October 5, 1998 -  Brian Mansfield, EETO

• In late September, Harry Whittaker of SAIC Canada (Alternative Service Delivery contractor at the ETC), accompanied by two other technical specialists, organized and presented a 5-day workshop and industry tour in Taiwan, ROC. The other two specialists were Mr. Ron Zaloum, a textile industry expert from EC Qu�bec Region and Mr. Rob Abernethy of Calgon Advanced Oxidation Technologies, Inc. The trip was originally arranged last February with the former Emergencies Engineering Division of ETC, as a two-day Advanced Oxidation Technologies workshop under the Canada-Taiwan MOU on Environmental Co-operation. The trip was completely funded by the Taiwan Environmental Protection Administration (TEPA). At the request of the TEPA and Taiwan industries in early September, however, the workshop was expanded to cover several modern waste treatment technologies as well as a presentation of regulatory issues, with the entire workshop focus primarily on the textile industries in Taiwan. Approximately 130 people from TEPA, universities and industries participated in the workshops, and many also participated in three plant tours where specific technical problems and potential technology solutions were recommended. Technologies covered included advanced oxidation, membranes and biological methods, and the use of improved separation technologies early in the plant processes.
  [Brian Mansfield @ 991-1843]

• A new-generation prototype oil-spill remote sensing unit (the ‘SLEAF’ – Scanning Laser Environmental Airborne Fluorosensor) is being installed in the DC-3 aircraft. This Canadian instrument, which is unique worldwide, offers a scanning capacity, in addition to the capability to detect and even identify petroleum hydrocarbons remotely without false-positives.
  [Dr. Merv Fingas @ 998-9622]

• Two Emergencies Science Division employees gave a presentation on the topic of environmental sampling at hazardous material (HazMat) incidents to the members of the City of Ottawa Fire department.
  [Dr. Merv Fingas @ 998-9622]

• The Japanese-language journal, "Recent Advances in Capillary Electrophoresis & Related Techniques" published an invited review article entitled "Capillary Electrophoresis: a Powerful Tool for Atmospheric Aerosol Analysis and Research". Dr. Ewa Dabek of the ETC was the author.
  [Richard Turle @ 990-8559]

• The ETC signed a license agreement with the international company Shimadzu. The agreement deals with the further development and commercialization of the Microwave-Assisted Process (MAP^TM) for processing laboratory samples without the use of liquid solvents.
  [Dr. Jocelyn Par� @ 990-9122]/li>

• The Canadian Fuel Exchange Review Panel met September 28th, 1998 in Edmonton for the first time with a representative present from Environment Canada. The Fuel Exchange program is a cooperative venture between the oil industry and the Alberta Research Council. The Exchange regularly sends out sample sets of gasoline, diesel, fuel oil, and lubricants across Canada and the USA to laboratories involved in analysis of such samples. The purpose is to ensure that there are adequate testing procedures in place to support industry standards and government regulations. By having Environment Canada represented on the Panel, the Department has direct access to information on testing standards, as well as influence on the program to reflect future environmental regulatory testing needs. The Environment Canada representative is Richard Turle, Chief, Analysis & Air Quality Division, at the ETC.
  [Richard Turle @ 990-8559]

• Dr. Jocelyn Par�, Chief of the Microwave-Assisted Processes (MAP) Division at the ETC, made a presentation entitled "MAP^TM: Environment Canada's Contribution to Green Process Technology" at a forum on ‘Green Chemistry’ held at HQ on September 28. The Microwave-Assisted Process (MAP^TM) is a suite of technologies that use microwaves to reduce emissions of toxic chemicals and greenhouse gases. The presentation focused on the environmental benefits achieved through these "clean" process technologies for preventing pollution and saving energy, as well as generating economic and operational benefits through increased speed and efficiency. The meeting was hosted by the Department and included representatives from industry, the National Research Council, the National Science & Engineering Research Council, and academia.
  [Dr. Jocelyn Par� @ 990-9122]/li>

• The ETC organized a meeting with CCEB and HC regarding Good Laboratory Practice. The purpose of holding regular meetings with the New Substances Notification Regulations (NSNR) evaluators is to discuss procedures that need to be put in place to ensure a properly utilized GLP Compliance Monitoring Unit that can assist the evaluators in verifying the quality of test data provided for the NSNR. The most recent meeting focused on the draft GLP Options Paper that will be tabled at the next meeting of the HC/EC Board of Directors for Joint Management of Environmental Programs in early November. Participants agreed that common positions need to be established in EC on the application of GLP in the implementation of the NSNR and on achieving the long-term goal of GLP compliance.
  [Mike Bumbaco @ 991-2387]

