Now, researchers at Newcastle University, England, have been asked to help develop wear-resistant concrete for use in Iceland, one of the worst affected countries which faces road repair bills of millions of pounds and a major public health scare.

The problem is that Icelandic motorists are allowed to fit tires with metal studs for extra grip on snow-covered roads in winter. But milder weather is thawing the snow for at least part of the season, allowing the studs to come into contact with the road.

This causes massive amounts of wear and generates large quantities of dust, which some health experts in Iceland fear may be cancer-causing.

Professor John Knapton of Newcastle University's Department of Civil Engineering, who is leading the research project, said: "Studded tires are illegal in the UK because of the horrendous damage they would cause to our roads -- but in Iceland, they have been routinely used by winter motorists for years.

"Now that the snow is thawing or thinning on some of the winter days, there are real problems. But the Icelandic Government cannot ban the use of studs because there would be many more accidents and stranded vehicles on the majority of days when there is a snow covering.

"Mind you, some of the Icelandic motorists are making matters worse by driving like maniacs. They have discovered that cars with studded tires handle brilliantly on a solid surface."

Professor Knapton and his team are working with a road building materials supplier to conduct tests on six different types of concrete, all made with cement and volcanic ash, materials which are readily available in Iceland.

A 14-ton remote controlled truck fitted with studded tires is rolling backwards and forwards across strips of the concrete 100,000 times. At the end of the six-week experiment, inside a special laboratory at the University, the strips will be examined and the data fed into a computer which will predict rates of wear under various conditions.

Professor Knapton will then make a recommendiation to the Icelandic highways authority, which awarded the research contract to Newcastle University against stiff competition from other top research establishments in Germany and Norway.

Parts of Scandinavia are now experiencing similar problems to Iceland and, if the earth continues to warm up, the phenomenan could affect many more countries where drivers use studs or chains for extra grip in the winter months.

Professor Knapton is hopeful of a breakthrough.

"We have already identified a compound made from crushed volcanic rock which weathers the pounding from the studded tires better than anything else we have seen," he said. "But we will carry on with our tests, using our remote controlled truck, until we are certain we have got it right.

"Icelanders are quite wealthy and tend to have big cars. They are renowned for being particularly speedy on the roads. The motoring correspondent Jeremy Clarkeson has made several visits to Iceland and he has also observed that they drive like maniacs."

[Contact: Professor John Knapton]

19-Jun-2001