¶ … high concentration of road salt on lead solubility. The paper describes the impact in the light of several academic articles and the observations from them. Total 8 academic articles have been reviewed and out of them some major findings are used as a basis for this paper.
An important aspect of studying Pb (Lead) is its combination with the road salt. There have been several studies on the same topic, especially since 1970s, as its significance was understood only after that era, when tetra ethyl was discovered and phased out. Lead contains highly intoxicated components and can be severely dangerous to the human nervous system. Apart from the human life it is also highly dangerous for the marine life and other animals. It also reduces the productivity of the agriculture fields. Tetra ethyl is used as a fuel additive which improves the productivity of the agricultural fields and enhances the soil fertility which is a major concern for every economy. (A.C. NorrstromU, G. Jacks, 1998).
Tom Gibson in his article published in the journal of Progressive Engineers, mentions that Tetra ethyl lead is used as an automotive fuel, however due to its vulnerability it has been banned in many parts of the country. There have been major increases in the number of automotive vehicles all over the world that are reliant on lead and tetra ethyl for gasoline. (Tom Gibson, 2002)
One of the most important applications of salt is anti-icing (deicing). Grandjean has mentioned in his work, "Widening perspectives of lead toxicity," that Anti-icing is used in spread and grit bins. Whenever there is a forecast of a snowfall, in many countries anti-icing with brine is used to protect roads. Brine solution is a mixture of salt in water (concentrated). Brine and road salt prevents the bond creation of ice and the surface of the road. The processes of combining the two elements help in removing the heavy application of salt after the snow period. In many occasions calcium and magnesium chloride are also used as additional agents. (A.C. NorrstromU, G. Jacks, 1998),
The storms in winter hamper the overall economic activity. Road salt is applied in order to minimize the damage caused. Osanai T, Fujiwara N. And Saitoh M. have mentioned in their article "Relationship between salt intake, nitric oxide and asymmetric dimethylarginine and its relevance to patients with end-stage renal disease," that apart from the economic sufferings, human life also faces a lot of danger in snow storms. In order to provide assured access to drivers during the snow storms or even after it, effective snow fighting is required. The failure to do so can cause a great damage economically. (B. J. Mason, 2006)
The use of sodium chloride in the form of a deicing salt can alter the behavior of the combined containments present in the roadside soils. The application of sodium chloride as a deicing agent is exposed to road soil reaction. Sodium with high concentration is exposed to salinity water in the snow melting periods. (Osanai T, Fujiwara N, and Saitoh M, November 2002)
Body:
The impact of road salt on lead solubility is important to understand to grasp the concept of whole mechanism. When there is a reaction with lead, the chemical bound is dominated by the oxide bound. Secondary importance is given to the carbonate bound with 35% compared to the 54% oxide bound. In a research carried out by Norrstrom and Jacks, samples of road salt were taken from a distance of almost 2.5 m away from the road which was then analyzed and found out that oxide bound had the largest percentage with 54%. The soil examination suggested that the mn-oxide had a higher concentration with the soil, which leads to a hypothesis that Pb prefers Mn oxides over Fe oxides and carbonate fractions. Such experiments were carried out earlier also and gave the same conclusions. The absorption of Mn oxides was found out to be almost 40 times more than Fe oxides. Surprisingly, the carbonate fractions were high, considering that the pond soil was infiltrated. (B. J. Mason, 2006)
However there is a strong possibility that the redistribution of some exchangeable part would have occurred during the time at which analysis is taken. On the contrary there have been researchers earlier who had found out in their work that there was a much higher percentage of carbonate fractions. Concentrated lead is usually associated with the interexchange able characteristics with the residual fractions and the organic compounds. (Grandjean, P., 1978)
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