Running Head: RECOMMENDATION OF DE-ICING MATERIALS

Anonymous Student’s Contact Information

Karen Petroff Assistant Director, Arboretum and Horticultural Services0101K Grounds Office BuildingUniversity of MarylandCollege Park, MD 20742

Dear Karen Petroff:

This past winter, I observed excessive amounts of road salt present on sidewalks and roads around campus. When presented with the opportunity to research a topic in my technical writing class, I decided to ask why such copious amounts of salt were present. I wanted to know how these chemicals were affecting the environment, and if there was anything that could be done about it.

This report details my research on the de-icing materials used on campus, why they are used, and their respective impacts on the environment. I believe you will find the impact on plants particularly pertinent to our campus.

I recommend the use of alternative de-icers, namely pickle brine and coal grit, because of their low cost, ease of distribution, and low damage potential. I propose trial periods where these de-icers will be used on parts of north campus and monitored for their effectiveness. Please let me know if you have any questions; my hope is to start a conversation about the de-icers our campus uses and promote research on alternatives.

Thank you for your time,

Anonymous Student

RECOMMENDATION OF DE-ICING MATERIALS

Recommended De-icing Materials for the University of Maryland

Anonymous Student

University of Maryland College Park

May 2015

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Table of Contents

Executive Summary 4

Introduction 5De-icing and Anti-icing 5Distribution of De-icing Materials 6Spreading Mechanisms 6How Road Salt Works 7Types of Road Salt Used on Campus 7Problems with Currently Used De-icers 8

Environmental Impact 9Water Quality 9Organisms Affected 11

Plants 11Animals 11Insects 11Humans 12

The Legal Side of Road Salt 13Road Salt Legislation 13Litigation 13Flexibility in De-icing Materials 14

Recommendations 14Pickle Brine 14Coal Grit 15

Conclusions 16

Appendix A 17Appendix B 21Appendix I: Table of De-icing Materials 23Appendix II: Glossary 26Appendix III: Maps of Recommended Trial Areas 27Biography of Author (Omitted for anonymity) 28 Works Consulted 29

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Executive Summary

The point of this recommendation report is to examine the types of de-icing materials used on the University of Maryland campus and their respective disadvantages. These disadvantages include cost, usability, damage potential, and detrimental environmental impact.

I recommend an alternative de-icing plan to reduce those complications. This plan involves the use of pickle brine and coal grit on parts of north campus as part of set trial periods. For a designated time, these two de-icers will be applied on parking lots and roads that experience low levels of foot and car traffic. Their effectiveness, as well as their impact on the surrounding area, will be evaluated and used to determine their future use on campus.

This report is addressed to Karen Petroff, assistant director of Arboretum/Horticultural Services at the University of Maryland College Park. It is my hope that her investment in the well being of our campus’s plant life will lead her to seek changes in the de-icers currently used.

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Introduction

The purpose of this report is to identify de-icing materials used on campus, to review their environmental impact, and to propose safer alternatives. NaCl and MgCl2 are the two main road salts used on campus, while coal grit and beet juice are lesser-used de-icers. There are three main problems with these four de-icers: cost, usability, and damage potential. NaCl and MgCl2 are both rather expensive, while coal grit has a tendency to damage flooring when tracked inside campus buildings. Beet juice, the only liquid of the four, tends to gum up in the spray nozzles used by UMD road crews and is difficult to distribute.

This past winter was a harsh one for the University of Maryland, requiring a higher vigilance than seasons past to keep streets and sidewalks clear. Ubiquitous piles of road salt left on campus raised the question of what these chemicals are, and why they were used. Is so much salt needed for the amounts of snow and ice that accumulated on campus? What effect do these chemicals have on the environment when they wash away with the melting snow?

I will examine the environmental impact of these four de-icers and discuss other de-icers used outside the university. I will then discuss my recommendation of using prickle brine as an alternative de-icer and of changing the distribution of coal grit from handicap ramps and sidewalks to roads. I will first review fundamental de-icing terminology, and explain the basic mechanism behind how road salt works.

De-icing versus Anti-icing

“De-icing” is loosely defined as any process used to eliminate ice currently existing on a surface, usually a road or a sidewalk. This process involves the use of chemicals, as opposed to the manual scraping of ice off of a surface. “Anti-icing” refers to the application of chemicals on a surface to prevent the adhesion of ice, and can continue to prevent ice formation even after first application. Although some materials are proactively spread around campus to combat winter conditions, de-icing is the more common process on campus. The term “de-icing” will be used throughout this report.

De-icers can be liquids or solids, depending on the purpose. Most people are familiar with solid de-icers, primarily called “road salts.” A road salt is basically a chemical bond between an element on the left side of the periodic table and an element on the right side of the periodic table.1 Please see Appendix I for a comprehensive list of solid and liquid de-icing materials.

On this campus, liquid de-icers are rarely used, as campus employees can return to the necessary streets often and can plow on a regular basis. If rain if forecasted first, the de-

1 Neufeldt, 2011, “Salting the Roads – More Complicated Than It Sounds.”

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icing team waits until ice or snow forms to use the de-icers- rain will just wash away the salt before it has time to work. Once temperatures drop, they rush to treat surfaces before precipitation freezes to the ground. This is a difficult process, as weather forecasts were particularly inaccurate this winter season.

Distribution of De-icing Materials

The first part of the de-icing process is determining the appropriate times to apply de-icing materials. Road temperatures and precipitation estimates influence the plan of action, and will be continually monitored throughout the weather event. Road temperatures below 15 degrees Fahrenheit make road salt application impractical; it is used when temperatures exceed 20 degrees. Sometimes road crews never use road salt because temperatures stayed too low and they were able to plow the snow off without chemical aid.

Contractors are hired to de-ice off-site properties and large areas of campus, including steps and walks. This can take from midnight till dawn. UMD Landscape Services, around 70 employees, are responsible for all roads, parking lots, handicap cut-outs, 24/7 facilities, animal research buildings, the health center, dining areas, and the rest of the sidewalks and steps. They are responsible for the entire campus on weekends and holidays. Both contractors and Landscape Services employees step in when there are delayed openings or closings. Facilities Management employees, including electricians, carpenters, and pest control, contribute due to an overall shortness of manpower.

Spreading Mechanisms

Wheeled spreading carts, also called spreaders, are primarily used for salt distribution. They are effective until moisture accumulates under the spreading mechanism, when employees then have to distribute the 70 pounds of salt by hand.

