December 6, 1999 –  Dr. Carl Brown, ESD:

ETC Involved in Joint Project on Laser Ultrasonic Remote Sensing of Oil Thickness Sensor

• The Laser Ultrasonic Remote Sensing of Oil Thickness Sensor (LURSOT) has been delivered to the ETC Emergencies Science Division (ESD). The LURSOT is a prototype system designed to provide absolute measurement of oil slick thickness on water from an airborne platform. The system will be installed on ESD's DC-3 and test flown over the next 4-6 weeks. The work is a joint project between the Emergencies Science Division, Imperial Oil Resources Ltd., the United States Minerals Management Service, and the Industrial Materials Institute, National Research Council Canada.
  [Dr. Carl E. Brown @ 991-1118]

December 6, 1999 –  Richard Turle, AAQD:

ETC's Expertise in Ultra-trace Analysis Continues to Get Worldwide Recognition

• Recently, government agencies in Uruguay and Australia have asked the Analysis and Air Quality Division (AAQD) to analyse samples for dioxins and PCBs, respectively. The Australian Government Analytical Laboratories (AGAL) in Sydney, Australia has also requested training from ETC staff to set up their dioxin laboratory. Gary Poole of the AAQD is currently providing hands-on training at the AGAL laboratory. Such requests are regularly received from laboratories around the world, seeking AAQD's expertise and assistance on analytical methods for detecting ultra-trace amounts of toxic organic compounds in complex samples.
  [Richard Turle @ 990-8559]

December 6, 1999 –  Richard Turle, AAQD:

Laboratory Audits in Brazil Conducted by Two EC Scientists

• As part of the Watershed Management (WSM) 2000 CIDA-funded project for the state of Sao Paulo in Brazil, two EC scientists (Richard Turle from the ETC and Harry Malle from the National Laboratory for Environmental Testing) conducted audits of various laboratories belonging to SAPESB, the water supply company, and CETESB, the state environmental agency. A preliminary audit was carried out at eight laboratories, which are applying for ISO Guide 25 certification from INMETRO, the Brazilian accrediting body equivalent to the Standards Council of Canada. The majority of the laboratories were almost ready for their INMETRO site visits. This visit concludes this aspect of the WSM 2000 project in which laboratories received training in quality assurance techniques.
  [Richard Turle @ 990-8559]

December 13, 1999 –  Chung Chiu, AAQD:

International Intercalibration Study for Dioxins

• The Analysis and Air Quality Division (AAQD) of the ETC recently received the results of the fourth international dioxin study. This study conducted by Umea University in Sweden allows participants to judge their performance against 58 other dioxin laboratories worldwide. Four other Canadian laboratories also participated. Each lab had to analyse soil, sediment and sludge samples for chlorinated dioxins and furans. In addition, labs were asked to report all co-planar (dioxin-like) PCBs. Whilst there is no formal ranking of labs, the AAQD lab results were very close to the overall mean for all parameters reported - indicating excellent overall data quality.
  [Chung Chiu @ 990-8560]

December 13, 1999 –  Chung Chiu, AAQD:

Polyaromatic Sulphur Compounds Measured

• As part of an ongoing PERD project to characterize samples of exhaust particulate from diesel engines fuelled with biodiesel and regular diesel fuel, several polyaromatic sulfur heterocyclic compounds (PASH) were measured for the first time by the Analysis and Air Quality Division (AAQD). Method development to identify further PASH will continue as part of the project. The analysis requires high-resolution gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. These PASH compounds were reported along with the current list of PAHs, and nitro-PAH compounds measured by the AAQD. Hopefully, using these measurement techniques, it will be possible to identify sources of airborne carbonaceous particles by the identification of compounds unique to diesel engine emissions.
  [Chung Chiu @ 990-8560]

December 13, 1999 –  Brian Mansfield, EETO:

Emergencies Engineering R&D Consultation Meeting and Regional Visits 

• ETC's Emergencies Engineering Technologies Office (EETO) has just concluded its annual Research & Development multi-stakeholder consultation meeting related to Contaminated Site Remediation Processes, and Engineered Spill Countermeasures Technologies. The advisory committee is comprised of internal and external client and collaborator groups, including EC's regional and HQ spill officers and headquarters representatives from ETAD and Corporate EC having responsibilities in contaminated sites. Highlights included presentations and input on some of this fiscal year's technical projects, and a discussion of some of next year's proposed R&D work and proposed priorities.
  
  This meeting was the culmination of extensive regional consultation visits over the past two months by the EETO Manager, accompanied by two senior engineers of EETO's Alternative Service Delivery contractor (SAIC Canada). The visits involved face-to-face discussions with EC-EPS staff from each of the five regional offices, who are responsible for spills- or contaminated sites-related issues in each region. In addition to outlining EETO's current R&D interests and projects and the technical support capabilities of SAIC Canada staff, we also inquired about the range of regional technological challenges, technical support needs and R&D priorities from the regional perspective. To enhance these internal regional consultations, several external meetings were also arranged with Canadian Coast Guard offices, Ontario MOE staff, industry spill response organizations (Burrard Clean & Eastern Canada Response Corporation), and the Petroleum Technology Alliance of Canada [an oil industry environmental focus group for R&D, including remediation projects].
  [Brian Mansfield @ 991-1843]

