Are the anti-icing chemicals sprayed on roads during the winter harmful to the environment?

A Thanksgiving holiday trip over the passes sparked that question when my husband and I spotted that big yellow-green harbinger of winter, a state Department of Transportation (DOT) anti-icer truck.

Jeff Adamson, DOT communications manager for the North Central region, said most of the calls he receives on this subject are from people worried about the effects on their vehicles, not the vegetation. But he has answers to questions on both.

First, the environment. Adamson said research along Blewett Pass essentially determined that regardless of how much de-icer or anti-icer is applied, by the time it reaches creeks or rivers it is not measurable. Environmental agencies encourage the use of de-icers rather than sand, Adamson noted, because if sand gets into a stream it can block the air flow through salmon egg beds and the eggs won’t hatch. For that reason, the DOT does not use sand at all in Tumwater Canyon.

Brown branches on trees near the roads are the result of “plow trucks throwing a 40-mile-per-hour curl of snow and ice,” and not anti-icer, Adamson said. “If you look at the back side of the tree, those branches are fine.”

A Forest Service scientist has suggested that chemicals made airborne by big trucks may be damaging branches on trees above the roadway but that damage is “extremely limited,” Adamson said. And with forests already hit hard by spruce budworm and in an unhealthy condition, well, it’s hard to say.

Now about your car. “After a trip over the pass, when you can, as soon as you can, wash the vehicle,” Adamson said. The chemicals, when mixed with water, are corrosive and should be removed. (Below freezing, he said, it doesn’t matter because the chemicals are inactive in frozen water.)

Anti-icers are liquid calcium chloride, magnesium chloride or inhibited salt brine, applied to a bare road before a storm to prevent a hard bond of ice from forming, to reduce the amount of snow buildup, and to speed snow and ice breakup after a storm. De-icers are liquid or solid calcium chloride, magnesium chloride, sodium chloride or inhibited salt brine, applied to remove a thin layer of snow or ice already on the road. It can also be used to prevent black ice and freezing rain from adhering to the road.

Although transportation officials do not make claims about reducing accidents, Adamson said they’ve been able to document that chains have been required less often since using anti-icers. Average winter speeds on Blewett Pass from 1990-99 were about 45 miles per hour, compared to nearly 60 miles per hour today.

Learn more
Snow and ice removal (WSDOT)
Winter weather resources (WSDOT)
Pacific Northwest Snowfighters
Federal Highway Administration anti-icing program 

Please drive safely
Ice and snow, take it slow (WSDOT)

A workshop on Landscaping for Low Impact Development (LID) is being offered through Washington State University Chelan County Extension on Wednesday, Oct. 10, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Tree Fruit Research Center, 1100 Western Ave., Wenatchee.

The focus of the program is on soil amendment, plant material selection and maintenance, including the use of pesticides and fertilizers.  

Paula Dinius, urban horticulturist for WSU Chelan County Extension, will present the workshop. By following  natural ecological processes  “we can create diverse, productive, interdependent systems to improve urban landscapes through bioretention for water quality, and manage snow melt and storm water runoff at the source and on the surface,” she said.

The afternoon portion of the program will be held in Riverfront Park.

This is the third in a series of horticultural program offered this year. The fee is $10. A brochure and registration form is here. For more information contact Dinius at (509) 667-6540 or pdinius@wsu.edu.

We received a question on our Lightly Facebook page this morning about whether furnace filters can help filter smoke. As dozens of fires burn in Chelan County, everyone can smell and sometimes feel the effects of thick, gray smoke.

We did a little research and found that some filters work better than others to clean particles from the air. People who suffer from asthma or other respiratory problems may be especially interested in finding a filter that “scrubs” the tiniest particles from the air. Two kinds of filters — pleated polyester filters that contain electrostatically charged fibers and electronic filters — are rated as most effective at removing sub-micron particles.

The University of Illinois Extension provides a good summary of filter types on its website.

An inversion is trapping smoke in the Wenatchee Valley.  The Chelan-Douglas Health District has issued an air quality alert advising residents to limit outdoor activity. According to the Health District, these people should stay indoors if possible: those with lung and heart disease, diabetes or a respiratory infection; those who have had a stroke; and infants, children and adults over age  65.

Heat pump water heaters are expensive and not well suited to our winter climate. (Image courtesy energysavers.gov)

Heat pump water heaters can save you 50 percent on your water heating costs – or can they?