Besides carts wheeled by hand, calibrated v-box spreaders are used on the back of ATVs (All Terrain Vehicles) to distribute road salt. It is Mr. Monan’s hope that the Landscape Services budget for next year will allow for more v-box spreaders, allowing for more efficient salt distribution. Steps are done by hand, and with thousands of steps, 1200 total acres, and 23 miles of sidewalks, it takes the 200 people involved a while to cover campus. The pressure to avoid school closings means these people have to work towards an 8 am deadline.

How Road Salt Works

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Salts are easily dissolved in water. When they come into contact with ice or snow, these salts break up into their component ions, which squeeze in between the water molecules of the ice and snow and push them apart. This results in melting. Because the slat is not letting the precipitation freeze at a temperature it would normally freeze at, this process is called “freezing point depression.”2 Different de-icers lower the freezing point to different temperatures, which is one of the factors considered when choosing a de-icer.

Types of Road Salt Used on Campus

According to William Monan, Associate Director of Landscape, Arboretum, and Horticultural Services at the UMD who was interviewed for his oversight on campus de-icing, NaCl and MgCl2 are the two de-icing materials used on campus.

Around 1,000 tons of NaCl are used on campus each year. As the bulk material stored in UMD’s salt dome, it is only used on roads and parking lots.

MgCl2 is the preferred material for steps and sidewalks, having the “least detrimental effects on the environment.”3 The university obtains MgCl2 primarily from the Middle East, and has experienced recent disruptions in supply. Mixes of magnesium, potassium, and calcium are then used to compensate.

The green and blue road salt people have seen on campus sidewalks is dyed MgCl2. Over the past decade, cities like Washington, D.C. and Baltimore have transitioned to dyed road salt in an effort to quell complaints that road crews haven’t passed through neighborhoods they had indeed been treated.4 While colorless or white road salt blends in with snow and ice, green and blue crystals are easily spotted. Mary Myers, spokeswoman for the district's Department of Public Works, describes the dye as “nonstain” and “nontoxic,” with no effect on the salt’s solubility in water. The one downside is a slight increase in cost- dyed MgCl2 costs $10 a ton more, while dyed NaCl costs an extra $4 a ton. In addition to the added dye, D.C. uses MgCl2 that has been treated to “attract sunlight better than regular salt,” earning it the nickname “spiked salt.” Smaller cities, like North Ridgeville, Ohio,5 are starting to take their cue from the larger cities, showing a national trend in dying.

While it is quite difficult to pinpoint the exact chemical compositions of different salt dyes, there are a few companies advertising salt-dying services. One of them is Chromatech Incorporated.6 It promotes its de-icing dyes as being water-soluble and “environmentally safe,” being stable with other liquid and solid products which, as has been discussed, can be an important factor in choosing a de-icing method.

2 Neufeldt, 2011, “Salting the Roads – More Complicated Than It Sounds.”3 William Monan4 Rosen, 2004, “Baltimore to battle snow with blue salt.”5 Geiselman, 2013, “‘Green’ road salt may save North Ridgeville money.” 6 Chromatech Incorporated, 2005, ““De-icing dyes” & “Non-staining colorants””.

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The company addresses liability issues by asserting their salts can be applied without compromising “safety or performance.” Chromatech makes a distinction between “dye” and “non-staining colorant,” with “dye” being a more permanent color treatment and “non-staining colorant” a coloring designed to not bleed onto surfaces used or the hands of distributors.

The Morton Company, responsible for the table salt many are familiar with, is also responsible for its own distinct blue dye for road salts. While Chromatech had what seemed to be a rainbow of colors to choose from, it appears that blue is the only option Morton offers for road salt.

Problems with Currently Used De-icers

I interviewed Mr. William Monan, Associate Director of Landscape, Arboretum, and Horticultural Services at UMD, for his involvement in campus de-icing. In this interview, he discussed the de-icers previously used on campus, and why they are no longer used. There are three main problems with current de-icers: cost, usability, and damage potential.

While the two main de-icers, salts NaCl and MgCl2, are both effective and cause little physical damage to campus, buying them in sufficient quantity to deal with serious winter conditions can be expensive. At a price of $88.00 per bag, 1,600 tons of NaCl were ordered for this year, totaling $140,800. MgCl2 was ordered at $440 a bag; purchasing 90 tons cost $39,600. Although an average of 3 to 4 tons of MgCl2 are used per week, up to 10 tons were used in one week earlier this winter season.

Beet juice is also used on campus, although in much lower quantities than road salt. Although it too has low damage potential, Mr. Monan described the effectiveness of beet juice and other liquid pre-treatments, like molasses, as “fair at best.” One liquid pre-treatment deicer Landscape Services tried on the steps of buildings found made the steps “slick and slippery skating rinks” if conditions were not ideal. A sticky liquid, beet juice also tended to gum up the spray nozzles of the spreader trucks.

Salt is sometimes mixed with sand, especially when dealing with heavy ice and significant inclines. One issue is that sand can be “more problematic for storm water [runoff]” than the rock salt. Another disadvantage is that time is required to sweep the sand off the roads, which Mr. Monan and his team is by law required to do on a regular basis.

Monan and his team also keep several tons of an ice melt containing coal grit. Most institutions receive coal grit relatively cheaply or at no cost from factories where it is a byproduct of combusted coal. As opposed to salt, which directly melts snow and ice by lowering the freezing point, coal grit melts precipitation indirectly. The grit/ash is black, absorbing heat and working as an effective de-icer. This is used on steps and handicap ramps to combat ice, and is easily distributed the same way road salt is. There is,

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however, potential for damage: when this grit is tracked into buildings, it can scratch up the flooring. This has been a significant problem for housekeeping in the past.

Environmental Impact

The effects of NaCl and MgCl2 will be assessed. While their similar form of a solid salt leads to similar means of transport and distribution, individual effects will also be discussed. Water Quality

Entry into the environment is rather simple, easily observed by anyone walking by the side of the road or driving a car. Runoff from rain, melting snow and ice, wind, and the splash and spray from vehicles gradually transports road salts away from the roads and sidewalks they were first spread on and onto soil. This could be a forest growing by the side of a highway, or a median in an urban highway system. These dissolved ions will eventually make their way to larger bodies of water, whether through groundwater infiltration, runoff to surface water, or stormdrains.

These salts then enter the hydrologic cycle. Cl, the main anion of most of the road salts, is “completely soluble and very mobile,”7 with the only means of eradication being dilution. Enough water needs to be present to “flush” the chloride downstream. This is where MgCl2 is of greater impact than NaCl: it can donate two Cl atoms for every dissolved molecule, while NaCl only donates one. Cl toxicity increases when it is associated with other cations, like K and Mg. In the case of NaCl, the cation, Na, is not as easily transported, being taken up by other sources as it travels. This can alter soil chemistry and the chemical balance of aquatic environments.

