of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) from old roads was reused in 2022.  So while paving companies are often milling up and repaving roads, most of the pavement being removed is circling back around to become another road.  

Not only is asphalt extremely recyclable, it is also very sustainable. The asphalt industry is constantly striving to improve the asphalt mixture production process and asphalt pavement’s performance. One way they measure and report on sustainability is through the use of Product Category Rules (PCRs) and Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs). PCRs create specific requirements for EPDs about what should be included when calculating the ecological impact of asphalt production. 

As a NAPA intern, I contributed to an article titled “EPD Practical Guide: How to Read an EPD” with NAPA Vice President of Engineering, Research, & Technology Richard Willis. EPDs are documents that provide the environmental impact of each asphalt mix that is produced. Each asphalt plant has EPDs specific to each mixture it produces, which account for the materials used and inputs during asphalt mix production. By creating EPDs, asphalt producers can see what they are doing well and what they need to work on to minimize their environmental impact.

This summer, NAPA was selected by the EPA to get $10 million to facilitate NAPA’s continued work on EPDs. The grant will not only allow EPDs to be more affordable for asphalt companies, but it will also aid NAPA in their PCR updates. Thanks to Dr. Willis, I was able to attend the press conference announcing the grant at a Superior Paving Corp. asphalt facility in Chantilly, Virginia. I did a brief tour where I learned about the different steps in the asphalt production process.

I am extremely grateful to NAPA and Superior Paving for allowing me this opportunity, and I am excited for our more sustainable future. The asphalt industry is always moving forward and working to decrease the carbon footprint of asphalt while simultaneously increasing its performance.  

After spending my summer in the asphalt industry, my opinions have vastly changed. No longer is asphalt simply a material used for roads. For me, it is far more interesting.

I love that the industry is focused on safety and sustainability. As I enter college to study civil engineering, my time at NAPA showed me how to look at whatever I do through a lens of sustainability and continuous improvement. I loved working in an office and connecting with my fellow staff members and learning about what an office job is like from them. I want to give a big thank you to everyone at NAPA for making this such an amazing learning opportunity and for teaching me the importance of asphalt.