An Impact Assessment of de-icing Salts: Mapping de-icing Salt Movement into Surrounding Soils from Treated Pathways Across Dalhousie University’s Studley Campus
Date
2023-04Author
Russell, Sadie
Norwood, Brynn
Cooper, Erin
Wu, Shelby
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
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.