Reducing road salt use 'not something that can wait' as Ontario lakes see oxygen depletion, researcher says
Reducing road salt use 'not something that can wait' as Ontario lakes see oxygen depletion, researcher says
26 comments
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Blame corporations for applying obscene amounts of salts to prevent liability issues. The place I used to work at would put down so much everyday it was like walking on rocks. The entire sidewalk and parking lot.
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The building I work in…. It’s literally like walking on a crunchy field of crystals.
Cement is starting to erode away.
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Exactly.
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When I lived in Calgary they used beet juice and it worked fine.
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How does that work?
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The sugars lower the freezing point of the ice so the salt works better but it still needs salt.
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From what i found its beet juice mixed with salt brine. Not as bad as normal ice melt apparently.
https://www.backyardboss.net/beet-juice-ice-melt/
Though I'm sure this isn't great for the environment either.
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Calgary is semi-arid. Beet juice would not work in a place like Ontario. Too much ice!
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They already do this in the GTA on many roads
Edit: They’ve done it for awhile
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Curious, do they use Sodium Chloride or Magnesium Chloride or something else?
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Sodium chloride is usual, because it's the cheapest option even if it isn't the most effective.
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This is the best summary I could come up with:
The move to reduce the amount of road salt during the winter months can't wait because Ontario's groundwater and lakes are showing "very rapid salinization," researchers at the University of Waterloo say.
"We actually use a lot of of salt, and salt is a very effective way to keep roads, sidewalks and parking lots free of ice, and that, of course, is important in terms of ensuring the safety of road users and pedestrians," said Philippe Van Cappellen, a professor and researcher at the school, as well as the Canada Excellence Research Chair Laureate in Ecohydrology
Most recently, Van Cappellen was part of a research group that looked specifically at Lake Wilcox in Richmond Hill.
Van Cappellen said he wants local municipalities to talk about their road salt use, setting targets such as reducing its use by 25 per cent in the next five years.
David Pressey, the Region of Waterloo's manager of transportation operations, said the muniipality has been aware of concerns about the use of road salt and has actively worked to decrease its use.
The region will lay down a brine solution when it learns a storm is coming, helping reduce the amount of rock salt spread during plowing.
The original article contains 655 words, the summary contains 196 words. Saved 70%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!
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26 comments
It can, they often use it
Sand doesn’t melt ice but it provides traction; too much and it’s slippery again, too little and it does nothing
If you have a busy road where it’s constantly being moved around as well as melting and freezing again then it’s not ideal
The dirt also has to be cleaned up
You mean the dirt CAN be cleaned up. This is a pro, not a con. The salt also needs to be cleaned up, and it's a LOT harder.
I've seen gravel used more than sand in Quebec. Same problems though. Bonus points is you get to eat shit in spring while skateboarding.
Be a heathen like me and push mongo and you'll never eat shit from stones ever again. LOL