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→Overview
==Overview==
==Overview==
Between 5 and 7 million tonnes of salt is applied every year in Canada for winter maintenance of roads and other paved surfaces, making it one of the most ubiquitous contaminants in urban environments. NaCl- is the most common de-icer applied for winter maintenance, comprised of 40% sodium and 60% chloride. Sodium chloride rock salt is often treated with liquid MgCl2 and CaCl2 to reduce the effective temperature range of salts. Liquid brines comprised of NaCl-, MgCl2 and CaCl2 or a combination of these products are increasingly being used on roads for anti-icing.
Between 5 and 7 million tonnes of salt is applied every year in Canada for winter maintenance of roads and other paved surfaces, making it one of the most ubiquitous contaminants in urban environments. Canadians spend over $1 billion in winter maintenance costs to clear snow/ice on public and private roads, parking lots and sidewalks, this includes the use and application of greater than 5 million tonnes of rock salt for both deicing and anti-icing operations (Hossain et al., 2015)<ref>Hossain, S.K., Fu, L. and Lake, R., 2015. Field evaluation of the performance of alternative deicers for winter maintenance of transportation facilities. Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering, 42(7), pp.437-448. https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/abs/10.1139/cjce-2014-0423</ref>. While the use of salt is essential to ensure public safety, there is a growing concern regarding the large quantities of salt (mainly chloride ions), being released to the environment.
NaCl<sup>-</sup> is the most common de-icer applied for winter maintenance, comprised of 40% sodium and 60% chloride. Sodium chloride rock salt is often treated with liquid MgCl<sub>2</sub> and CaCl<sub>2</sub> to reduce the effective temperature range of salts. Liquid brines comprised of NaCl<sup>-</sup> , MgCl<sub>2</sub> and CaCl<sub>2</sub> or a combination of these products are increasingly being used on roads for anti-icing to help reduce the amount of rock salt used and lower overall operations costs.
==Impacts on the Environment, Human Health and Built Infrastructure==
==Impacts on the Environment, Human Health and Built Infrastructure==