Chemical parameters are not the only aspect of aquatic ecosystems affected by road salt; organisms themselves are impacted. When road salt runs off into a lake or river, NaCl, being denser than water, settles at the bottom of a body of water. Vital nutrients like dissolved oxygen (DO) fail to reach bottom layers of water and nutrients from the bottom substrate fail to reach the top. Aquatic life, including fish, amphibians, insects, and macroinvertebrates, starts to decline. Salt can also release toxic metals from sediment, which also inhibits proper nutrient and DO cycling. The soil that runoff water travels through is also affected. When NaCl breaks up into separate Na and Cl ions, the Na ions have a tendency to stay in the soil, pushing other metals out into groundwater, while the dissociation of MgCl2 increases the concentration of Mg in groundwater. The soil becomes more impervious, blocking water infiltration, reducing soil stability, decreasing pH, and decreasing fertility.8 Salt concentrations as low as 80 mg/L have been proven to have a significant influence on soil bacteria, which

7 NH Department of Environmental Services, 2015, "Environmental, Health and Economic Impacts of Road Salt."

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in turn influence concentrations of chemicals like nitrate and phosphate.9 More salt in one area can mean increased nitrogen loading in nearby waters.

Road salt contamination can compromise the success of restoration projects, like the Chesapeake Bay.10 With salt-saturated groundwater feeding into larger and larger streams, these salt loads eventually reach larger bodies of water, like the Bay. Many regulations are in place restricting the chemicals that flow into the Chesapeake, and one way to quantify water quality improvement is to regulate exact concentrations that can be present in the water at any given time. These are called Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs). Salt, and increased concentrations of the elements pushed out by Na, compromise the Bay’s pre-set concentration limits.

While Na ions tend to have more reactions with other elements and soil, Cl ions have a more corrosive ability. Certain levels of chloride concentration increase erosion, penetrating concrete. MgCl2 and CaCl2 in particular are known for their ability to eat away at concrete. When these dissolved salts are present in the water residing in asphalt or concrete cracks, they can double the rate of freezing and expansion area.

The cost of Cl-based corrosion damage and protection costs the automobile industry roughly $16-19 billion a year. The Department of Transportation in Colorado (CDOT) had been using MgCl2 and NaCl to de-ice their roads, and decided to research the corrosion effects of each salt. MgCl2, which is legally defined by CDOT to be 70% less corrosive than NaCl, was found to be actually more corrosive than NaCl, and the two applied together as a mixture showed coupling effects with regards to corrosion capacity.11

Ferrocyanide is often added to NaCl as an anti-caking agent. With continued road runoff, this compound releases cyanide ions, which build up in the environment. In 2003, the EPA added ferrocyanide to a list of toxic pollutants in the Clean Water Act.12

Organisms Affected

Plants

8 NH Department of Environmental Services, 2015, "Environmental, Health and Economic Impacts of Road Salt."9 Green et al., 2006, “Effect of long-term changes in soil chemistry induced by road salt applications on N-transformations in roadside solids.” 10 Stranko et al., 2013, “Do Road Salts Cause Environmental Impacts?”11 Xi & Olsgard, 2000, “Effects of De-Icing Agents (Magnesium Chloride and Sodium Chloride) on Corrosion of Truck Components.” 12 NH Department of Environmental Services, 2015, "Environmental, Health and Economic Impacts of Road Salt."

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Road salt most directly affects the grass, shrubs, and foliage along the roads it is applied; less directly, it impacts emergent and submerged aquatic vegetation close to application sites. Salt dehydration wilts leaves and damages foliage, while osmotic stress harms roots. The disruption of nutrient uptake interrupts germination and growth, potentially killing the plant.

This reduction of species diversity has produced an emerging trend of predominating salt-tolerant species, like cattails, in urban aquatic environments. Salt-tolerant trees include horsechestnut, black locust, honey locust, red oak, and white oak. Certain studies use the biota present in marine and estuarine environments to gauge the salinity of the water. This elimination of salt-intolerant species is significant beyond just species diversity: certain plants help reduce pollution by filtering out water runoff from roads. If plants are damaged or dead, this layer of filtering is gone.

Animals

Wildlife is prone to high Na levels, primarily through ingesting salt or drinking water runoff from snow and ice melt.13 Indirectly, road salt contamination can destroy food resources, shelter, and breeding and nesting sites. Even sheltered animals like pets can be affected through eating salt directly, licking salty paws, and drinking snow melt/runoff. The potential symptoms are wide-ranging in their breadth and severity: drooling, vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite, excessive thirst, vocalizing/crying, depression, weakness, low blood pressure, disorientation, decreased muscle function, and in severe cases, cardiac issues, seizures, comas, and death. Externally, paws can contract painful irritations, inflammation, and cracking, symptoms that are prone to infection and slow to heal.

Birds tend to be the most sensitive species to road salt, often mistaking salt crystals for seeds. This can result in toxicosis and death. Moose and deer, deficient in salt in the winter months, are tempted to eat salt crystals by the side of the road, resulting in high incidents of vehicular accidents and deaths.

Insects

Stream benthic macroinvertebrates, while less sensitive than other animals, are also negatively affected by Cl. Mayflies, stoneflies, and caddisflies are the most sensitive insects to salt,14 and like the salt-tolerant plants, their presence can be used to gauge water quality. Biotic diversity decreases as chloride concentration increases, but it should be noted that toxicity also depends on length of exposure: long-term exposure (moderate chloride levels sustained over time) is more harmful than acute exposure (a sudden jump in chloride concentration).

1313 NH Department of Environmental Services, 2015, "Environmental, Health and Economic Impacts of Road Salt."14 Stranko et al., 2013, “Do Road Salts Cause Environmental Impacts?”

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Humans

As Associate Professor of the Department of Geology and the Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center, Dr. Kaushal was able to describe, using his research, how road salt contamination affects people. He is currently studying rural watersheds in the Baltimore region, measuring chloride concentrations. His research falls under a larger project, the National Science Foundation (NSF)’s Baltimore Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) project.

With over 80,000 tons of road salt used in the Baltimore area and a significant increase in impervious surfaces, Dr. Kaushal has observed steadily rising chloride concentrations over the last 40 years.15 He warns that effects on wildlife and water quality are not the only consequences of road salt contamination: it is reaching people.

