Salt Pollution

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a lower freezing temperature than the surrounding ice or snow.
Salt is the ideal deicing material because it is:

•the least expensive deicer
•easy to spread
•easy to store and handle
•readily available
•non-toxic
•harmless to skin and clothing


Salt pollution is broken into two main groups. Water, which includes
the effects on ground water, surface water and aquatic life and land.

Most of the salt applied to the roadways eventually ends up in the
ground water. It is estimated that 30% to 50% of the salt used travels into the
ground water. Salt effect two areas of ground water, chloride concentration and
sodium concentration. Chlorides may be present in the form of sodium chloride
crystals or as a ion in a solution. Normal concentrations in the water are
average around 10 mg/litre. Concentrations found in ground water near major
highways have been recorded as high as 250 mg/litre which is around the
threshold of taste.

The main factor with ground water pollution is ...

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areas that are effected are osmotic regulation in fish and
the death of micro-biotic life in ponds and lakes. Most fish life can only
tolerate a narrow range of salt content in the water. The increase of salt in
the water produced by road de-icing cause freshwater fish to swell up with water.
The increased salt cause a lower concentration of water in the fishes cells.
To compensate, the fishes body takes in water to restore equilibrium. This can
kill fish if the salt concentration becomes to high.

Just as important as fish, microorganisms are also effected in a
detrimental way. Microrganisms are tiny organism that sustain aquatic life in
all bodies of water. They are more ...

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