An Impact Assessment of de-icing Salts: Mapping de-icing Salt Movement into Surrounding Soils from Treated Pathways Across Dalhousie University’s Studley Campus

Abstract

The use of de-icing salts plays a key role in reducing injury and damage from inclement winter weather. However, repeated applications of salt on roads and walkways throughout the winter takes a toll on the neighboring soil. This paper seeks to examine the effect of de-icing salts on the soil adjacent to pathways on Dalhousie University’s Studley campus in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Our findings indicate that de-icing salts do leach through soiled areas and that there is a significant negative relationship between the distance from the point of application and the level of soil salinity. The most impacted soil is within the first 0.5 meters from the salting site. While no extreme salinity pollution was found on the Dalhousie Studley Campus, our team recommends caution be taken when applying de-icing salts immediately adjacent to ecologically important green spaces.