December 13, 1999 –  Brian Mansfield, EETO:

EETO/SAIC Assistance to the Forestry Engineering Research Institute of Canada (FERIC)

• The Manager of ETC's Emergencies Engineering Technologies Office was recently approached by a Research Officer of FERIC (Montreal) for help or guidance in their forthcoming evaluation of a new mobile, enclosed system for washing wheeled logging equipment in a more environmentally responsible manner. After receiving assurance that FERIC was a non-profit industry R&D organization, we agreed to task SAIC Canada with helping to get them started in this new initiative. Among the issues addressed, and documentation provided by SAIC were:

• the type and nature of likely compounds (hydrocarbons, PAH's, heavy metals, some chlorinated compounds and of course, suspended solids) which may be collected in the wash water;
• the type of sampling and analytical chemistry protocols likely needed to ensure representative and complete characterization of the wash water and the collected contaminants, together with the likely costs and range of commercial sources for these analyses;
  
• some sources of web-based and printed information for federal water quality guidelines and provincial regulatory requirements to ensure compliance with relevant wash water separation, treatment and disposal restrictions.

We have left the door open for further inquiries or potential future collaboration by EETO/SAIC and FERIC on research topics of mutual interest.
[Brian Mansfield @ 991-1843]

December 13, 1999 –  Dr. Merv Fingas, ESD:

Annual Emergencies Science R&D Planning Meetings Held

• The ETC Emergencies Science Division's annual multi-stakeholder planning meetings took place during the week of December 6-10. Attendance at each meeting was up to 30 persons from a broad range of Canadian and US agencies, including: Texas General Land Office, Exxon, the American Petroleum Institute, the United States Minerals Management Service, the United States Environmental Protection Agency, various Canadian federal agencies, and some provincial governments. Countries such as Norway, Britain and France sent status reports/plans for sharing with the stakeholders. The committees share agency research plans The committees facilitate increased cooperation on R&D where agencies share mutual objectives and priorities.The Analytical Development for Chemical Emergencies committee (ADCE) addresses analytical chemistry research and development as related to spill emergencies. The Committee on Chemical Properties and Behaviour covers chemical spill countermeasures research including preparation of spill manuals. The Committee On Physical Properties and Behaviour of Oil Spills (COPPBOS) focuses on research on oil properties, behaviour and in-situ countermeasures. The Committee on Countermeasures Effects (COCE) addresses R&D on shoreline cleanup and the biological effects and environmental fate of oil spills. The committee on the Surveillance and Monitoring Of Oil Spills (SMOOS) deals with oil spill remote sensing, spill modelling and tracking. SMOOS is the longest-standing committee and met this year for the 25th time.
  [Dr. Merv Fingas @ 998-9622]

December 13, 1999 –  Rick Scroggins, SPD:

Expertise in Toxicological Testing Shared with Uruguay through Green Corps

• At the request of the Uruguayan national environmental agency, DINAMA, and the Latin American Office of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), EC scientists (Rick Scroggins, Manager, Biological Method Development and Applications, ETC, and Graham Van Aggelen, Senior Scientist, Pacific Environmental Science Centre) travelled to Uruguay December 6-13 to assist DINAMA in developing their program for toxicity testing and analysis of substances decreed toxic under recent legislation. Rick and Graham gave a series of presentations and conducted training in a number of areas, including Canada's approach to evaluating, managing and regulating toxic substances. They also recommended processes for cost-effective toxicity testing, standardized biological test methods, and methods for collecting wastewater samples for toxicity testing, and outlined Canadian approaches to laboratory accreditation. With the DINAMA staff, a multi-year work plan was developed for the implementation of toxicity testing in the monitoring and control of industrial wastewaters in Uruguay. Rick and Graham also met with staff involved in the ECOPLATA project and discussed possible future Canadian scientific support for this international project between Argentina and Uruguay. The visit received interdepartmental support, particularly from IDRC and the Canadian Embassy in Uruguay, with the Canadian Ambassador to Uruguay personally participating in the opening seminar and follow-up meetings with the EC scientists. This bilateral technology collaboration took place under the Canada-Uruguay MOU on Environmental Cooperation.
  [Rick Scroggins @ 990-8569]

December 20, 1999 –  Richard Turle, AAQD:

Meeting with Private Laboratory Industry

• A meeting was recently held to reinforce links with Canada's private-sector laboratories. Dave Warry (National Laboratory for Environmental Testing) and Richard Turle (ETC) represented Environment Canada. The meeting was with the International Association of Environmental Testing Laboratories (IAETL), which is now in the process of amalgamating with the Canadian Council for Independent Laboratories (CCIL). Information was exchanged on CEPA regulatory Reference Methods, measurements associated with Canada-wide Standards, national harmonisation of analytical methods, and accreditation. The environmental sector is one of the few laboratory sectors that insist on Standards Council of Canada accreditation. Many other sectors, such as road building materials, operate without a formal accreditation program. The current volume of Canadian private-sector laboratory business in the environmental sector is about $120 million involving about 120 labs nation-wide. CCIL members are involved in about 80% of this business. Some Canadian companies have been successful in obtaining foreign business, especially from Korea and Japan for dioxin analysis.
  [Richard Turle @ 990-8559]

December, 1999