Abstract
The paper assessed the phytotoxicity of the most frequently used ice-melter reagents in Moscow (sand and salt mixture, anti-freeze reagent based on a composition of calcium and sodium chloride, technical salt), snow with varying degrees of contamination of the remnants of ice-melter reagents, as well as soil after the snow cover melting. The toxicity assessment was carried out in the samples taken on the lawns along the roads in nine administrative districts of the city in places with the same anthropogenic load. The test object is oat seeds (Avena sativa), as a sensitive biotest showing the most stable and reproducible data compared to seeds from other crops. Salt solutions of reagents with dilution rates of 1, 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10, melted snow and soil extracts were used for biotesting. The phytotoxic effect was determined by comparing the average root length of control and prototype seeds. It was found that all studied ice-melter reagents have a pronounced toxic effect on oat plants even at tenfold dilution. The phytotoxic effect of snow and soil polluted with ice-melter substances, which in turn inherits the chemical composition of snow cover after its melting, was shown.
Highlights
As an important factor in road safety, anti-icing of road pavements has a negative impact on all components of the urban environment
The phytotoxic effect of contaminated ice-melter reagents snow samples can be considered proven in samples taken in the territory of 6 administrative districts of the capital (NEAD, South Administrative District (SAD),Western Administrative District (WAD), North West Administrative District (NWAD), Northern Administrative District (NAD), Central Administrative District (CAD)) (Table 2)
According to the results of biotesting, the most pronounced phytotoxic effect is exhibited by samples taken in the North West Administrative District (55.9%) and the Northern Administrative District (59.7%)
Summary
As an important factor in road safety, anti-icing of road pavements has a negative impact on all components of the urban environment. Current ice-melter reagents - are multicomponent chemicals consisting of a set of salts of both organic and inorganic origin [1], most of which contain sodium and calcium chlorides. Sodium chloride and calcium chloride salt solutions formed as a result of ice and snow melting, when they get into the soil, cause salinization of the soil cover [2]. Phytotoxic action of ice-melter reagents is shown both on an organismal level (extinction of roots, twisting of leaves, withering of a plant, etc.), and on cellular level (change of structure of chloroplasts, decrease in the starch content, infringement of process of photosynthesis) [1, 3]. The purpose of this work was to assess the degree of phytotoxicity of various ice-melter reagents, as well as snow and soil contaminated during their application
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