If 1 teaspoon of salt pollutes 5 gallons of water to toxic levels, does this mean that even iodized salt used for cooking results in environmental damage?

Question

I try to be as environmentally friendly as possible in daily life. Today I learned about the effects of salt on freshwater and how wastewater treatment plants are not capable of removing salt and chloride from water which results in it being dumped into rivers, lakes, etc and affecting aquatic life. Is this specific types of salt or is this any type of salt including iodized salt used for cooking?

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Answer 1

Salt is a natural part of the environment (as are humans, animals and plants). 1 tsp (5gm) in 14 gallons (~50kg) is 100ppm in total and about 60pm of Cl by mass. Pretty unnoticeable for most things (I think “toxic” might need a bit of clarification in your research). Most plants (probably the most sensitive to excess Chlorine) will tolerate this fairly well – plants also grow and survive in the environment.

Don’t forget that animals need salt (NaCl) to survive – it isn’t an “optional extra” in animal (and human) nutrition. The amounts used for most food preparation isn’t a significant factor. So being obsessed about it is not likely to be useful – you’re hardly going to recommend killing all animals so that plants get less chlorine. Plus you’re not going to avoid the body from removing salt during normal biological waste processes.