Ministry of the Interior and Safety Prepares Management Measures for Deicing Materials Such as Calcium Chloride for Winter Season

Recommendation for Wet Salt Spreading, Establishment of Mutual Support System Among Local Governments, and Frequent Inspection of Deicing Material Stock

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced on the 30th that it is preparing for the winter season by securing 101% of last year's usage amount of snow removal materials in collaboration with road management agencies such as the National Land Management Office, Korea Expressway Corporation, and local governments to prepare for heavy snowfall in winter.

To prepare for additional procurement of snow removal materials due to worsening weather conditions, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety has established snow removal material management measures including ▲ active use of ‘Pre-wetted Salt,’ which uses less calcium chloride but has good snow removal effects ▲ operation of an emergency support system among road management agencies (central and local governments) ▲ continuous monitoring of snow removal material usage and stockpiles and utilization of disaster management funds if necessary.

The specific management measure recommends the ‘Pre-wetted Salt’ method, which involves spraying a mixture of brine (30%), an aqueous solution diluted to 30% calcium chloride, and solid salt (70%), to use less calcium chloride than direct spreading methods. Since uniform spreading is possible and the snow removal effect is good, this method is mainly used by Korea Expressway Corporation and local National Land Management Offices and will be actively utilized to minimize calcium chloride usage.

A mutual support system at the metropolitan city and provincial levels has been established to enable the support of snow removal materials between basic local governments in emergency situations, and snow removal materials will be pre-stocked in central warehouses to promote regional support in emergencies. Additionally, the usage and inventory of snow removal materials will be monitored regularly, and disaster management funds will be used to promptly purchase additional snow removal materials if necessary.

Kim Seong-jung, Director of Disaster Response Policy, said, “In preparation for this winter, related agencies have stocked more snow removal materials than last year’s usage, when there was heavy snowfall recently,” and added, “Since weather conditions can change unpredictably, we will continuously monitor snow removal material inventories to ensure there are no disruptions in snow removal.”