Conclusion

Although we depend on deicing salts to make roads clear and safe for travel during the winter months, it is not without severe consequences, both environmental and economic. Because many of these side effects are indirect or not immediately apparent, it will be difficult to convince municipalities to adopt safer and more efficient deicing practices if they cost more upfront. Thus, perhaps the only way the use of salt can be phased out is through legislative controls. Unfortunately, however, this route is also difficult because of the lobbying strength of the salt industry.

There will be no simple solutions to the problem of deicing salts. As a start, we must push for at least the partial use of alternative deicers in hope that the overall economic benefits will overpower the dependance on traditional sodium chloride.

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References

• Committee on the Comparative Costs of Rock Salt and Calcium Magnesium Acetate (CMA) for Highway Deicing. Highway Deicing; Comparing Salt and Calcium Magnesium Acetate. Washington, D.C., 1991.
• Cryotech Deicing Technology. Cryotech CMA. 1998. www.ga.com/cryotech/CMA.htm.
• Fraser, D.G. and H. Hristienko. 1979. Preliminary Tests of Repellants for Moose, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources Research Station.
• Hanes, R. E., L. W. Zelazny, and R. E. Blaser. 1970. NCHRP Report 91: Effects of Deicing Salts on Water Quality and Biata: Literature Review and Recommended Research. HRB, National Research Council, Washington, D. C.
• Hawkins, R.H. and J.H. Judd. 1972. Water pollution as affected by street salting, Water Resource Bulletin. 8(6):1246-52.
• Jones, P.H., B.A. Jeffrey, P.K. Watler, and H. Hutchon. 1986. Environmental Impact of Road Salting: State of the Art.Ontario Ministry of Transportation and Communication, Downsview, Ontario, Canada, 53 pp.
• Patrick, R., J. Carins Sr. and A. Scheier. 1968. The relative sensitivity of diatoms, snails, and fish to twenty commom constituents of industrial wastes, Prog. Fish Culture. 30:137 - 140.
• Schraufnagel, F.H. 1967. Pollution Aspects Associated with Chemical Deicing, Highway Res. Record, No. 193.
• Shapiro, J., W. Chamberlain and J. Barrett. 1970. Factors influencing phosphate use by algae, Proc. Fourth International Conference on Water Pollution Restoration, Prague, 148 - 167.
• South Eastern Road Treatment. Calcium Chloride. 1996. www.csranet.com/~adnet/sert/#liquidcc.
• Stinson, Tracy. Professor makes plant-based deicier to use on highways. 1995. www.spub.ksu.edu/ISSUES/v099B/SP/n144/a-e-road-deicer-stinson.html.
• Wetzel, R.G. 1975. Limnology, Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders Company.

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