Reactions

Letters to the editor Safer Choice label In response to Craig Bettenhausen’s business Concentrates piece on the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Safer Choice labeling , I would like to point out other problems with this designation. I am conducting an aquatic ecological risk assessment for road deicers, one of which is calcium magnesium acetate (CMA), which the EPA believes to be a safer choice. This material may be safe for human health, but it is not environmentally safe. Published peer-reviewed literature contains toxicity data for CMA exposure by numerous species, such as zooplankton, terrestrial and aquatic plants ( J. Soils Sediments 2003, DOI: 10.1065/jss2003.07.080), macroinvertebrates ( Environ. Pollut. 2019, DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2018.12.033), and amphibians ( Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 2011, DOI: 10.1002/etc.544). CMA is definitely not safe for these organisms and can result in acute impairment, including mortality. It has no clear safety advantage compared with other deicers, such as sodium or