As previously discussed, Na accumulates in pools of surface water and can seep into groundwater. Some people pump their water, and filters tend to target heavy metals like lead. This Na-laced water is especially detrimental to those suffering from hypertension. Patients are often put on low-sodium diets, and while most people screen their food for sodium, many do not think about their water.

The EPA now requires drinking water to be below 20 mg of Na per liter, with levels to be monitored and reported if that level is exceeded. While Cl is not toxic at low levels, it poses “taste and odor issues” at 250 mg/L or greater. An example of serious Cl contamination took place in New Hampshire, where the state’s Department of Transportation replaced over 424 contaminated private wells at a cost of $3.2 million from 1983 to 2003. Several public water supply wells also had to be abandoned, showing why pollutants need to be monitored from the source, before the consequences can become so great.

The Legal Side of Road Salt

Road Salt Legislation

Current legislation is pending approval by new Maryland Governor Larry Hogan. Dr. Kaushal is hopeful this issue will receive the attention it deserves as he remembers a talk he gave at the House of Delegates in Annapolis in the early 2000s. He discussed the

15 Kaushal et al., 2005, "Increased Salinization of Fresh Water in the Northeastern United States."

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harmful effects of road salt, and while people seemed interested, there was a general reluctance to do anything about it. At the time, road salt as an environmental hazard was a relatively new issue, a hot topic considered too controversial for action. As with similar issues, people have waited for scientific data to be accumulated and analyzed before moving towards regulation.

Today, road salt is finally recognized as a significant issue. In bodies of water such as the Chesapeake, NaCl is categorized as a TMDL. Quantifying pollutants allows for more effective enforcement in decreasing their concentrations.

The Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) currently requires counties and the Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA) to report the amount of de-icers they use. In 2013, the Chesapeake Bay Commission researched abuse of road salt, although it was eventually decided that no policy changes were needed.

The Maryland House and Senate bill of 2010 dictates the SHA and MDE must establish a Salt Management Plan, while emphasizing safety. While further legislation will be needed to restore, or attempt to restore, faculties such as biological diversity and infrastructure damage caused by the use of road salt, this recent legislation is certainly a step in the right direction.

Litigation

The main focus of campus de-icing is safety. It takes around 200 people working 24/7 for 1-2 days to cover the entire campus; additional precipitation and fluctuating temperatures complicate the process.

Says Monan of Maryland’s litigious history, “I personally get sued and, then the University, most years by individuals seeking compensation for having slipped on the ice somewhere on this 1200 acre campus during or after a snow storm.” He regularly receives “countless insults and complaints from people who expect zero ice or snow issues when they arrive.” Mr. Monan decided to use none for the light sprinkling of snow late February. Even then, he was accused of not using enough.

His and the university’s primary goal is to reduce liability by demonstrating due diligence, which can result in de-icing in situations where, decades ago, it would have been deemed unnecessary or overly cautious.

Keeping school open is a secondary goal. It can cost over $1 million for every day that the university has to be closed, and Maryland winters like the one just passed often involve multiple missed days.

Flexibility in De-icing Materials

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The materials campus employees use for de-icing are based on their proven effectiveness, their distribution aiming toward the amount needed to prevent injury and subsequent litigation. While his department is “bound by state contracts in the materials [they] use,” Mr. Monan says he and his team are open to products proven effective and simple in application. His department “attends national seminars on best practices and product development,” and monitor the amount of salt they use every storm event.

Recommendations

My recommendations to Mr. Monan and his team come in the form of suggested trial periods for the use of pickle brine and coal grit as de-icing materials. From his discussion of the types of de-icers used on campus and his evaluation of the pros and cons of each, he seems willing to experiment with different materials. Instead of having a new material tested all over campus, I suggest testing them out in discrete areas around campus that can be evaluated over the 2015-2016 winter season, a time period of approximately five months.

While pickle brine is a new de-icer for the university, coal grit has been used in the past; I suggest using it in different areas of campus to reduce its detrimental impact to the university. Pickle brine would replace beet juice because of its ability to be easily distributed, and would cost orders of magnitude less than road salt. While it has no definitive environmental impact, Mr. Monan and his team could monitor any side effects during its trial period. Coal grit shares pickle brine’s ease of distribution and lack of evidence for environmental impact, and would cost possibly less than the pickle brine. Moving coal grit distribution to a less trafficked part of campus would prevent its being tracked inside buildings and subsequent damage to flooring.

Pickle BrineBeet juice and molasses clogged up the spray nozzles on spreader trucks, and have proven too ineffective to be worth the trouble of application. Taking into account cost and usability issues, I would suggest that the UMD de-icing team look into using pickle brine on a trial basis. As early as 2011, certain counties in New Jersey had insufficient funding to buy road salt and started using a salt/water mixture similar to pickle brine. At 7 cents a gallon, this appears to be a much better deal than what UMD has been paying for road salts. An additional advantage is its consistency: pickle brine is much less viscous than beet juice and molasses, allowing for easier distribution. The truck nozzles the university already has can be used to distribute the pickle brine.While there are other food-derived brines being used, such as cheese and potato byproducts, I suggest pickle brine due to its lack of odor. As of yet, there appears to be no negative environmental side effects associated with pickle brine; according to Jerry Hatcher, maintenance director for the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT), "[Agricultural brines] are friendly to the environment because they have reduced

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corrosive effects."16 UMD could add to the research being conducted through monitoring the pickle brine post-application throughout the upcoming winter season.

As a trial period, I suggest applying the pickle brine on some of the parking lots around the Comcast Center, seeing as how northern parts of campus will be less trafficked than around Campus Drive. Specifically, Lots 9b, 11c, 9c, RR2, 11b, and 4b could serve as trial areas. If there is a minimum amount of pickle brine that has to be bought per purchase, other parking lots in this part of campus can be tested.

Figure 1: Pickle brine, showing its low viscosity as it is being poured.

Coal Grit

The main complaint Mr. Monan had about the coal grit, which was coupled with salt, was its deleterious effects on flooring and carpeting upon getting tracked inside buildings. This seems to be an issue of applying the coal grit in low-foot traffic areas of campus, where the risk of tracking inside will not be as high as when it is applied on handicap ramps and steps. I recommend applying coal grit on less-trafficked roads on campus, to avoid walking areas where the grit could be tracked indoors. Like the pickle brine, this would be given a trial period and designated trial areas.

