Let’s Stop Salt Damage

It has been called “white death,” “the silent killer,” and “car eater.” Its real names are sodium chloride, rock salt, or de¬icing salt. By whatever name, the topic of deicing salt has been called by one official in the Environmental Protection Agency, “a classic environmental problem that seeps through the cracks.” 

Deicing salt presents communities with a true enigma. We want — and must have — safe streets, highways, and sidewalks. And when snow falls, salt certainly does the job of accident prevention. In fact, it is so effective that dur¬ing an average winter, more than 10 million tons of rock salt are poured onto our nation’s streets and highways. In the forested Adirondack Mountains, as much as 30 tons per lane mile have been used during some winters. On more heavily travelled highways, the figure can reach 80 tons per lane mile in a single year. 

Unfortunately, salt does not stay where it is needed. And as it washes or is blown onto nearby soil and vegetation, it is far more than a pinch of salt in nature’s diet! The results increasingly pose a threat to trees and shrubs in northern climes, to say nothing of structures, water resources and even human health. 

Fortunately, there are ways to fight icy roads and side¬walks while at the same time spreading less salt. It is time to look seriously at the problem and to take a stand for the future. The challenge of bringing about change may well rest with those who care about trees and other natural resources. The issue of salt also serves as a good example of how com¬munity forestry must be viewed in a broad, ecological context that goes far beyond the traditional activities of planting and pruning.