De-icing the Road - a Necessary Evil?

The Canada Safety Council does not like Environment Canada's plan to declare road salts toxic.

The Council has expressed its concerns to the Environment Minister that such federal legislation expands the liability of provincial and municipal governments. At the same time it encumbers them with a process that may deprive them of their only cost-effective means to protect themselves and the drivers on their roads. Governments are bound by a recent provincial court decision to adequately salt roadways. An Ontario court awarded $4.5 million for damages for failure to maintain a roadway using salt. (Roberts et al. v. Moana et al., Ontario Court - General Division Ruling, July 24, 1997)

If road salts are toxic there will be pressure to replace them with alternative de-icing substances. Salt costs $50-$65/tonne, the alternatives $600-$2,000/tonne. Gravel and sand, with their residues that clog drainage systems, cannot be seriously considered as a substitute. Given the current fiscal restraints at the municipal level, road salts are the only realistic way to assure safety on our roads in winter.

Public works departments are well aware of the adverse environmental effects of de-icing. The Transportation Association of Canada, whose members include road maintenance agencies, has a 275-page Salt Management Guide, Primer and Codes of Practice to address issues relating to road salting.

For safety advocates, this is not an easy call. Canadians want to protect the environment and keep the roads safe and passable. Safety and environment do not need to be trade-offs. We can (and should) insist on both. However, demonizing road salts is not the best way to solve the problem.

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