Co-author Sarah Bartlett, a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee, explains, «These results are likely an underestimation of the salinization problem, as a number of regions with heavy
road salt application, such as Quebec or the Maritime Provinces of Canada, had no long - term lake data available.»
Co-author Flora Krivak - Tetley, a graduate student at Dartmouth College, added, «It is also extremely difficult to obtain rates of
road salt application both through time and across regions.
Roadways and impervious surfaces such as parking lots and sidewalks are reliable proxies for
road salt application because as developed areas, they are susceptible to high levels of salting and runoff.
«Considering both the algal concentrations in lakes near the highways, not just
road salt application rates, will ensure that aquatic life is not damaged by winter road maintenance,» notes Yan.
Not exact matches
Unless an earthquake strikes New York first, bridges spared yearly
applications of
road salt would last a few hundred years before their stays and bolts gave way (last to fall would be Hell Gate Arch, built for railroads and easily good for another thousand years).
More comprehensive studies testing the effects of multiple
road salts and additives on numerous species of mosquito should be conducted before agencies promote the increased
application of alternative
road salts and
road salt additives.
The study is the first to demonstrate that the animals can rapidly evolve higher tolerance to
road salt, and indicates that freshwater ecosystems may possess some resilience in the face of a 50-fold increase in
road deicing
salt applications since the 1940s.
Damage Caused by airborne fallout, rail dust,
salt from sea air,
salt or other materials used to control
road conditions, chemicals, tree sap, stones, hail, earthquake, water or flood, windstorm, lightning, the
application of chemicals or sealants subsequent to manufacture, etc., is not covered.
Magnesium chloride is a common
salt that is also used in bath
salts and for de-icing
roads, but it could have one more great
application.
Introducing
Road Salt SMART:
Salt Management and
Application Reduction Techniques to Save Money and the Environment (E. McCarthy» 15: Brooklyn, New York)