Highway and road deicing operations provide traffic safety during winter dr
iving conditions in snowbelt areas. Using large quantities of deicing chemi
cals causes water quality problems that need to be addressed and remediated
. Two specific problems are discussed, i.e., presence of cyanides in deicin
g salt and decreased partitioning of metals in snowmelt resulting from high
salt concentrations. Complex ferrocyanide compounds are added to salt to p
revent caking, By photadecomposition, these cyanides can be broken down to
free toxic cyanide compounds. For toxic metals, salt decreases partitioning
between adsorbed (precipitated) and dissolved metals, resulting in an incr
ease in dissolved metals in salt laden snowmelt and consequently increasing
toxicity. (C) 1998 IAWQ Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. Ail rights rese
rved.