Road Salt Use in the U.S.
Earth Gauge Video is available for this tip.
Have you noticed salt left on our roads and sidewalks after a storm? A recent study shows that road salt is a major source of chloride in our waters. In some urban streams, chloride is found at levels that can harm fish and other wildlife.
In the mid-1950′s, highway spreaders applied about one million tons of salt to keep our roads ice-free. How much salt is applied now during a winter season? In 2008, more than 21 million tons of salt coated our highways – 20 times more than 50 years ago. That’s nearly two million large truckloads of salt!
Viewer Tip: You can be “salt smart” at home by shoveling away as much snow and ice as possible before applying a salt product to your driveway or walkways. Only use as much salt as you need – adding more does not speed up melting.
Season: Winter
(Sources: USGS. Mineral Commodity Summaries: 2008. http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/mcs/2008/mcs2008.pdf;
USGS. “Chloride found at levels that can harm aquatic life in urban streams of the Northern U.S. – Winter deicing a major source.” September 16, 2009: http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=2307;
Transportation Research Board. “Road Salt Use in the U.S.” http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/sr/sr235/017-030.pdf.US EPA. “What You Should Know About Safe Winter Roads and the Environment.” http://www.epa.gov/ne/topics/water/pdfs/winterfacts.pdf)