• Drs. Jocelyn Par� and Jacqueline B�langer of the Microwave-Assisted Processes (MAP) Division at the ETC attended the 112th International Annual Meeting & Exposition of the Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC) held in Montreal. They presented three invited lectures (the last one with Prof. V. A. Yaylayan of McGill University) on enhancement of chemical extraction processes by using microwaves. Dr. Par� also co-presided over the Symposium "New Trends in Sample Preparation Techniques". Finally, a poster presentation was also made by the MAP Division, displaying results of research collaboration with the Universidad Central de Venezuela (UCV). Prof. Maria Alfaro, UCV, was also in attendance to answer questions on the collaborative research.
  [Dr. Jocelyn Par� @990-9122]

October 13, 1998 - Brian Mansfield, EETO

Wind-Up Seminar Successfully Completes 3-1/2 yr. Ukraine Technology Transfer Project

• A one-day technical seminar was held on October 9th at Ukraine Ministry of Defence (MOD) facilities in Kiev. This seminar, co-ordinated by staff of SAIC Canada (ASD Contractor at the ETC) has summarized and successfully wound up a $6.2 million, 3-1/2 year technology transfer project in the Ukraine. The Environmental Assessment and Remediation Project (EARP) was first initiated by the former Emergencies Engineering Division of the ETC in 1994 following a request (and March 1995 Ministerial approval) from the Department of Foreign Affairs & International Trade. The EARP, subsequently transferred to and funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), was designed to transfer Canadian expertise, technologies and equipment. The objective was to assist Ukraine in acceding to the international agreement on Nuclear Non-Proliferation, and to help start the clean-up of chemical contamination of military sites such as former Soviet ICBM missile sites and support bases. This summer’s work by SAIC Canada staff, their Canadian consultant partners, and the Canadian-trained Ukrainian specialists has concentrated on application and demonstration of bio-remediation and various physical/chemical treatment techniques for contaminated soils, and for remediation of both ground- and surface waters. Among the seminar participants were 19 of the original 23 Ukrainian specialists, as well as the new Canadian Ambassador to Ukraine, Mr. Derek Fraser, and officials from the participating Ukrainian agencies, academics and several international-consulting companies. Most of the technical presentations were made by the Specialists, supported by Dr. Konstantin Volchek, and Dario Velicogna and Harry Whittaker of SAIC Canada, and two technical specialists from each of the Canadian partners, FENCO MacLaren Inc. and Gartner-Lee International Inc. The Ukraine Ministry of Defence has indicated it may publish the Seminar Proceedings (in Russian) if funding becomes available.
  [Brian Mansfield @ 991-1843]

October 13, 1998- Dr. Ewa Dabek, AAQD

• Dr. Ewa Dabek of the Analysis & Air Quality Division (AAQD) at the ETC attended the IICS’98 held in Osaka, Japan. She presented two papers on the potential of capillary electrophoresis (CE) and capillary electrochromatography (CEC) for the determination of anionic surfactants and carbonyl compounds, respectively. Both techniques, CE and CEC, offer all the advantages of a miniaturized separation technique, including low solvent consumption, small sample volume and low operational cost.
  [Dr. Ewa Dabek @ 990-3201]

October 13, 1998 - Dr. Carl Brown, ESD

• Drs. Merv Fingas and Carl Brown of the Emergencies Science Division (ESD) attended the Fifth International Conference on Remote Sensing for Marine and Coastal Environments in San Diego, California. Two plenary and two poster presentations on oil spill remote sensing developments at the ETC were made. In addition, both Merv and Carl were Sessions Chairs at the conference.
  [Dr. Carl Brown @ 991-1118]

October 19, 1998 -  - Dr. Jocelyn Par�, MAPD:

• Prof. J. R. J. Par�, Chief of the MAP Division at ETC, taught a one-week course on Microwave-Assisted Processing (MAP^tm) at the Universidad Central de Venezuela (UCV) in Caracas, Venezuela's oldest university at 275 years-of-age. The course, all taught in Spanish, was worth a full academic credit toward a doctoral degree and was attended by academia and industry from various sectors (pharmacy, brewery, petroleum, cosmetics, medicine). The course covered theoretical foundations of microwaves along with environmentally friendly applications to liquid-phase extraction, volatiles generation, synthesis, and process engineering. The course included an operational section using EC's licensed equipment provided by Prolabo (France). The University awarded a Diploma of Invited Professor to Dr. Par�, as he achieved the highest ratings ever for the teaching performance of an Invited Professor - ratings obtained from the participants. He also delivered a public lecture at the same university.
  [Dr. Jocelyn Par� @ 990-9122]

