We worked with ADK Action to investigate the cost burden of road salt to residents and taxpayers in New York State. Our task was to develop a research protocol that will elucidate the costs related to road salt use and compare those costs across the state. We know road salt causes corrosion to bridges and personal vehicles, but we don’t know to what extent.
A salt truck dispensing road salt.
We are setting up experimental protocols to retrieve and analyze publicly available information on bridge assessment scores, personal vehicle resale value, county economics, and other information that can be used in a state-wide analysis linking road salt use to resident and taxpayer costs.
It is important to do science, but we also need to communicate science to affect policy. We are gathering the scientific information that can be used for peer-reviewed publication, petition drives, and media delivery.
