Recovery of de-icing fluids in now mandated (in many jurisdictions) by law. There is a recovery "apron" upon which the plane sits when it is being treated. That's the idea anyway, but I bet lots still is lost to the environment. No appreciable bio-degredation occurs at cold temperatures. The waste stuff is stored or else taken to incinerators. Alistair
on 2/4/03 8:42 am, Bob Stevens wrote: > > I get your point but, deicing fluid is used on aircraft, in winter when it > is quite cold, while they sit on the ramp, most often at the departure gate > just before getting in line taxiing to takeoff point on the runway. The > deicing fluid is left on the ground/ramp and people drive fuel trucks, > baggage tugs/carts and walk in it. It is NOT recovered. No attempt is made > to do that. When the ramp area drains due to snow melt and rain (the ramp is > not "washed", ever-only sometimes "swept"), it drains into the sewer system, > and in the case here in Salt Lake, drains into the gray water system then > into the Great Salt Lake. When snow falls on the ramp area where the > residue/remnant deicing fluid sits, the snow is plowed, put into trucks and > hauled to a central dumping point at the airport, on soil.....which then > contaminates the ground water system after being filtered by mother nature. > I walked in it for almost 20 years. > > Bob |
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