Like pickle brine, coal grit is relatively inexpensive, and can sometimes be obtained for free from factories that would just dispose of it otherwise. Despite being used all over the country, from Vermont to Missouri, for decades, there is a lack of definitive evidence for any detrimental environmental impact of coal grit. Tom Adams, executive director of the American Coal Ash Association, asserts that the arsenic, lead, chromium, and cadmium commonly highlighted as part of coal ash’s composition is present in no higher concentration than it is in the local geology in many parts of this country.17 Lawyer Lisa Evans of the non-profit organization Earthjustice says the impact of these metals on the environment is “not clear.” Like the pickle brine, UMD could use their observations

16 AccuWeather, 2015, “Four Foods that Help Prevent Slippery Roads.” 17 Uhlenhuth, 2014, “Is coal ash safe to use on roads? Some experts are not so sure.”

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from the trial period to further the research being conducted on this de-icer’s environmental impact.

As previously stated, the UMD Landscape Services department is bound by state contracts in the materials they use, so if these suggested alternative de-icers are not already approved by Maryland state legislation for distribution on campus, Mr. Monan would have to obtain approval for their use.

Figure 2: Coal grit, a solid de-icer in the form of loose particles.

Conclusions

Three main de-icers used on the University of Maryland campus were examined in this report: road salts, coal grit, and beet juice. Road salts, while effective and easily distributed, are costly and entail a long list of environmental effects. Coal grit is also cheap and easily distributed, but causes damage to flooring when tracked inside on people’s shoes. While effective and relatively cheap, beet juice has proven difficult to distribute because it gums up de-icing trucks’ spray nozzles.

My recommendation is to replace beet juice with pickle brine, use coal grit in lesser-trafficked parts of north campus, and use these two de-icers to reduce the amount of road salt used. Pickle brine is less viscous than beet juice, flowing more easily from the spray nozzles, and has the added benefit of being incredibly cheap. Using coal grit on roads of north campus will reduce the amount of people picking this de-icer up with their shoes and tracking it into buildings. Having supplements of pickle brine and coal grit will reduce the amount of road salt needed, driving down the cost of de-icing campus next winter season.

Appendix A: Full Interview with William Monan

Please Note: Due to Mr. Monan’s busy schedule, he specifically requested we correspond via email. Dates and times of my correspondence with him and his

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coworkers who recommended my contacting him have been included.

Person Interviewed: William Monan, Associate Director of Landscape, Arboretum, & Horticultural Services at the University of Maryland

Dates of Correspondence:

February 17: Contacted Kenneth M. Riebert, Director of the Office of Facilities Administration: was told to contact Harry Teabout

February 19: Contacted Harry Teabout, Executive Director of Building & Landscape Maintenance at UMD

February 20: Received a response from Harry Teabout: said he copied Bill MonanMarch 17: Emailed Mr. Teabout again, asking him to contact Mr. Monan again

Emailed Mr. Monan again, asking for a responseMarch 20: Received a response from Mr. Teabout, saying he copied Mr. Monan again

Received a response from Mr. Monan, apologizing for his delay in responding and requesting my relaying my questions through email

Emailed Mr. Monan an edited version of my original interview questions.March 23: Received detailed responses to my questions from Mr. Monan.March 24: Emailed Mr. Monan, expressing gratitude for his time and asking for

clarification regarding use of magnesium chloride de-icing materials March 25: Received a response from Mr. Monan clarifying the magnesium chloride use

Questions and Reponses:

1. I'd like to start by asking how the University of Maryland judges whether an adverse weather event requires de-icing or other preparations. With all the recent snow days, I am curious whether snow is a required forecast, or if there was a minimum temperature that needs to be reached.

road salt use on roads and sidewalks depends on road temps: o below 15 degrees, not practical; used when over 20 degreeso sometimes they never use road salt because the temps stayed too low and

they were able to plow the snow off no need for liquid deicers: they can replow whenever they want if forecast is for rain first, they wait till ice or snow for de-icers; they have to rush

to treat surfaces before precipitation freezes to the ground not an exact science: weather forecasts have been all over the place this year

2. My next series of questions concern the distribution of de-icing materials. How is campus de-icing carried out? Is it a building-by-building operation, or do individual departments oversee the de-icing preparations of their own buildings?

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contractors: large areas: campus steps and walks: from midnight till dawn Landscape Services (70 people): all roads, sidewalks, parking lots, handicap cut-

outs, 24/7 facilities, animal research buildings, health center, dining areas, stepso do everything on weekends and holidays o before delay openings and some closings: EVERYONE in facilities

management, incl. electricians, carpenters, and pest control o off-site properties: handled by a contractor managed by Landscape Services

3. I have seen wheeled spreaders used to distribute road salt; are they the only mechanisms for distribution? If so, have they proven to be effective? Heaps of road salt are commonly seen on sidewalks around campus; is there a specific mechanical process causing that, or would that result from a person distributing the road salt directly?

spreaders: effective until moisture accumulated under spreading mechanism: have to wheel the 70 lbs of ice and distribute it by hand

calibrated v-box spreaders are used on back of ATV’s: hope Landscape budget allows for more

steps are done by hand over 200 people involved, 1200 acres, 23 miles of sidewalks, 1000s of steps, has

to be done by 8 AM sometimes

4. A large part of my project deals with the amount of road salt used; my goals are to assess the amount of de-icing material used from an environmental standpoint and suggest a decrease in the amount used. This applies to all of my questions, but if you are not allowed to answer a question or do not feel comfortable answering, I am completely fine with that.

Amount: ~1000 tons of NaCl used each year

o no other effective choice: beet juice and other liquid pre-treatments are “fair at best”

o MgCl: preferred material for steps and sidewalks: “least detrimental effects on the env.”

o Road salt = NaCl: bulk material stored in UMD’s salt dome: only used on roads and parking lots

5. Who is responsible for how much de-icing material is used? What specific deicing materials are used? I am familiar with the clear road salt crystals used, but when did the university start using the green and blue road salt? Who provides the de-icing materials for the University of Maryland?

Road salt = sodium chloride: only used on roads and parking lots Magnesium chloride is the preferred material for sidewalks and steps

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o primarily from the middle east: recent disruptions in supplyo they then use mixes of magnesium, potassium, and calciumo road salt color does not necessarily indicate chemical composition; it

depends on the manufacturer as to what color marker is used.o it helps show past applicationo they are “bound by state contracts in the materials [they] use”

6. I am sure a large incentive in using road salt is the legal protection from students

and faculty suing the university for slipping on icy surfaces around campus. While the website for UMD's Office of Legal Affairs states they cannot give legal advice or representation regarding matters involving the university, would you know if UMD is subject to any local, state, or federal regulations on de-icing? Are you personally aware of any lawsuits recently made against the university where not enough road salt was used? Are the copious amounts of road salt we see on campus during snow events a result of litigation? Treatments are all about reducing litigation, as I mentioned earlier.

