As Use of Road Salt Increases, So Does Environmental Impact

Use of road salt during winter weather has risen exponentially, and that’s having negative impacts on the environment as well as the roads it’s used on. That’s according to data from multiple studies and experts from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Virginia Tech, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, among others. Data shows that the country used 164,000 tons of road salt in 1940, but we now average more than 24 million tons a year. The salt eats away at the roads, leading to deterioration, and also has environmental impacts, including changing the sex of frogs.