GO seeks de-icing alternatives

steve russel/torstar news service

Consultant Bill Dainty dumps off excess water that was collected as part of a study to measure the chloride running into Sheridan Creek near the Clarkson GO station parking lots. GO is experimenting with a salt alternative in the hope of finding a less environmentally-damaging de-icer.

Published: December 19, 2008 5:39 a.m.

Last modified: December 18, 2008 10:42 p.m.

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Luke Togo’s photo collection is an environmentalist’s manual on what-not-to-do when responding to an icy winter blast. He has photographs of rock salt spilled around storage bins and spread like frosting on a cake over GO platforms and parking lots.

Fortunately, these are sights GO hopes to soon eliminate by reducing its reliance on salt to melt surface ice, says Togo, GO’s station services manager.

The transit company has been seeking an alternative since about 1999, when Environment Canada deemed rock salt to be toxic to plants, fish, animals and waterways.

This year, GO is working with Credit Valley Conservation Authority and University of Waterloo to assess a new de-icing product billed as organic and less harmful to the environment.