The Environmental Impact of Salt
06 July 2020
Authored by Mark Lucas, LWG Auditor
There is a myth that the Romans rendered the lands around Carthage infertile after their victory in the third Punic War by spreading salt on the land. Whilst there might have been symbolic scattering, the cost of salt in 146 b.c. would have been prohibitive. Nevertheless, the tale, although apocryphal, is indicative of how the curse of salt on the environment has been recognised for centuries.
Leather manufacture can result in substantial discharge of salt, some of which is associated with the salt used when pickling in preparation for tanning. However, the major impact is associated with preservation, which then leads to an emission...