Following and using the best science helps us make good choices about fire retardant technology. The resources found on this page help inform many of the discussions on this website and can give you a more in-depth view into different subject matter.

We will continue to build on the resources in this section as new information becomes available – so if you’re interested, check back often. If you know of a study that belongs here – let us know!

Effectiveness of Fire Retardant Chemicals:

• Decreasing the Combustibility of Sawdust, Joseph L. McCarthy, University of Idaho:
  • https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-297527567/view?sectionId=nla.obj-314260699&partId=nla.obj-297577970#page/n77/mode/1up
• Operation Firestop:
  • https://www.jstor.org/stable/42600576
  • https://www.fireengineering.com/leadership/operation-firestop-tests-encourage-fire-researchers
• Laboratory Method for Evaluating Forest Fire Retardant Chemicals, Aylmer D. Blakely, University of Montana
  • https://scholarworks.umt.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=10219&context=etd

Impact on the Environment

• Urban Stream Contamination Increasing Rapidly Due to Road Salt, United States Geological Survey
  • https://www.usgs.gov/news/national-news-release/urban-stream-contamination-increasing-rapidly-due-road-salt
• Missouri Department of Natural Resources, Pollutant Sources: Chloride
  • https://dnr.mo.gov/water/hows-water/pollutants-sources/chloride
• Ambient Water Quality Criteria for Chloride, EPA
  • https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2018-08/documents/chloride-aquatic-life-criteria-1988.pdf
• Is Road Salt Killing Salmon in B.C. Streams? UBC Researchers Trying to Find Out
  • https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/ubc-road-salt-harming-salmon
• How Road Salt Harms the Environment
  • https://news.climate.columbia.edu/2018/12/11/road-salt-harms-environment/
• Salting the Earth
  • https://eastmetrowater.org/2015/12/21/salting-the-earth/
• The Growing Case Against Magnesium Chloride, Eco Solutions
  • https://eco-solutions.net/the-growing-case-against-magnesium-chloride
• Magnesium Chloride Toxicity in Trees, Colorado State University in cooperation with the US Department of Agriculture
  • https://extension.colostate.edu/docs/pubs/garden/07425.pdf
• Water Supply Strategies for the Great Salt Lake – Reduce Evaporative Mining (pp. 27-28)
  • https://documents.deq.utah.gov/water-quality/standards-technical-services/great-salt-lake-advisory-council/Activities/DWQ-2018-003349.pdf
• As the Great Salt Lake Dries Up, Utah Faces and Environmental Nuclear Bomb, New York Times
  • https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/07/climate/salt-lake-city-climate-disaster.html
• The Great Salt Lake is Low, What Does This Mean for Wildlife?, Utah Public Radio
  • https://www.upr.org/utah-news/2021-09-13/the-great-salt-lake-is-low-what-does-this-mean-for-wildlife

Impact on Metal/Planes

• Preliminary Data Summary: Airport Deicing Operations, Environmental Protection Agency
  • https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2015-06/documents/airport-deicing-pds-2000.pdf
• Engineer’s Guide to Corrosion-Causes, Protection and Control
  • https://cdn.ez-pdh.com/course-material/ME1112-Engineers-Guide-to-Corrosion-Causes-Protection-and-Control.pdf
• Federal Aviation Administration Advisory Circular
  • https://www.faa.gov/documentlibrary/media/advisory_circular/150-5200-30d.pdf
• The FAA won’t allow salt to be spread on airport runways so why do we spread so much on roads and streets?
  • https://mountaintownnews.net/2018/03/21/use-much-salt-streets-roads/
• Montana invests $100K for alternative to magnesium chloride de-icer
  • https://www.truckinginfo.com/158632/some-states-are-backing-away-from-killer-chemical-de-icers
• Corrosion and Inspection of General Aviation Aircraft, Civil Aviation Authority
  • https://publicapps.caa.co.uk/docs/33/CAP1570_Corrosion.pdf#page=6

Impact on Cement

• PCC Pavement Deterioration and Expansive Mineral Growth, 1998 Transportation Conference Proceedings
  • https://eco-solutions.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/pcc-pavement-deterioration-and-expansive-mineral-growth.pdf
• The Deleterious Chemical Effects of Concentrated Deicing Solutions on Portland Cement Concrete, South Dakota Department of Transportation Office of Research
  • https://pages.mtu.edu/~llsutter/SD_Final/pdf/FINAL_SD2002-01_Literature_Review.pdf
• Environmental Impacts of Road Salt and Other De-icing Chemicals, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
  • https://stormwater.pca.state.mn.us/index.php/Environmental_impacts_of_road_salt_and_other_de-icing_chemicals

Impact on Pets

• Magnesium Chloride Ice Melt is Dangerous to People and Pets, Safe Paw Blog
  • https://safepaw.com/magnesium-chloride-ice-melts-dangerous-people-pets/

Impact on Health

• Magnesium Chloride Safety Data Sheet
• • https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxfaqs/tfacts173.pdf
• Human Health Risk Assessment of Wildland Fire Fighting Chemicals: Long-Term Fire Retardants, Prepared by Auxilio Management Services for the U.S. Forest Service
  • https://www.fs.usda.gov/rm/fire/wfcs/documents/2021%20HHRA-Retardants-Oct2021-final.pdf#page=11
• Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, Hydrogen Chloride Fact Sheet
  • https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxfaqs/tfacts173.pdf
• Arsenic, Delaware Health and Social Services
  • https://dhss.delaware.gov/dph/files/arsenicfaq.pdf
• Colorado counties ban use of magnesium chloride as deicer, citing safety, health concerns
  • https://www.aspentimes.com/news/mag-chlorides-effects-on-health-scrutinized/

Impact on Aquatic Macroinvertebrates

• Effects of Magnesium Chloride Road Deicer on Montane Stream Benthic Communities, Kotalik, Christopher J., et al.
  • https://www.uppermissouriwaterkeeper.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Katalik-et-al.-2017-Effects-of-magnesium-choloride-road-deiver-on-montane-stream-benthic-communities.pdf
• Detrimental Effects of Magnesium Chloride on Aquatic Macroinvertebrates, EnviRoad
  • https://www.enviroad.com/detrimental-effects-of-magnesium-chloride-on-aquatic-macroinvertebrates/

Presence in the Home

• Find out how Ice/Snowmelt Effects the Plumbing in Your House, Smart. Healthy. Green. Living
  • https://shgliving.com/inspirations/green/find-out-how-ice-snowmelt-can-effect-the-plumbing-in-your-house/

Mining

• Mineral Extraction on Great Salt Lake has Local, National and Global Impact, Larsen, L.
  • https://www.standard.net/news/environment/2016/may/01/mineral-extraction-on-great-salt-lake-has-local-national-and-global-impact/

Vegetation

• Liquid Road Deicing impact, Cheng, K.C., and Guthrie, T.F.
  • https://trid.trb.org/view/679941
• The Use of Selected Deicing Materials on Michigan Roads: Environmental and Economic Impacts, Public Sector Consultants
  • https://eco-solutions.net/the-growing-case-against-magnesium-chloride/