In article ,
Steve writes:

The Heathrow scheme is to remediate their runoff,
particularly the de-icing fluids,

Ethylene Glycol ? What eats it, and what is turned into, out of
interest. I know that yeast eats stuff and turns that into ethanol. Is
there anti-yeast !

It isn't just ethylene glycol. The two main sellers are are
Konsin and Kilfrost, both blends of glycols. Sodium acetate
formulations are coming in and all are readily (or is that
reedily?) biodegradible and of low toxicity. The degradation
appears to be a combination of microbial activity in the soil
substrate and metabolism by the reeds. As the reeds live in a
carbon-poor environment, this is mostly turned into reeds.
Obviously there is a variety of biota in the reedbeds which is
what attracts the birds (I should be so lucky!) who come to dine
on them. There is probably some carbon dioxide released, but when
you consider that a 747 is converting in excess of 11 tonnes of
JP4 (which is a petroleum distillate) to carbon dioxide and water
(hence vapour trails) every hour, any environmental
considerations about this are negligable. Per mile, jet is the
way to travel long distances with regard to the environment. I
have quite lost track of the number of times I have crossed the
Atlantic, all I know is that it is now an odd number. The first
time was in a Super Connie and we made stops at Keflavik and
Gander before landing at Idlewild (now JFK). Of course the Super
Connie was a prop-jet, but it was the best option at the time.
Nowadays, of course, the Atlantic can be done without refuelling
stops, and those seat-back screens seem to make the time fly by.
Last time, it was really only the seat belt light that alerted me
to the fact that something like 6 hours had passed.

John Schmitt


--
If you have nothing to say, or rather, something extremely stupid
and obvious, say it, but in a 'plonking' tone of voice - i.e.
roundly, but hollowly and dogmatically. - Stephen Potter