“I personally get sued and, then the University, most years by individuals seeking compensation for having slipped on the ice somewhere on this 1200 acre campus during or after a snow storm

sued “regularly” “countless insults and complaints from ppl who expect zero ice or snow

issues when they arrive” reduce liability by demonstrating due diligence if they didn’t have to treat [the roads], the only other option left is to hand

shovel everything, and they lack sufficient personnel to do that it takes ~200 people working 24/7 for 1-2 days to cover the entire campus ultimate goal: keep school open and keep everyone as safe as possible can cost over $1 mil every day that school has to be closed

7. If presented with scientific data recommending a decrease in de-icing materials, what is the likelihood that the University of Maryland will comply? My plan is to give my recommendation report to the UMD Environmental Safety department of the Division of Administration and Finance; are you familiar with the department? If road salt application became an issue, would there be interaction between your two departments?

if effective product or simple application procedure, they’re open to it “We attend national seminars on best practices and product development”

8. The last thing I want to ask is if there have been previous attempts to cut back on the amount of de-icing materials used. I realize I can't possibly be the first physical science major to address this, or even to ask you questions about road

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salt. I would just like to know how successful they were, and whether that success involved addressing a different UMD department than Environmental Safety.

they monitor the amount they use every storm event “snow storms every third day starting around Feb. 14 until March 1st none used last Friday (day of that light snow) and a couple of nights afterward,

did not treat until snows stoppedo accused of not using enough

Appendix B: Full Interview with Dr. Sujay Kaushal

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Person interviewed: Dr. Sujay Kaushal, Associate Professor in the Department of Geology and Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center,

UMD

Date and Time: March 31, 2015, 3:30-4:00 pm

Location: Dr. Kaushal’s office, Chemistry building

Questions and Responses:

1. You have been researching the effects of contaminated groundwater in the Baltimore area. Can you tell me a little bit about that?

rural watersheds looked at chloride concentrations part of bigger project: National Science Foundation (NSF): Baltimore Long Term

Ecological Research (LTER) project saw significant increase in impervious surfaces over 80,000 tons of road salt used in Baltimore area

2. And this amount of road salt running off has proven detrimental to human health?

road salt = NaCl: Cl is very soluble: Na is left behind Na accumulates in pools of surface water seeps into groundwater some people pump their water: are drinking Na-laced water health issue: hypertension: need low-sodium diets: most people check their

food, but not their water

3. Is this is such a serious issue, what’s being done about it? Is there government regulation on road salt usage?

current legislation pending for approval by new MD Governor Larry Hogan he had given a talk at the House of Delegates in Annapolis earlier in the

decade on the harmful effects of road salto people seemed interested, but reluctant to do anything about ito not a hot topic at the time: too controversial for action

now: big in the newso are treating NaCl as a TMDL: Total Maximum Daily Load: the

amount of a pollutant in a body of watero instead of just saying “Na should decrease,” you’re putting a number

on it: more effective enforcement

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Maryland Dept of the Environment (MDE): require counties and the MD State Highway Administration to report the amount of de-icers they use

the Chesapeake Bay Commission: 2013: researched abuse of road salt: found it wasn’t a serious issue: no policy changes needed

MD House and Senate bill of 2010: SHA and MDE: must establish Salt Management Plan o emphasis on safety, though

4. Just a quick clarification question. In my correspondence to Bill Monan, I asked him about the different types of road salt employed on campus. He said magnesium chloride was used on sidewalks and steps because it had fewer detrimental effects on the environment. To what extent is magnesium chloride more environmentally safe, if it is indeed a safer option?

he is unsure whether color = added chemicals regardless, NaCl is still washing off into the water- the different types of this

salt are not necessarily that different regarding environmental impact

Appendix I: Table of De-icing Materials

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De-icing Material Advantage Disadvantage*ethylene glycol (liquid)

non-corrosive can damage grass, threaten the health of animals, and contaminate groundwater

commonly mixed with urea: added processing and expense

*potassium acetate (liquid)

an anti-icer non-corrosive biodegradable requires fewer

applications because it keeps working longer

freezing point: -75°F

corrosive, so often coupled with a corrosion inhibitor

because it is biodegradable, it can lower the oxygen levels in water and harm aquatic life

*urea (both liquid and solid)

sourcing (commonly used in fertilizers)

most of the urea sold for melting ice is of an agricultural grade: too corrosive for most environments

^beet juice (liquid) an extra de-icer when others are used up

when mixed with salt, the sugar in it lowers the freezing point to -25°F

is sticky: keeps salt crystals from rolling away

gums up spreader nozzles, making distribution difficult

sugar in runoff can attract bacteria which consume oxygen needed by other organisms

^cheese brine18 a back-up de-icer, available in states with significant cheese production, like Wisconsin

has an accompanying odor

^pickle brine19 freezing point of -6°F

a successful pre-wetting agent

reduces the amount of Cl released into the environment by 14-29%

only being used in New Jersey, environmental effects are unknown

18 Rhodan & Sanburn, 2014, “How Beet Juice Is Helping Keep Roads Safe This Winter.”19 Silverman, 2014, “Why Pickle Brine is a Secret Weapon Against Ice.”

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^molasses (liquid) NaCl (solid)

“rock salt”

cheap common can be used by itself,

as opposed to using a mix of salts20

often combined with ferrocyanide, an anti-caking agent

freezing point is only 15-20°F contains numerous impurities, which

can comprise up to 5% of the total weight

ex: Ca, K, Fe, Mg, Al, Pb, Mn, Cu, Zn, Ni, Cr, Cd

can eat into metals, cars, and concrete

KCl (solid: red and white granules)

is a chemical naturally found in plants: is safe not only to plant life, but also to the wildlife that eat plants

effective to 12°F will not irritate skin

does not work for lower temperatures, so is often mixed with other salts, meaning added expense

expensive due to rising cost of fertilizers,

corrosive to metal

MgCl2 (both liquid and solid)

natural sources (salt lakes21)

relatively non-corrosive

relatively inexpensive

can be used as a dust suppressant

leaves a slippery residue on roads that is hard to remove

releases 2 chloride ions for every one molecule

can be used as a prewetting agent, but tends to refreeze quickly and require frequent reapplication

has the tendency to clump, harden, or liquefy in storage

can eat away at concrete

CaCl221 (both liquid

and solid) natural sources (salt

lakes) able to melt ice and

snow at extremely low temperatures

relatively harmless to the environment

can be used as a dust suppressant

high cost releases 2 chloride ions for every one

molecule can be used as a prewetting agent, but

tends to refreeze quickly and require frequent reapplication

has the tendency to clump, harden, or liquefy in storage

can eat away at concrete22

can irritate skincoal grit/coal ash/bottom ash23

methods for testing its environmental effects are still being developed,

20, 21 Peeples, 1998, “Using Salt to Melt Ice.”21

22 Hilliard, 2014, “Comparing Deicers for Use on Masonry and Concrete.”

23 Uhlenhuth, 2014, “Is coal ash safe to use on roads? Some experts are not so sure.”

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(solid) although its containing heavy metals are of the most public concern

light gravel, ashes, cat litter

provide tractioncan be coupled with de-icers and anti-icers

do not actually melt ice or snow

*De-icer used at airports. ^Food-derived de-icer.

