De-Icing System Examined In Bridge Collapse

[Purveyor]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Investigators trying to find out what caused a Minneapolis bridge collapse that killed 13 people are examining whether de-icing chemicals had corrosive properties, officials said on Tuesday.

--
Investigators are reviewing the history of projects on the bridge after its construction in 1967 and are interested in finding out whether the de-icing system installed 10 years ago to reduce accidents in winter would have caused any corrosion.

The computerized system sprayed potassium acetate to reduce hard-to-see ice caused by extreme cold and moisture from a nearby waterfall.

According to the Minnesota Transportation Department, the de-icing chemical is less toxic and less corrosive than sodium chloride, which had been used previously.

---eoe---

http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSN2218530620070822

[Billy Burnett]

1. I knew it! CLINTON DID IT!

At least his dick did.

}(

[pitohui]

i guess they've moved on from blaming pigeon crap EOM

.

[JackBeck]

2. How about we fix our infrastructure instead of putting band-aids on it.

Anyone else remember the report released before the 2004 election that gave the country's infrastructure a big, fat "F"?

[havocmom]

3. Seriously! Think what a shot in the arm the US economy would get

if they spent $$ FIXING things - got lots of people earning decent wages FIXING things - paying taxes on those decent wages - spending those wages, circulating money so other businesses would do better and need to hire people and pay DECENT WAGES....

::sigh:: Why oh why can't we remember that we all do better WHEN WE ALL DO BETTER. And we would all do better if we fixed what needed fixing instead of throwing money down corporate rat hole Iraq is the excuse for....


Sorry, I just get so frustrated. This is such a great country and it is falling apart before our eyes. Doing the maintenance on it would solve so many problems. All the really good stuff we have is from back in the days when FDR had to face putting the nation back to work. It did so much for America and built so much... but they just let it all crumble

My ol granny used to say "You pay for what you need, whether you buy it or not". We are paying for crumbling infrastructure with lives lost and jobs not created.

Breaks my heart. Used to be a fine, fine country.

[JackBeck]

4. Excellent post, my friend.

And if they stopped wasting money on pork projects like "The Bridge to Nowhere".

And we rescinded the tax-cuts for the rich...I could go on...

My recent meme among friends and "conservative" family has been "Remember when we were building a bridge to the 21st century? Imagine all of the jobs we could have created by this point."

Let's hope that the Democratic President elected in 2008 has some sort of vision to bring this plan to fruition.

[uppityperson]

5. de-icing chemicals and pigeon poop. Yup, that's what did it all right.

[Sal Minella]

6. Sure takes the pressure off the idiots who decided to run six lanes of traffic on a two-lane bridge.

[havocmom]

7. Yeah, stuff is supposed to last forever and never need replacing...

And real estate is ALWAYS gonna go up in value, stock investments will see you through a comfy old age... Everything is just to be used and never actually taken care of. Oh, and kids just raise themselves, no need to actually spend time teaching and guiding them....

What is the matter with people not seeing that it takes effort and resources to keep things working?

:banghead:

[uppityperson]

9. "At least it wasn't terrorism!" bwahahahaha

That line always cracks me up, seriously. Yes, things falling apart because they haven't been maintained? Yes, that is just ok and a normal thing.

Bunch of fools. If I were Queen of the Universe, things would be different.

[TahitiNut]

10. NOBODY could have EVER foreseen de-icing chemicals and pigeon poop! Nobody!

Heckuva job, Brownie. :eyes:

[havocmom]

11. Yeah, it's not like they expected the bridge to be OUTSIDE or anything

;)

[mn9driver]

8. Potassium acetate is not corrosive.

Regular road salt would be much more damaging to the bridge and deck than this stuff. We have used it for years to anti-ice the runway at my Dad's little strip and I've never seen any sign of damage to the spray equipment, truck, aircraft or runway surface as a result.

I have no idea why the NTSB would throw out such an obvious red herring.

[uppityperson]

12. Is the pigeon poop another red herring?