October 19, 1998 - Lisa Graham, ERMD:

• Environment Canada (EPS/AES), Health Canada, Natural Resources Canada and the National Research Council are working together on a joint project where the ultimate aim is to understand the sources and chemistry of carbonaceous particulate atmospheric pollution. This is a three-year project funded by PERD that will involve investigation of transportation source emissions and atmospheric aerosols collected in the greater Toronto area and the lower Fraser Valley. One aspect of this project is to try to identify marker compounds that allow for the identification of specific sources of particulate emissions in the atmospheric aerosol samples. Since lead was removed from gasoline in the 1980's, there has not been an adequate tracer or marker compound for gasoline vehicle emissions. With the improved detection limits of new analytical methods methods, the emission of precious metals (e.g. platinum) in catalytic converters of gasoline vehicles may be used as a tracer or marker for these emissions. To this end, Dr. Rudi Schierl from the University of Munich, Germany, has secured support from the German government to visit the ETC and AES-Downsview to begin discussions on bi-lateral collaboration on the sampling and analysis of particulate matter for platinum. Dr. Schierl was involved in a 5-year study in Germany on traffic related emissions, similar in scope to the PERD project currently underway in Canada. Dr. Schierl will be at AES-Downsview on Oct. 22 and 23 and will be visiting the ETC-ERMD on Oct. 26. As part of this PERD Particulates project, a two-day mid-term review meeting involving all participants will be held in Ottawa, Oct. 27-28 to share the results and assess progress to-date. Dr. Schierl will be attending the meetings on Oct. 27.
  [Lisa Graham @ 990-1270]

October 19, 1998- Dr. Merv Fingas, ESD:

• Gary Sergy and Dr. Merv Fingas attended a meeting of Orimulsion researchers in Virginia Beach. Orimulsion is a trade-name product of Venezuela used for power plant fuelling, including at sites in Atlantic Canada. R&D work on the product is a high priority for the Atlantic Region. The Venezuelan company marketing the product indicated interest in funding up to six R&D projects of the Emergencies Science Division. In the past year, the company funded three research projects.
  [Dr. Merv Fingas @ 998-9622]

October 19, 1998- Paul Brunet, AAQD:

• During the week of October 19, 1998, the National Air Pollution Surveillance (NAPS) Network Annual Data Report for 1996 was added to the Environmental Technology Centre web site in the Adobe PDF format for free distribution. The 1995 edition, which is now available in hard copy, was also added to the web site. The print run for the 1995 report was reduced from 700 copies for last year, to 350 copies. An advertising flyer announcing the release and availability of the NAPS Annual Data Reports on the web site will be sent to the current NAPS clients who were previously receiving free hard-copy reports. They will be informed that hard-copy versions are available at $20 each, plus shipping and applicable taxes, and are free for government organizations. It is anticipated that these cost saving measures will save almost $5,000 per year.
  [Paul Brunet @ 991-9460]

October 26, 1998 – Dr David Thornton, ETC:

• The Development Committee of the Canada-Wide Standard (CWS) for Petroleum Hydrocarbons (PHC) in Soil met in Qu�bec City. Representatives from most of the provinces and territories were present or participated by teleconference. Dr. David Thornton, Director, ETC, and Richard Turle, Chief, Analysis & Air Quality Division, ETC, participated from EPS. Dr. Thornton is the committee Co-Chair with Dr. Ted Nason, Alberta Environment, and Richard Turle is the Chair of the Analytical Methods Technical Advisory Group (AmTAG) that is developing a national Reference Method for PHC in soil. The agenda included: a review of the activities of the three TAGS supporting the Committee; a report on related activities in Atlantic Canada; an overview of plans for contract work on the development of Human Health Guidelines for PHC in soils; a discussion on strategies for further input of socio-economic considerations into the development of the Standard; an update on the application of the CCME Risk-Based Framework to the development of the Standard; the initial planning for the multi-stakeholder workshop scheduled for the Spring of 1999; and work planning for fiscal year 1999-2000.
  [Dr. David Thornton @ 991-9550]

October 26, 1998  – Brian Mansfield, EETO:

• Harry Whittaker and David Cooper of SAIC Canada each attended technical meetings recently, at the request of the Environmental Technology Centre/Emergencies Engineering Technologies Office (EETO).

