Salt of the Earth?

Approximately 5.8 million tons of road salt is used on roadways each year, the vast majority applied in Eastern Canada.

By Michael MacDonald

WOODSTOCK – The use of road salt on Canadian roadways during the winter greatly increases public safety, but the effects of salting on the environment can be detrimental.

In 2002, road salt was being considered for addition to Canada’s list of extremely toxic substances following a 5-year report conducted by Environment Canada. Two years later, they issued a voluntary set of guidelines for the application of the material in a less harmful manner.

Here in Woodstock, the mouth of the Meduxnekeag River opens into the Saint John River system. The approximately 673-kilometer river drains around 55 thousand square kilometers of land. The sheer size of the watershed means any potential contamination would be difficult to prevent.

Sodium chloride, or road salt, is widely used by both the town of Woodstock and the Department of Transportation. Woodstock does apply sand as well in its maintenance of safe roads.

Joey Williams, Public Works Superintendent, said people think sand is the answer, but it really only provides a mindset.

“People see the sand and they think, ‘oh ok, the road is slippery; I’ve got to slow down,” said Williams.

He explained that salt applied before and during a storm would prevent ice from bonding and creating safety issues.

“That’s what the main goal of the salt is, to prevent ice from forming on the road.”

Environment Canada’s website regarding road salt states “there is no demonstrated link between the use of road salts and an adverse human health effect.” It continues on to affirm that road salt can contaminate wells and groundwater to the point of non-drinkability.

In Part 1 of Volume 135 of the Canada Gazette, the results of the research regarding the environmental impact of road salt were summarized. It says “In areas of heavy use of road salts, especially southern Ontario, Quebec, and the Maritimes, chloride concentrations in groundwater and surface water are frequently at levels likely to affect biota (plant and animal life), as demonstrated by laboratory and field studies.”

“The Meduxnekeag is a rapid draining system, which means that water moves through quite fast, so most of the effects of any road salt that does get into the river, it’s going to dissolve and it’s going to be moved on down,” said George Peabody, Program Coordinator of the Meduxnekeag River Association.

According to Peabody, the river is relatively fast flowing, supposedly allowing any dissolved salt to be moved quickly downstream.

The Meduxnekeag River Association only tests water quality twice during the summer months. This prevents levels of salt from being measured accurately when salt is being most widely used. This makes it difficult to determine how much salt is being absorbed into groundwater.

Ideally, dissolved sodium chloride would drain into the Bay of Fundy, where the effects would be less than in a fresh water river system as important as the Saint John River is to so many people.

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