An earlier alternative deicer assessment study conducted for thecity of ottawa by sypher:mueller international inc. Recommended calcium magnesium acetate (cma) and sodium formate (nafo) for further evaluation in a set of winter-long urban field trials. Although this program encompassed associated subject areas--such as citywide public opinion survey, an environmental assessment of nafo, cma, and roadsalt (nacl), and an assessment of imposing a canadian standards association standard for upgraded parking garage construction into a city bylaw--this paper only summarizes the technical evaluation of theeffectiveness of each deicer: cma, nafo, and nacl. The environmental assessment addressed current research being conducted by other organizations on the impact of all three deicers on soil and vegetation, aquatic biota, water quality, vehicle corrosion, structures, and health and safety. The field trials involved a vehicle instrumented with an electronic decelerometer which was dispatched during storm conditions over a controlled route of city of ottawa roads to gather quantifiable data (in percent g deceleration) vehicle braking performance on deicer effectiveness. It was found that both cma and nafo are effective chemical deicers; however, both lag in speed of effect relative to salt to varying degrees. The residual effect of any of the three deicers tested appeared to be negligible in an urban bare pavement policy environment. The application factors relative to that of road salt were confirmed to be 1.0 For nafo and 1.6 For cma. Thispaper appears in transportation research record no. 1246, Winter maintenance, roadside management, and rating routine maintenance activities.
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