CO DOT study reaffirms chloride deicer superiority, urges corrosion inhibited salt
An evaluation of road deicing alternatives directed by Xianming Shi and Laura Fay of the Western Transportation Institute at Montana State University and conducted for the Colorado Department of Transportation examined common chloride, acetate and ag byproduct deicers and concluded:
- Corrosion-inhibited salt (NaCl) and mag chloride (MgCl2) is preferred "until better deicer alternatives are identified."
- Training, calibration and minimized application rates -- the essence of the Salt Institute's Sensible Salting program -- are key to minimizing adverse environmental impacts.
- Chlorides in the environment did not exceed the water quality standard. This is an aesthetic standard for taste, not a health standard.
The report formulated a "deicer composite index" similar to that published a few years ago as NCHRP Report 577 . The model, like that of Report 577, allows local customization. Using the current weighting for Colorado users, the method validated current CDOT user priorities ("the inhibited liquid MgCl2 deicer products present a better alternative than either the non-inhibited NaCl or the K- or Na-acetate/formate deicers").
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