Appendix II: Glossary

benthic- relating to or occurring at the bottom of a body of water24

24 Merriam-Webster, 2015, “Dictionary.”

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Table of Relevant Elements

Abbreviation Full NameAl aluminumCa calciumCd cadmiumCl chlorineCr chromiumCu copperFe ironK potassium

Mg magnesiumMn manganeseNa sodiumNi nickelPb leadZn zinc

estuarine- the environment formed where a river flows into a sea25

ferrocyanide- Fe(CN)6

4−

impervious surfaces- an artificial structure composed of materials like asphalt and concrete

macroinvertebrates- a group of animals, including insects, arachnids, and crustaceans, that lack a backbone and can be seen with the naked eye26

mg/L- milligrams per liter, often used for concentrations of a chemical in water

nitrogen loading- when concentrations of nitrogen, in excess of normal levels, enters a particular environment

osmotic stress- a sudden change in the solute concentration around a cell; when salts surround a plant cell, water is drawn out of the cell

toxicosis- a diseased condition resulting from poisoning27

25, 26, 27 Merriam-Webster, 2015, “Dictionary.”

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Appendix III: Map of Recommended Trial Areas

Figure 3: A map showing the location of Lots 9b, 11c, 9c, RR2, 11b, and 4b, the proposed trail sites for the pickle brine.

Figure 4: The general locations of the coal grit and pickle brine trial sites.

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Biography of Author

-Omitted for purposes of anonymity-

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Works Consulted

AccuWeather. “Four Foods that Help Prevent Slippery Roads.” AccuWeather, Inc. (2015) http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/beet-cheese-and-potatoes-roads/22447484

This website provided information on the food-based de-icers discussed in this report, including beet juice, pickle brine, cheese brine, and potato brine. In addition to describing these de-icers, some of the states that currently use these materials were included. The page also shows a picture of beet juice, which I used in my report for visualization purposes. It is an unofficial source, but seems unbiased, with a purpose of informing the public about different types of de-icers.

Chromatech Incorporated. “De-icing dyes” & “Non-staining colorants.”Chromatech Incorporated (2015) http://www.chromatechcolors.com/industries/de-icing-dyes/

This source was the dye company Chromatech’s main website. It was used as a source because it was an example of a commercial company advertising a variety of road salt and liquid de-icer dyes. The purpose of including this in the report is to establish a shift in road salt distribution due to public outcry. The company shows examples of its dyes on its website, in addition to providing information regarding the categorization of salt colorings (dye versus colorant). It is not meant as a scientific source, but rather as an example of commercial involvement in the road salt industry.

DOTS. “University of Maryland Campus Map” (2015) UMD DOTS http://www.transportation.umd.edu/parking/maps/map_campus.pdf http://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/blogimages/coal-ash.jpeg

This source was used for its maps of the University of Maryland campus. These maps were marked with the suggested trial sites of pickle brine and coal grit, and included in Appendix III of this report.

"Environmental, Health and Economic Impacts of Road Salt." Water Quality Impacts - Environmental, Health and Economic Impacts of Road Salt - Salt Reduction - Watershed Assistance Section - NH Department of Environmental Services. New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services, n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2015. <http://des.nh.gov/organization/divisions/water/wmb/was/salt-reduction-initiative/impacts.htm>.

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While this article has no given author, it was published on an official New Hampshire government website by the NH DES. The article was professionally formatted, with five different, professional sources cited. This article provided specific details regarding the effect of road salt on pet, wildlife, aquatic life, and vegetation, and informed this report’s section on road salt’s environmental impacts.

Geiselman, Bruce. “‘Green’ road salt may save North Ridgeville money.” Northeast Ohio Media Group (2013). http://www.cleveland.com/north-

ridgeville/index.ssf/2013/02/green_road_salt_may_save_north.html

This source is from a Cleveland newspaper. Written by an author employed by the Northeast Ohio Media Group, this article discusses how a town in northern Ohio transitioned from normal road salt to dyed-green salt. This article provided an example for this report of a national trend of transitioning from white road salt to colored road salt, and then to salt with a specialized coating for enhanced de-icing performance.

Government of Canada. “CEPA 1999: Canadian Environmental Protection Act.” (1999) Sections 1-2.

Drafted after extensive parliamentary review, this document is a statement published by the Canadian government outlining, in great detail, pollutants and designated toxins to be banned. The main goals of the act are to promote the sustainability and protection of environmental and human health, a theme echoed by this report. Details involving the chemical ferrocyanide were pertinent to this recommendation report, which was why this official source was used.

Green, S. M., R. Machin, and M.S Cresser. “Effect of long-term changes in soil chemistry induced by road salt applications on N-transformations in roadside solids.” Environmental Pollution (2006), 152: 20-31.

A detailed and well-written scientific paper in a reputable scientific journal, this article was particularly helpful in explaining the effect of road salt on soil. Details regarding Na ion exchange and bacterial transformations were included in this report, and were used to explain the down-flow movement of water and its interactions with organisms.

Hilliard, Aaron. “Comparing Deicers for Use on Masonry and Concrete.” Patio Supply (2014) http://www.patio-supply.com/blog/maintenance/comparing-deicers-for-use-on-masonry-and-concrete/

This was another source used for fact-checking Bob Peeples’s MadSci Network memo on a list of de-icing materials and their chemical properties. Much of the

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RECOMMENDATION OF DE-ICING MATERIALS

information overlapped between the two sources, indicating a greater likelihood of accuracy than either source taken individually. It does not appear to be a scientific source, but it appears unbiased. Its detail was useful for the introduction of this report.

James, Bruce. “Use of Alternative De-icing Materials Throughout the East Coast.” Personal interview. 20 Apr. 2015.

