Quote:
Originally Posted by Jeff Higgins
No salt in Washington. Not "environmentally friendly". Lots of sand in rural areas, and the de-icing spray in urban areas. A really good hose down after the ride is all it takes to get it all off, with no lingering affects.
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Sorry but Washington State does use salts on the roads.
Quote from Washington State DOT
Snow and ice plan
Road treatment
We use plowing and a variety of products to pre-treat and clear roadways – balancing the materials and amounts used as conditions change.
Anti-icing
Liquid calcium chloride, sodium chloride or magnesium chloride is applied to a bare road before a storm to:
- prevent ice from forming on a bare road.
- reduce the amount of snow buildup.
- accelerate the snow and ice break up after a storm.
De-icing
Solid sodium chloride (salt) is applied to remove a thin layer of snow or ice already on the road. It can also be very effective for melting and preventing black ice and freezing rain from adhering to the road
Pre-wetting
Wetting solid chemical material and sand with calcium or magnesium chloride causes them to stick to the road surface better, helps activate the solid salt and reduces corrosion.
Keeping solids on the road is difficult in some circumstances, especially with high-speed traffic. In these instances, pre-wet can help keep the sand from blowing off the road, saving on material use and ensuring that the product is in the proper location.
Sand
While not used as much as years past, sand is still used in road treatment, particularly in colder weather. Sand can blow off roadways fairly, quickly, however and can cause cleanup and water quality concerns if it enters nearby waterways.
Corrosion inhibitors
We add corrosion inhibitors – products to help prevent corrosion – to our treatment products to reduce corrosion on vehicles traveling over the roadways. Motorists concerned about salt or chemicals on their vehicles may also want to wash the vehicles to remove any material.
Environmental factors
Salt, chemicals and sand all have potential environmental concerns, which is why we train operators to apply only as much as necessary. Our precision equipment is also calibrated regularly to ensure we're applying treatments in carefully measured doses. We also annually monitor more than 50 sites for chloride levels in soil and water near our roadways.