Thousands of litres of poisonous anti-freeze spilled

[zzontar]

Just thinking, this would be big news if it spilled into the Okanagan. If you think about where the antifreeze goes after it hits your windshield, how many drivers there are here, and how much anti-freeze they go through on a sloppy day, I think it would be significant, and imagine the amount in huge cities, all ending up going untreated and into the sewers. Why is this not cause for concern?

[Even Steven]

If you think about where the antifreeze goes after it hits your windshield

I think they put anti-freeze in radiators, not windshields.

[zzontar]

I think they put anti-freeze in radiators, not windshields.

Actually, everyone who drives a car in below-freezing temperatures would use windshield anti-freeze because if they used water it would freeze, hence anti-freeze. Washer fluid just sounds environmentally friendlier, but a rose is a rose...

[lesliepaul]

Thanks for reminding me...........I have to fill all three of our vehicles tonight.

[w84u2]

*removed*

[Hassel99]

Actually, everyone who drives a car in below-freezing temperatures would use windshield anti-freeze because if they used water it would freeze, hence anti-freeze. Washer fluid just sounds environmentally friendlier, but a rose is a rose...

It's not the same stuff...

[zzontar]

*removed*

Yes I did.

http://poisoncontrol.uchc.edu/about_poi ... glish.html

Antifreeze usually contains ethylene glycol. Windshield wiper fluid usually contains methanol. Both are toxic. As little as one tablespoon of ethylene glycol can cause kidney failure or death. Even smaller amounts of methanol, one teaspoon, can cause blindness or death.

This is why I'm concerned. *removed*

[w84u2]

Does windshield washer affect the environment?
Windshield washer fluid contains methanol, which is a
volatile organic compound (VOC). On hot summer
days, VOCs can evaporate, combine with other
chemicals in the air and contribute to some levels of
smog. During winter, these conditions aren’t as
prevalent, so using windshield washer will not have a
significant affect on the environment.

[zzontar]

http://www.odec.ca/projects/2012/mutlav ... ction.html

Why is windshield washer fluid bad for the environment?

However, despite all of the benefits of windshield washer fluid, it is bad for the environment. First, windshield washer fluid contaminates groundwater and the rest of the water system. The water system is used by everyone on the planet: humans, animals, plants, and many other specimens. If the water is contaminated, the organisms who drink it will be poisoned to the point it will die. Second, the contaminated water will eventually reach the ocean and kill fish, turtles, coral reefs, and many other species of aquatic life. The ocean gives us 70% of the world’s oxygen. If this ecosystem is disrupted we will lose the beautiful ocean and thus the oxygen. Third, the methanol in the contaminated water can evaporate and fall as acid rain. The acid rain would then destroy forests and kill plants. Also, the rain could fall into lakes, rivers, and streams, killing fish, frogs, toads, and various other species. Fourth, the contaminated water will also flow into lakes which animals drink from. Thus they will also be poisoned and die. Despite all these negative effects of windshield washer fluid, we humans use billions of liters of washer fluid every year. As you can see, windshield washer fluid has many terrible environmental effects that should be dealt with.

I would side with any fluid with a skull and crossbones on it would be bad to add to the ecosystem, you obviously think not, but you think agent orange has it's benefits.

[zzontar]

https://www.cars.com/articles/do-i-have ... 676935107/

The bad news about wiper fluid is that it's typically made of ethanol or methanol, which are poisonous for people and animals and can be damaging to the environment. Wiper fluid also usually includes a dose of ethylene glycol, a toxic alcohol used in automotive antifreeze. Those substances can damage paint finishes as well as some plastic and rubber parts on vehicles.
Because of health and environmental concerns, some vehicle owners resort to making their own wiper fluid from non-toxic substances. We have no experience with these homemade brews and can't vouch for their effectiveness.

[JayByrd]

That's a pretty alarmist thread title, for something that hasn't necessarily happened.

zzontar, I don't necessarily disagree with you, but that "thousands of litres of antifreeze" being spilled, is not like dumping a tanker truck into Mission Creek and wondering if it will have an impact. Of course it would. But those thousands of liters are used over a period of months, and melt into thousands of storm drains at a trickle. I'm not saying that has no impact, but it's not the same as what you're describing.

[zzontar]

That's a pretty alarmist thread title, for something that hasn't necessarily happened.

zzontar, I don't necessarily disagree with you, but that "thousands of litres of antifreeze" being spilled, is not like dumping a tanker truck into Mission Creek and wondering if it will have an impact. Of course it would. But those thousands of liters are used over a period of months, and melt into thousands of storm drains at a trickle. I'm not saying that has no impact, but it's not the same as what you're describing.

Of course it's spread over a longer period, but let's say you have a city with 500,000 drivers who each go through 4 litres of fluid over the winter, that's 2 million litres entering the ecosystem in that time which I think is still quite significant.

[w84u2]

Don't drink it.

We couldn't survive in Canada without anti freeze. There is all kinds of other uses for anti freeze. RV plumbing, vacant house toilets, etc.

Ethylene glycol (IUPAC name: ethane-1,2-diol) is an organic compound with the formula (CH2OH)2. It is mainly used for two purposes, as a raw material in the manufacture of polyester fibers and for antifreeze formulations. It is an odorless, colorless, sweet-tasting syrup. Ethylene glycol is moderately toxic.

In the environment
Ethylene glycol is a high production volume chemical; it breaks down in air in about ten days, and in water or soil in a few weeks. It enters the environment through the dispersal of ethylene glycol-containing products, especially at airports, where it is used in deicing agents for runways and airplanes.[15] While prolonged low doses of ethylene glycol show no toxicity, at near lethal doses (>= 1000 mg/kg per day) ethylene glycol acts as a teratogen. "Based on a rather extensive database, it induces [skeletal variations and malformations] in rats and mice by all routes of exposure."[16] This molecule has been observed in outer space.

[zzontar]

We probably couldn't survive without oil as well, but somehow people don't like that being spilled into the environment either.

[Fancy]

I believe a lot of folks are going with the non-toxic type that is more environmentally and pet friendly (propylene glycol). For what it's worth:
https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/phs/phs.asp?id=84&tid=21