School Writing

Earth Science Press Release

When you think of salt, you may think of the mineral you put on food, or the stuff used to de-ice roads with. But have you ever thought of what the Impact salt can have on the Environment? The local salt mining company Cargill, located in Lansing NY, has expressed this as a huge concern for their company. They have expressed their concern of too much salt from deicing roads, may be impacting the environment in a negative direction.

Shawn Wilcynski, the mine manager of Cargill's mines under Cayuga Lake and has stated that the employees of Cargill respect the environment they work in, and whenever they come up from the mines, they tend to admire the beauty of the land around them. This is why the Company wants to protect the land, and why deicing is a problem that they want to bring awareness to... Wilcynski informs customers about the number of salt roads should have considering the temperature. When he informs, he has often come across the problem that people who have been doing this for years, whether it be thirty or ten, haven't listened. They don't listen to experts who have put the time in this to this study, and either puts too little amount of salt on the roads or too much.

So how does salt affect the Environment? Wind can blow salt all around, and it can be moved by cars, especially if it's over salted, the salt grains will move with ease. The salt can go into the river, and into drinking water. Once the salt is in the water, People and animals drink it and become dehydrated, freshwater fish and marine animals in the water die, and the water isn't as healthy for plants to absorb. Salt may be healthy for a person to some degree, but if it is too much, it will not be beneficial.

Cargill has also thought of other alternatives to salt, or other products that stick to the road. The problem with this is that cost goes higher and higher for the more efficient it is, and so it may not be available to everyone and is why Cargill wants to spread the news and keep to salt. But what about the public? What do they think is going on with the roads? The public knows that it is plowed, and iced, almost every day, if not daily. Many get up, expecting to go through their daily routine and expect roads to be plowed and de-iced. However, this is not the case.

Reasonably passable, the state considers this to be plowed, and deiced to the point where you don't get stuck, stop, or slide. However, to many of the public, reasonably passable means being able to drive without a problem. There are many out there that don't pay attention, and just go through their daily routine not even accounting for weather. There need to be better drivers. The problem is the spread of salt, and how much or how little is getting put onto the roads, and with these people not being careful, this is another big impact.

Salt is not always a mineral that will affect the environment in a positive way. Minerals are everywhere, and salt is one that is widely used. So how can you, as a citizen, the man who plows or de-ices the road, help Cargill keep the environment safe from salt contamination? Keeping the environment safe is a huge priority for this company, and in speaking for many people, there is a large majority would agree, this needs to be prevented.