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Abstract During winter, snow and ice on roads in regions with cold weather can increase traffic crashes and casualties, resulting in travel delays and financial burdens to society. Anti‐icing or deicing the roads can serve a cost‐effective method to significantly reduce such risks. Although traditionally the main priorities of winter road maintenance (WRM) have been level of service, cost‐effectiveness, and corrosion reduction, it is increasingly clear that understanding the environmental impacts of deicers is vital. One of the most important problems in this regard is environmental contamination caused by cumulative use of deicers, which has many detrimental effects on the aquatic systems. Among the deicers, the chloride‐based ones raise the most toxicological concerns because they are highly soluble, can migrate quickly in the environment and have cumulative effects over time. In this review, we summarize and organize existing data, including the latest findings about the adverse effects of deicers on surface water and groundwater, aquatic species, and human health, and identify future research priorities. In addition, the data provided can be used to develop a framework for quantifying some of the variables that stakeholders and agencies use when preparing guidelines and standards for WRM programs.
Practitioner points Pollution from the increasing use of roadway deicers may have detrimental effects on the environment.
Of particular concern are the acute and cumulative risks that chloride salts pose to aquatic species.
Chloride salts are water‐soluble, very difficult to remove, highly mobile, and non‐degradable.
Deicers cause water stratification, change the chemicophysical properties of water, and affect aquatic species and human health.
Current guidelines may not be appropriate for environmental protection and need to be revised.
