The two dominant de-icing salt standards in cross-border procurement are EN 16811 (European Norm, 2016 revision) and ASTM D632 (American Society for Testing and Materials, current revision). UK procurement still references BS 3247, and CIS markets reference GOST 13830. If you ship across regions, you ship to all four.

Why the standard matters

A "road salt" tender is not just a NaCl-purity tender. The standard defines:

1. Grain size distribution — what percentage passes each sieve. Motorway spreaders are calibrated for specific cuts.

2. Minimum sodium chloride — the chloride floor below which de-icing performance falls off in the working-temperature range of the spec.

3. Anti-caking — whether sodium ferrocyanide (E535, also called YPS / yellow prussiate of soda) is permitted, in what dose, and whether disclosed.

4. Moisture cap — relevant for bulk transport and stockpile longevity.

EN 16811 — the European norm

EN 16811-1 defines five grades by grain distribution:

| Grade | Cut (mm) | Typical use |

| --- | --- | --- |

| 0/2 | 0–2 | Footpaths, walkways, fine spreaders |

| 0/4 | 0–4 | Urban roads, low-temperature events |

| 0/6.3 | 0–6.3 | Motorway default in much of Europe |

| 2/8 | 2–8 | Pre-treatment stockpiles, high-speed roads |

| Lump (Grade C) | 8–40 | Pre-treatment for severe events |

Minimum NaCl is 94% for Grade A (no additives), 96% for Grade B (with anti-caking permitted). Anti-caking is optional — Type 1 is with E535, Type 2 is without. Tenders explicitly state which.

ASTM D632 — the US/Canada norm

ASTM D632 defines three grades:

  • Grade 1 (Coarse) — 9.5 to 2.0 mm. Highway default.
  • Grade 2 (Fine) — 4.75 to 2.0 mm.
  • Plus CGSB 1.6 Grade 3 as a Canadian variant.

NaCl minimum is 96.5% for both grades. ASTM D632 requires anti-caking treatment (sodium ferrocyanide), typically at ≤80 ppm, and the additive must be declared on the Mill Test Certificate. Critically, ASTM D632 is also referenced by AASHTO M-143, which is the US Federal Highway Administration default for highway maintenance contracts.

BS 3247 (UK) — Highways England spec

BS 3247:2011 defines three grades — A (Marine), B (Mined), C (Lump) — with a NaCl floor of 97% for A and B, 94% for C lump. Highways England (NHA) tenders typically require Grade A or B with declared E535 ≤80 ppm and a moisture cap of 1.5%.

GOST 13830 (CIS) — the Russian/Eurasian norm

GOST 13830-91 defines four grades — Extra, I, II, III — by NaCl content (Extra ≥99.7%, I ≥98%, II ≥97.5%, III ≥97%) and grain distribution. GOST does not distinguish road-salt from food-salt at the standard level; the same purity grades apply to both end uses. Anti-caking with E535 is permitted and commonly used for road salt.

How procurement officers choose

The choice is dictated by the destination market's pavement maintenance contracts. If you are exporting to:

  • EU country → spec to EN 16811-1, pick Grade A or B based on whether the tender permits anti-caking.
  • US / Canada → spec to ASTM D632 Grade 1 (default) with declared anti-caking ≤80 ppm.
  • UK → spec to BS 3247 Grade A (Marine sea salt) or B (Mined rock salt).
  • Nordic (Norway, Sweden, Finland) → SS-EN 16811-1 with pre-wetting compatibility usually required.
  • CIS (Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus) → GOST 13830 Grade I or II.

The cheap mistake: mixing grain sizes

The single most common procurement error is mixing grain sizes within a vessel hold or stockpile. EN 16811 Grade 0/6.3 motorway salt mixed with 0/2 footpath salt becomes non-compliant — neither grade is recoverable. Producers should segregate at the loading conveyor, and inspection certificates should call out grain-size sieve results per lot.

How Soker Salt ships

We hold 16 de-icing SKUs spanning all four standards × both source types (sea + rock). Pre-wetted PW variants for Nordic markets. Each shipment lands with:

  • Mill Test Certificate citing the spec the lot was produced to
  • Sieve analysis confirming grain distribution
  • NaCl assay (ISO 17025 lab)
  • Anti-caking declaration (with or without, in ppm if with)
  • Moisture content
  • Heavy metals on request (rare for road salt, common for spec validation)

If you are unsure which standard your destination authority uses, send us the tender document — we will spec-match.