Airport melt water responsible for soil contamination, new study finds

A new study, conducted from the Friedrich Schiller University Jena in Germany, indicates that melt waters in airports are responsible for soil contamination. Various de-icing fluids used in airports can affect soil and groundwater conditions during thawing, after ending up in unpaved areas. The research team's results are published in the science magazine "Environmental Science and Pollution Research". 

Geoscientists from Jena University, focused on airport melt waters to find out that de-icing agents are responsible for soil and ground water contamination. During winter, airports are compelled to use de-icing chemicals such as propylene glycol and potassium formate, to keep runways and aircrafts in operation. During snowmelt, it is a very common phenomenon, according to Dr. Markus Wehrer, for large amounts of the used de-icing fluids to infiltrate into the ground, despite the airport operators' commitment to protect groundwater conditions and avoid large concentrations of pollutants. 

To clarify how de-icing chemicals interact with the soil and melt water, the Jena team of researchers analyzed soil core samples from the runway of the airport of Oslo, where each winter nearly 1,000 - 1,500 tons of such substances are used. The airport is located very close to Norway's largest superficial aquifer. Loading the soil samples with water and collecting the seepage water, researchers run analyses for detecting specific chemicals, specifying the oxygen content and other additional parameters. 

In their publication, researchers also propose protection measures against soil contamination, such as controlled use of bacteria or other chemical substances in the soil for decompositon of the harmful chemicals.

Publication of the scientific resutls is entitled "Constraints of propylene glycol degradation at low temperatures and saturated flow conditions" and more information can be found here!

Source: ScienceDaily