Kaushal, Sujay S. "Impact of Road Salt on Humans." Personal interview. 18 Apr. 2015.

Kaushal, Sujay S., Peter M. Groffman, Gene E. Likens, Kenneth T. Belt, William P. Stack, Victoria R. Kelly, Lawrence E. Band, and Gary T. Fisher.

"Increased Salinization of Fresh Water in the Northeastern United States." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 102.38 (2005): n. pag. National Academy of Sciences USA.

A scientific paper published by the National Academy of Sciences, this journal article is the epitome of a professional and scientific source. With eight authors, a high level of detail was attained, with numerous professional sources listed. This paper was used for its background information on Baltimore salinization patterns, as well as its discussion of the human health impacts of road salt in that region.

Monan, William. "UMD De-icing Process." E-mail interview. 23 Mar. 2015.

N.a. “Cash-Strapped Bergen, N.J. To Fight Snow With ‘Pickle Juice.’” CBS New York (2011) http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2011/01/25/cash-strapped-bergen-n-j-to-fight-snow-with-pickle-juice/

This article was the source of the picture of pickle brine. The graphic was used for its display of the brine’s characteristic low viscosity, key supporting evidence for this report’s recommendation of its use.

N.a. “Dictionary.” Encyclopedia Brittanica (2015) http://www.merriam-webster.com

This website was used for concise definitions of the following terms: benthic, estuary, macroinvertebrates, and toxicosis. The company responsible for the site is a reputable reference source, and was used as such for the glossary of this report.

Neufeldt, Sharon. “Salting the Roads – More Complicated Than It Sounds.” i can has science? (2011): WordPress.

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http://icanhasscience.com/chemistry/salting-the- roads-more-complicated-than-it-sounds/

WordPress is a brand of web software that you can use to create your own website or blog. The article attempts to explain in a very basic way the fundamentals of how road salt works and why some salts are colored. It is not meant to be used as a scientific source, but rather as a guide for explaining complex scientific terms in a broad way that people outside the fields of ecology, geology, or chemistry will understand.

Peeples, Bob. “Using Salt to Melt Ice.” MadSci Network: Chemistry (1998) http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/1998-11/910675052.Ch.r.html

This source is a memo posted by a chemical engineer employed by the Environmental Program Management and the US Postal Service. A lengthy and detailed report, numerous de-icers are listed and described, both common and uncommon ones. He first explains his role in the memo: the USPS is interested in road and sidewalk safety, as their employees drive and walk on these surfaces on a daily basis. He explains the mechanism behind salt-based ice melting, and details the chemical properties of a slew of different de-icing chemicals. Although mostly used for the de-icer table of Appendix I, his work was a helpful guide for the introduction of this report, both for his detail and his simple explanations for the processes involved. His knowledge of the subject is evident.

Rhodan, Maya and Sanburn, Josh. “How Beet Juice Is Helping Keep Roads Safe This Winter.” Time Magazine (2014) http://time.com/5761/salt-shortage-triggers-beet-juice-cheese-brine-alternatives/

This is another article about the de-icer beet juice and other alternatives, including cheese brine. This source was used to check the information provided in the other article on beet juice, AccuWeather’s “Four Foods that Help Prevent Slippery Roads.” Much of the information was indeed the same, lending credibility to the information the two sites provided. Although not meant to be used as a scientific source, the good reputation of the magazine, as well as the professional nature of the article and website, led to its being cited in this report.

Rosen, Jill. “Baltimore to battle snow with blue salt.” The Baltimore Sun (2004). http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2004-10-29/news/0410290257_1_salt-au-contraire-colored

This newspaper article discussed the city of Baltimore’s transition from normally colored road salt to green due to numerous complaints by the public of a lack of de-icing. After the transition to green salt, complaints stopped coming in that streets hadn’t been treated for ice and snow. This example is one of several included in this report displaying a national trend towards colored road salt. This newspaper source was

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RECOMMENDATION OF DE-ICING MATERIALS

detailed, and included a useful quote from a spokesperson for Washington, D.C.’s Department of Public Works regarding scientific properties of the new colored salt.

Silverman, Rena. “Why Pickle Brine is a Secret Weapon Against Ice.” National Geographic (2014). http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/02/140204-melt-snow-ice-salt-beet-juice-pickle-brine/

Like the Time Magazine article on beet juice and other alternative de-icers, this article was used, because of its reputable source, to fact-check another article on the same topics. Organic brines are described in addition to the beet juice; the environmental impact of these de-icers is briefly discussed. Like the other articles, this one serves a more informational purpose than a scientific one, and should be treated as a non-scientific source.

Stranko, Scott, Rebecca Bourquin, Jenny Zimmerman, Michael Kashiwagi, Margaret McGinty, and Ron Klauda. Do Road Salts Cause Environmental Impacts? Rep. Annapolis: Maryland Department of Natural Resources, 2013. Print.

The six authors comprise the Maryland Department of Natural Resources’s Monitoring and Non-Tidal Assessment Division. Throughout the paper, they demonstrate a thorough scientific understanding of the biological, hydrological, and ecological aspects of road salt contamination, as well as discussing current governmental regulations on contaminants in the Maryland area. Their paper was used for this report as a general reference on the environmental impacts of road salt, as well as a cross-reference on road salt’s human health impacts.

Uhlenhuth, Karen. “Is coal ash safe to use on roads? Some experts are not so sure.” Midwest Energy News (2014) http://www.midwestenergynews.com/2014/03/10/is-coal-ash-safe-to-use-on-roads-some-experts-are-not-so-sure/

This source described coal ash in its use as a de-icer, and provides two sides of the controversy on whether it has a detrimental effect on the environment. Tom Adams, executive director of the American Coal Ash Association, states that it is not harmful to the environment, claiming it contains the same contaminants as normal road salt. Lisa Evans, a lawyer for the non-profit Earthjustice, is on the side that backs the banning of coal ash. She cites uncertain test results and a need for further research before it can be deemed safe. The two expert opinions provided result in an informed article written by a seemingly uninvolved third party interested in making this information public.

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Xi, Yunping and Olsgard, Patricia J. “Effects of De-Icing Agents (Magnesium Chloride and Sodium Chloride) on Corrosion of Truck Components.” Colorado Department of Transportation Research Branch (2000): Denver, Colorado.

Written by a professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder and an employee of the Western Highway Institute, this scientific paper was well written and thorough regarding the methodology of the corrosion experiments performed. It was used to extrapolate on the disadvantages of using MgCl2 as a road salt.

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