The assessment of potential risks of chloride salts and theireffect on seed germination and plant development

The article discusses the negative effect of de-icing materials (DM) and salts in their composition on plant seed-lings germination and development. The influence of sodium and potassium cations and chlorine anion on phytotoxicity index is considered. The dynamics of test-plants (Avena sativa L., Raphanus sativa L., Hordeum vulgare L.) response on a number of test-indicators depending on the concentration of basic salts in DM by a promising method of phytotesting was analyzed. The analyzed DMs in concentrations higher than 1% have an inhibitory effect. The DM at 14-16 g/L sup-presses root length of test plants (more than 50%) relative to the control. The low content of heavy metals, such as Cd, Cu, Pb, in the analyzed DM samples indicates the toxicity of sodium chloride as an active de-icing agent. The results of statistical analysis convincingly prove the high phytotoxicity of sodium chloride (NaCl) in relation to such indicators of the juvenile test-plant development as germination, the primary root length and the coleoptile height. Increasing the NaCl concentration in the solution from 0.75 to 1% was strongly toxic to the test-plants (more than 50%). Potassium chloride (KCl) in the concentration range of 0.1-1.0% showed no phytotoxicity. The KCl presence in the NaCl-included de-icing reagent reduces its phytotoxicity and allows the toxicity level of the agent to be assessed as "moderately toxic".