Salt is famously the only rock we eat, but is it the only thing we can use to melt road ice?
Driving the news: Western University researchers are compiling the findings of a study into alternatives to road salt (or sodium chloride) for melting ice. The results of the study, which looked at nine substances including beet juice, are expected to be released this summer.
Big picture: Our roadways are saltier than a bag of movie theatre popcorn, with Canadian municipalities spilling ~7 million tonnes of road salt on public roads annually, per a 2020 study. That number might be even higher this year due to the particularly wintry winter.
Demand has been so high amid icy conditions that multiple municipalities across Eastern Ontario are staring down potential road salt shortages.
Why it matters: Road salt does a pretty good job at melting ice, but comes with serious trade-offs. For one, it eats away at infrastructure by corroding metals, causing an estimated $5 billion in damages a year. It’s even led to an entire bridge in Ottawa needing to be replaced.
It also poses an environmental threat by contaminating waterways and harming aquatic life. It’s so bad that the Great Lakes are turning from freshwater to saltwater.
What’s next: It’s unlikely that road salt will ever be replaced entirely until a cheaper alternative is found, but while it may be more affordable in the short-term, the environmental and infrastructural damage caused by salt comes with harder-to-see long term costs.—QH