Deputy Mayor of the Moscow government Petr Biryukov has promised that the city authorities will pay compensation for winter boots if they are spoiled by anti-ice reagents used on the streets of the Russian capital. “If it is the reagents to blame for spoiled boots we will return you money”, Biryukov said at a press-conference on Thursday.
      
      According to his words, new-generation reagents have been used in Moscow for several years already and they are less harmful than the reagents that were used in the past (salt, for instance). “Old reagents are still being used in some Russian cities, but the Moscow government has quitted using them”, as the deputy Mayor indicated.
      
      All reagents sent to Moscow usually go through a careful laboratory test before being used on Moscow streets.
      
      In recent years the authorities got a great number of complaints from citizens saying that the reagents used on the streets had an adverse effect on their boots and their pets` health.
      
      Although the new substances for ice prevention on the city streets are said to be less aggressive than the old-generation ones, the ecologists claim that the majority of reagents are still not totally safe for human health and the environment.
      
      
      Source: www.newsru.com