Road salt and underground vaults isn't a great combo.

At the micro scale: Toronto Hydro had to start a campaign of replacing its handwells or spraying then with an insulating coating because children and pets were getting shocked.

https://www.torontohydro.com/sites/electricsystem/Documents/...

At the macro scale:

Mmoke from vault fire: Nearby building closed for 6 months for decontamination

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/rbc-hydro-vault-fire-t...