  Mr. Cooper participated in technical standards development meetings for the Hazardous Substances & Oil Spill Response Committee (F20) of the American Society for Testing & Materials (ASTM) at ASTM’s F-20 Committee meetings in Virginia. Separate sessions covered included the Executive group (F20.90) and sub-groups addressing long-range planning (F20.94), skimmers (F20.12), booms (F20.11), and mitigation (sorbents, etc.) (F20.22). Mr. Cooper also chaired the session for Initial Response (F20.21). While in Virginia, David also participated in a meeting of the International Orimulsion Working Group, as Manager of the Mechanical Containment and Recovery SubGroup.

  Mr. Whittaker attended meetings of the NATO Committee on Challenges for a Modern Society (CCMS) Pilot Study Groups dealing with "Evaluation of Demonstrated and Emerging Technologies for the Clean-up of Contaminated Land and Groundwater" in Warsaw, Poland, and with "Environmental Aspects of Reusing Former Military Lands" in Tallin, Estonia. This was the last scheduled meeting of the latter group, although Germany is trying to set up a follow-up phase beyond the Pilot Study, which inter alia, saw the development of a draft guidance Handbook for guidance of NATO and other countries dealing with this issue. Contributions to the draft Handbook were largely made by the American, Canadian and German representatives.

  While in Warsaw, Mr. Whittaker also presented a paper at the "Fourth International Symposium on Environmental Contamination in Central and Eastern Europe" on the contaminated military site assessment and remediation technology transfer project conducted in Canada and Latvia between 1994 and early 1998. This project was managed by SAIC’s predecessor, the Emergencies Engineering Division of the ETC.
  [Brian Mansfield @ 991-1843]

October 26, 1998 - Dominic Cianciarelli, ERMD:

Gaseous Mercury Emissions from Landfill Sites

• In cooperation with the Ontario Region and the Centre for Atmospheric Research Experiments (CARE), the Emissions Research & Measurement Division (ERMD) of the ETC is participating in a program to measure the levels of mercury released to air from landfills. At present, there is a large uncertainty about such release levels. Using stainless steel canisters, ERMD collected samples of landfill gas from five sites in Eastern Ontario. The landfill gas samples were forwarded to CARE in Egbert, Ontario, for mercury analysis using an ambient air gaseous mercury monitor. While the results between sites were variable, the preliminary analyses confirmed the presence of mercury in landfill gas. As a result, additional work is planned to validate the sampling and analysis, and to collect more samples from landfills.
  [Dominic Cianciarelli @ 991-9457]

October 26, 1998 - Dr. Jacqueline B�langer, MAP:

• Dr. Jacqueline B�langer of the Microwave-Assisted Processes Division at ETC attended a workshop on "Green Chemistry" in Houston, Texas, on October 19 & 20. The MAP Division was the only Canadian entity invited to participate in the discussion. The Division is recognised as a leader worldwide in the development of technologies that are energy efficient and "greener" for the environment. The meeting, which was entitled "Roadmapping Workshop on Electrotechnology and Alternative Reaction Mechanisms", was organised by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) in collaboration with the American Chemical Society (ACS) and the Green Chemistry Institute (GCI). It brought together industry, academia, and government representatives in an attempt to identify applications and processing activities that could benefit from the utilization of environmentally responsible electrotechnologies.
  [Dr. Jacqueline B�langer @ 990-9239]

October 26, 1998- Richard Turle, AAQD:

Research Paper Presentation at the 25^th Annual Meeting of the Federation of Analytical Chemistry and Spectroscopy Societies in Austin, Texas

• As an invited speaker, Mr. Chung Chiu of the Analysis and Air Quality Division (AAQD) presented a paper entitled Determination of Nitro-PAH in Ambient Air at the 25^th Annual Meeting of the Federation of Analytical Chemistry and Spectroscopy Societies (FACSS’98) in Austin, Texas on October15. It is a challenge to develop a reliable method for measuring nitro-PAH in ambient air due to the very low concentration (100-fold less than PAH), the instability of some compounds and the limited availability of standards. A method has been developed to measure 24 nitro-PAH compounds by using the ETC High-Resolution Mass Spectrometer and isotopically labelled standards synthesized in-house. Significant amounts (pg/m³) of mono-nitrated anthracene, fluoranthene, pyrene, BaA, chrysene and BeP/BaP isomers were found in air at three urban sites (Hamilton, Windsor and Toronto), and also at two rural sites (Simcoe and Pt. Petre) in lower concentrations. These compounds can also be found in the exhaust from diesel engines.
  [Richard Turle @ 990-8559]

October, 1998