Conclusions and Recommendations 113 ___________________________________________________________________________ 6 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS The massive use of chloride salts (NaCl and CaCl ) for roadway deicing, 20’000 tonnes 2in Vaud canton in 1998, is the cause of serious corrosion and major environmental problems. Evidence of long-term negative impacts has been documented in the literature (Labadia and Battle, 1996). These problems include deterioration of concrete bridge decks through chloride ion corrosion of reinforcing steel, corrosion of underground electrical cables, corrosion of structural members in bridge structures and other highway appurtenances; corrosion of vehicle chassis, pollution of aquatic habitats and drinking water sources by sodium and chloride ions in runoff, and harm to roadside vegetation due to an increase of the salinity of receiving waters as the sodium dissolves and to an increase of the acidity of soil and water as the chloride accumulates (Granato et al., 1995). In addition to the accelerated corrosion of automobiles, damage to concrete and asphalt, ruining of bridges, the use of sodium chloride for deicing the roads has many other drawbacks, such as adverse effects on underground cables. There are also many subtle costs of deicing with corrosive salts, for example, gasoline wasted because of slow traffic during repairs to ...
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