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Liquid Deicers Keep Winter Roads Clear
By Joe Althouse
Wed, 18 Jun 2003, 00:06

(NAPSI)—When it comes to safer winter roads, the solution may be a liquid.

While a variety of deicers and abrasives are available, a proactive technique that utilizes liquid calcium chloride is quickly gaining popularity. The new approach, anti-icing, prevents ice and snow from bonding with pavement by treating the road surface before a snowfall. This reduces the amount of plowing needed to restore bare pavement, and it can eliminate the need to plow altogether after light snowfalls.

Here are a few of the reasons why the practice of anti-icing with liquid calcium chloride is becoming more widespread:

• Anti-icing is effective against frost and black ice where plowing has little or no effect.

• Calcium chloride has the lowest freezing point of any commonly used deicer, so it works in colder temperatures.

• Reduced damage to public and commercial vehicles. Research has repeatedly demonstrated a significant decrease in the accident volume following the introduction of an anti-icing program.

• Lower road maintenance costs. Manpower, equipment, and fuel costs decrease because less plowing is needed. Salt and abrasive costs are also lower, since less is needed.

• The risk of damaging vegetation is reduced since deicer use is minimized, and placement is tightly controlled to the pavement surface.

In addition to these benefits, one product—Liquidow® Armor® Deicer—also addresses corrosion concerns. In tests developed by the Pacific Northwest States Coalition, Liquidow Armor Deicer achieved a corrosion rating approximately 75 percent lower than rock salt.

For more information on anti-icing and Liquidow Armor Deicer, visit www.dowcalciumchloride.com.

Joe Althouse is a technical service specialist for The Dow Chemical Company. Althouse

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