Hazardous icing reagents use may be limited in Bashkortostan - ONF

UFA, 7 December 2016. /Bashinform News Agency, Galiya Nabieva/. In Russia the use of hazardous icing reagents may be restricted. The experts of the ONF Public Monitoring Centre (All-Russia People’s Front) on Environmental Issues and Protection of Forests advocate for the use of icing agents safer alternatives. Municipal and communal authorities should be guided not only by the availability of resources and their efficiency, but also their environmental friendliness while combating icing and snow on the streets and roads of the settlements, ONF experts believe.

"Of course, in winter it is important to clean timely roads and streets from snow masses. But do not forget about the dangers emanating from the road reagents, with which our utility services like so much to strew our streets ", said the director of the ONF Public Monitoring Centre on Environmental Issues and Protection of Forests Dmitry Mironov.

According to him, the use of chemicals in the first place is convenient to utility providers, because then they did not have to clean the roads and streets from sand and granite.

The Director of the Centre thinks that now there is no need to use chemicals in the streets of the Russian cities, as there are no less effective environmentally friendly counterparts.

"We advocate for limiting the use of chemicals in the Russian settlements, as safer alternatives are available. It should be noted that there is a positive experience in the use of environmentally friendly technologies. This is primarily the countries of Western and Northern Europe. For example, Sweden and Germany long time ago abandoned the use of harmful chemicals in the streets and sidewalks of settlements, replacing them with rock dust or sand. They use calcium-magnesium acetate for roads and vehicles, which is harmless to the environment and human health", the ONF expert summarized.