Road deicing salt has become a problem because it is used heavily to clear roads of slick ice for human safety, but after the ice is cleared what happens to the excess salt? It is primarily composed of sodium chloride, which is cheaper and more effective than the other kinds available. Therefore, this sodium chloride is dissolved into the snow and ice and then moves through the surrounding environment freely. This causes the surrounding environment to have to cope with extra amounts of sodium chloride, which cannot always be done. In turn, this causes the environment around these deiced roads to change. Also it has been shown to penetrate groundwater reserves as well. Therefore, road salt can not only cause human health problems but can injury nearby vegetation and animals as well.
There are currently not many regulations about where and how much road salt can be used, but that should change with growing concern about this issue. Currently, California and Nevada restrict sodium chloride road salt in certain areas to prevent injury to roadside trees. Also Massachusetts is using alternatives to sodium chloride to prevent sodium contamination of residential drinking wells. New York is also looking into the possibility of switching to alternative road salts. The two main alternatives to sodium chloride are calcium magnesium acetate (CMA) and potassium acetate (KA). Both of these salts are less corrosive and better for the environment. However, they are not nearly as effective as sodium chloride and they cost a lot more per ton. It is projected that the alternative road salts would cost between $500 and $700 per ton. This is drastically higher than the current cost of $30 per ton.
In my opinion the alternative road salts, CMA and KA, would be better for us and our environment, but the cost of applying them is way to high. I don't think it is conceivable right now to be spending $500 per ton on road salt when the US uses about 8 million tons per year. Therefore, we need to try to reduce the amount we use currently and continue to try and develop better alternatives to sodium chloride. With continued knowledge and outreach about the harmful effects of road salt, maybe we can minimize our impact on the environment while still protecting ourselves from harmful road conditions.
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Aaron,
ReplyDeleteI did a project on this topic in high school, and I agree the environmental impacts of road deicing salts are big, and a alternative needs to be found. In Maryland where I live they put down sand instead of salt- which is not as effective, but at least doesn't have the negative effects that salt does or some of the alternatives. Is there any way to reduce the impacts by decreasing the potency of the salt?
-Alex Athans
yes, but when the potency is reduced that means more of it has to be put down. This in turn drives the cost way up. Then it comes down to how much do we want to pay to protect the environment around these roads.
ReplyDeleteThe pros of using road salt are well understood and not questioned: to protect the welfare of commuters. However, I feel like there are many negative externalities that come with the application of salt. Besides just harming the surrounding ecosystem, which serves many important purposes, we should look at the damage the salt does to cars themselves. Salt can effect the mechanics of your vehicle and promote rust. Without awareness of the damage that salt can do to a vehicle commuters are just switching from one threat, the threat of ice and snow, to another, a vehicle that is being compromised by the corrosive qualities of road salt. By showing commuters how road salt negatively effects their lives as well as the well-being of the environment there can be a greater public demand for regulation on road salt.
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