As featured by NBC DFW:
The temperature in the City of Angels has become a matter of public health.
In Los Angeles, we actually have heat-related deaths even in the winter,” said Greg Spotts, assistant director of the Los Angeles Department of Public Works Bureau of Street Services.
Spotts said the amount of pavement covering LA has created an urban heat island effect that is making the city even hotter than its surrounding areas.
The city chose a white-colored coating called CoolSeal made by GuardTop. GuardTop sales and marketing manager Davis Koleas explained CoolSeal is an asphalt-based sealant with an added cooling property that reflects more than 35 percent of sunlight—compared to traditional black pavement that absorbs and traps the sun’s heat even after the sun sets.
“On a hot day, say an 85-90 degree Fahrenheit day, traditional black asphalt can get up to 165 degrees,” Koleas said. “It’s [CoolSeal] designed to cool surface temperatures down by up to 25-30 degrees.”
In phase one of LA’s pilot program, the city has covered one block of roadway in each of its 15 council districts with CoolSeal.
This article was originally published by NBC DFW. Read the full article here.
