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Activities August, 1999
[ ETC > News > Activities > 1999-Aug ]

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August 9, 1999 - Dr. Merv Fingas, ESD:

Appointment of Dr. Merv Fingas to U.S. Academy of Science 

  • Merv Fingas has been appointed to the oil and chemical spill section of the United States National Academy of Sciences for a period of three years. The appointment entails sitting on science review committees related to oil and chemical spills as well as the preparation of special reports on the fate and behaviour of oils.The appointment is significant in that foreigners are rarely appointed to such positions and this is the first time a Canadian has been appointed to this portion of Academy work.The Academy will pay for travel and direct expenses for work associated with this position.
    [Dr. Merv Fingas @ 998-9622]


August 23, 1999 - Brian Mansfield, EETO:

ETC Signs Agreement for Further Oil Sorbent Database Work

  • The Director of ETC recently signed a Joint Project Agreement (JPA) to continue ETC's performance-testing, evaluation and reporting for commercial oil spill sorbent materials, (primarily for those products sold in North America). Through the JPA, ongoing participation by the U.S. Minerals Management Service (MMS) provides continued key US support of this work [including 99/00 funding of approximately Can.$30K]. The MMS and others continue to rely on ETC's ever-expanding database of performance data for various commercial sorbent products as the one objective global database for this information. This Sorbent database project allows manufacturers the opportunity to have their product evaluated, and responders can have access to the latest sorbent information during a spill situation. Both the testing and posting of the results on the Internet are performed by SAIC Canada, ETC's Alternative Service Delivery contractor.
    [Contact: Brian Mansfield, EETO, (613) 991-1843]


August 23, 1999 - Dr. Merv Fingas, ESD:

ETC Signs Five Joint Agreements with the United States Minerals Management Service

  • The ETC also signed five other JPAs with the US-MMS covering areas of joint research on oil spills. Included are agreements covering the testing and study of oil spill treating agents, the development of new laser fluorosensor technology, the development of laser-based oil thickness measurement techniques, the completion of an in-situ oil burning manual, and the study of various aspects of oil spill behaviour. The joint agreements will involve the transfer of over $200,000 to the ETC.
    [Dr. Merv Fingas @ 998-9622]


August 23, 1999 - Dr. Merv Fingas, ESD:

ETC Provides Assistance on Recent Spills

  • The Emergencies Science Division of the ETC has provided extensive assistance on recent emergencies incidents. A tire fire in Nova Scotia demanded a large amount of historical data on tire fires and assistance with interpreting data.The Hub oil recycling fire in Calgary drew requests for a large amount of information, especially information required by the local health officials to analyse surface and soil samples and take precautionary and countermeasures for that event. A spill of Titanium Dioxide in Maine, but affecting Canadian waters, required aquatic toxicity information.
    [Dr. Merv Fingas @ 998-9622]


August 23, 1999 - Richard Turle, AAQD:

ETC Visits Australian Air Monitoring Networks

  • Richard Turle, Chief, AAQD, visited the Environmental Protection Agencies of Victoria and New South Wales, and Environment Australia in Canberra. Australia has recently passed a National Environmental Measures Ambient Air Quality agreement to set Australian air quality standards. There will also be a requirement to develop common strategies to manage common air pollutants. The Australian standards body, NATA, will also be publishing Australian Standard Methods for analytical work and field sampling. Until fully implemented, there is no organisation responsible for ensuring national consistency in sampling techniques, laboratory analyses or database management. This contrasts with Canada where the federal-provincial National Air Pollution Surveillance (NAPS) network has been functioning since 1970. Further, the NAPS network managers have set the national standard for air quality measurements by mutual agreement rather than relying on the Standards Council of Canada. Moreover, the NAPS database also contains all the provincial data as well as the data collected through the NAPS Network.
  •  Leaded gasoline is still available in Sydney and Melbourne.

  •  Particulate Matter is the major air quality issue, especially in the Australian winter due to the amount of wood burned as a home heating fuel, even in major cities.

  • Visibility or haze has become a concern in recent years. 

  •  Smog caused by vehicle emissions is of concern, though levels are far lower than most major cities in North America.
    [Richard Turle @ 990-8559]

August 23, 1999 - Richard Turle, AAQD:

ETC Employee Appointed to the College of Natural Sciences: Chemistry, Carleton University

  • Dr. Ewa Dabek-Zlotorzynska of the Analysis and Air Quality Division at the Environmental Technology Centre has been appointed to the College of Natural Sciences: Chemistry of Carleton University. Her research interests are primarily the application of ion chromatography and capillary electrophoresis to the analysis of pollutants in the environment. Her appointment will continue to foster links between ETC and Carleton University. Also, Dr. Dabek was recently elected as Chair of the Ottawa chapter of the Chemical Institute of Canada.
    [Richard Turle @ 990-8559]

August 27, 1999 - Dr. Merv Fingas, ESD:

ETC Assists with Military in Bosnia Health Investigation

  • The Emergencies Science Division at ETC was asked to assist the Canadian Military with their investigation of health problems at the Bosnian bases. On short notice, sampling equipment was supplied for taking air samples and to measure air particulate concentrations. Advice on other sampling, e.g., soil, was also given. Sample analysis will also conducted at ETC. The mission, conducted on August 30, will be an initial survey to assess if there are contaminants still at the sites where problems were reported.
    [Dr. Merv Fingas @ 998-9622]

August 27, 1999 - Dr. Merv Fingas, ESD:

Joint Project Agreement Signed between US EPA and EC

  • A joint project agreement was signed with the United States Environmental Protection Agency to study the emissions from in-situ burning of oil. The US EPA and Environment Canada have been studying, jointly since 1991, the emissions of oil fires, involving as many as 45 different types of sampling and as many as 400 compounds. This is to study the emissions from a series of small diesel burns conducted in Mobile, Alabama. The work is jointly funded by Environment Canada, the US EPA and the US Coast Guard. This JPA allows for the payment of $40,000 (US) each to EPA and Environment Canada for the US Coast Guard share of the project.
    [Dr. Merv Fingas @ 998-9622]

August 27, 1999 - Dr. J. R. J. Par�, MAP:

ETC Collaboration with BC Research Inc.

  • Dr. Zisheng Zhang was recently employed by BC Research Inc. (BCR) and will be located within the MAP Division facilities for a minimum of a one-year period. This position with BCR was created as a result of the license agreement that Environment Canada just granted to BCR to seek further market penetration of the �green� MAP chemical extraction technology and to support its industrial implementation directly with end-users. Dr. Zhang's primary responsibility at the ETC will be to act as BCR's senior chemical engineer directing a project with the MAP bench-scale extractor, where new extraction cavities are being built in order to replace liquid solvents with liquefied gases (propane or butane) in order to save energy and reduce pollution.
    [Dr. J. R. J. Par� @ 990-9122]

August, 1999

99 Aug

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