Heat pump water heaters work by removing heat from the air and transferring that heat to water. This makes the conditioned air cooler. That’s fine in the summer, when the air conditioner is running, but in the winter, the only air warm enough to supply a sufficient amount of heat is in the conditioned space of the home. This is air you’ve already warmed with your home’s heating system. By removing heat from your home to warm your water, you‘ll lose much of your water heating savings by having to run your heating system more.

Other requirements of a heat pump water heater that need to be addressed before you purchase are:

• Adequate physical space: Heat pump water heaters are generally larger (height, width, and/or depth) compared to standard water heaters. Limited space in your home may prevent the water heater from being installed in a desired location.
• Adequate air volume and circulation: Heat pump water heaters often require large enough areas and volume for adequate air circulation. Without this, a heat pump water heater’s performance is reduced, particularly if installed in a confined sealed space, such as a closet or a small room.
• Condensate removal: Access to a drain or to the outdoors is required for removing the heat pump water heater’s condensate, generated during operation. Often, existing water heaters will have a drain pan, but additional piping may be required for handling this.
• Noise: Heat pump water heaters hum or whir when the system operates. Depending on the model and location, the noise may be unacceptable.
• Exhaust air: Heat pump water heaters exhaust cool, dehumidified air into their surroundings, which may not be desirable in winter. This means the units will need to turn off heat pump operation to stop exhaust air. That most likely means using a back-up water heater, probably an electric resistance heater, further reducing any energy savings.  

For more information on heat pump water heaters:

The Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance has developed specifications for heat pump water heaters that will help manufacturers meet the energy efficiency requirements for customers living in northern climates.

Washington State University Energy Efficiency programs has an easy-to-read fact sheet on HPWH.

Nick Chambers of Wenatchee drove this Nissan Leaf past its expected range -- and enjoyed every minute of it.

Nick Chambers of Wenatchee was among five Americans invited to Nissan headquarters last year to drive a prototype all-electric car. You might say he turned over a new Leaf.

Chambers is a freelance writer and green car expert who serves as AutoTrader.com‘s green car specialist and is a contributing writer for New York Times and Popular Mechanics. He has helped build two websites about the future of transportation from scratch: PluginCars.com and Gas2.org. There are only a dozen or so journalists in the world who focus on sustainable transportation, so they’re well known in the automotive industry, he said.

As a result, Chambers was invited to Yokohama, Japan last year to test drive what he called a “pre- pre-production model” of the all-electric Nissan Leaf.  The date included lunch with Carlos Ghosn, Nissan CEO.

Chambers said he found driving the Leaf “indistinguishable from driving a regular car,” except that it’s so darn quiet. Without the noisy trappings of a combustion engine, motorists can move into “Zen driving,” he said. But the lack of engine clatter creates challenges for carmakers because rattles, squeaks and wind noises that normally aren’t noticeable become more obvious and obnoxious.

At a national media launch in Tennessee last October, Chambers was invited to test the range of the Leaf. Under average conditions, the car’s battery is expected to last about 100 miles, he said. Chambers drove from the Nissan plant in Smyrna to the landmark Jack Daniels distillery in Lynchburg – a round trip of 116 miles. (And no, he didn’t stop at the distillery for a drink.) He drove on back roads with climate control running, keeping his speed between 50 and 55 mph except for the last eight-mile stretch, when he  dropped down to 45 mph to conserve power.

Chambers is a green-car advocate but said he’s not afraid to point to problems when he sees them. Driving an all-electric or plug-in hybrid (which uses gasoline in addition to electricity) is not for everybody, he said. He’s not planning to buy one – yet.

He and his wife share one car. They have two young children. They like to go camping in faraway places. Sometimes Chambers’ work takes him to Seattle or other cities out of range of an all-electric car.

“It’s not for everybody,” he said. “As soon as there’s a vehicle that’s four-wheel drive, or a mini-van with sliding doors, that’s a plug-in or electric… then I’ll buy.”

Still, he sees electric cars as key to diversifying transportation. They’re part of inevitable change that will need to include biofuels, natural-gas and plug-in vehicles, he said. It’s important to reduce the country’s dependence on oil for natural security and economic reasons. “It’s about consumer choice, security, diversifying the energy supply in this country, and the environment.”

Nissan: Quake in Japan will delay Leaf deliveries (green.autoblog.com)