Page 373 - Corrosion Engineering Principles and Practice

342 C h a p t e r 9 A t m o s p h e r i c C o r r o s i o n 343

• Reduces losses in goods shipment by $600 million
• Saves 1.4 to 4.5 billion L of fuel
• Has an 18:1 benefit/cost ratio
A study published in 1993 [10] concluded that “As a winter
maintenance service, deicing pays for itself within the first 25 minutes
after the first hour that salt is spread on two-lane highways. Then,
during the first four hours after the hour of application of salt, the direct
road user benefits were $6.50 for every $1.00 spent on direct maintenance
costs for the operation.” The study found that costs related to accidents,
including medical expenses, emergency services, workplace costs,
travel delay, property damage, and administration and legal expenses
decrease by 88 percent after the application of deicing salt. Figure 9.12
illustrates the results of two studies of traffic accident rates carried out
in two different countries (Germany and the United States) before and
after salt spreading at the onset of a snow storm.
Use of salt, in conjunction with a good plowing program, is the
fastest and most efficient means of snow and ice removal. The use of
abrasives requires at least seven times more material to treat a given
distance of roadway. Therefore, it takes seven loads and seven round
trips to the loading point, compared to just one for salt, resulting in a
greater use of fuel, increased manpower and more time to treat roads
during a storm. Studies by the Salt Institute have determined that a

16

14
Accidents per million vehicle km of travel 10 8 6 Germany Salt spreading
12

at zero hour

2 4
U.S.
0
–12–11–10 –9 –8 –7 –6 –5 –4 –3 –2 –1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Relative hour
FIGURE 9.12 Statistics revealing the number of accidents before and after applying
deicing salts.