What's New?

• Recently Developed Guidelines
• Guidelines at a Glance
• Science-based Solutions Series
• Short Course
• Other Projects

What Are We Working On?

• Guidelines
• Other Projects

What's New?

Recently Developed Guidelines

• Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene, and Xylenes (soil)*
• Carcinogenic Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) (soil)
• Diisopropanolamine (DIPA) (water)*
• Diisopropanolamine (DIPA) (soil)
• Methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE) (water)*
• Permethrin (water)
• Phosphorus (water)*
• Sulfolane (water)*
• Sulfolane (soil)
• Trichloroethylene (soil)

(* = Approved by the CCME Environmental Planning and Protection Committee)

Guidelines at a Glance

Guidelines at a Glance is a series of factsheets that communicates key information on toxic substances and other parameters for which NGSO derives Canadian Environmental Quality Guidelines (CEQGs) in co-operation with the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME). Each Guidelines at a Glance factsheet summarizes where the substance comes from, how it enters the environment, what levels are found in the environment, what the recommended guideline value is, and how the guideline may be used.

Factsheets in this series are available from the Download Documents webpage, and include:

• Fluoride (Water Quality Guidelines)
• Mercury (Water Quality and Tissue Residue Guidelines)
• Methyl Tertiary-Butyl Ether (MTBE) (Water Quality Guidelines)
• Nitrate (Water Quality Guidelines)
• Nonylphenol and its Ethoxylates (Water, Sediment and Soil Quality Guidelines)
• Phosphorus (Water Quality Guidelines)
• Selenium (Soil Quality Guidelines)

Science-Based Solutions Series

The "Ecosystem Health: Science-based Solutions" series is dedicated to the publication of science-based advice and tools to assist in the monitoring, assessment, rehabilitation, and reporting of ecosystem health in Canada.

This series, developed under the auspices of the Environment Canada Ecosystem Health Committee, makes available scientific knowledge, information and tools to support Canadians in making sound decisions.

Documents published in this series include scientific supporting documents for Canadian Environmental Quality Guidelines, techniques and tools for monitoring, assessing, and rehabilitating environmental quality in Canada, discussion papers related to guideline implementation, indicator development, environmental reporting or other science-based tools and innovations in monitoring, data management, information dissemination and other links in the information chain that bring ecosystem health considerations into decision-making. Issues in this series are published ad libitum. Issues are available from the NGSO and include:

• 1-1: Canadian Water Quality Guidelines for the Protection of Aquatic Life: Inorganic Fluorides
• 1-2: Canadian Soil Quality Guidelines for Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs): Environmental Health
• 1-3: Canadian Environmental Quality Guidelines for Nonylphenol and its Ethoxylates (Water, Sediment, and Soil)
• 1-4: Canadian Tissue Residue Guidelines for the Protection of Wildlife Consumers of Aquatic Biota: Methylmercury
• 1-5: National Science Assessment on Dioxins and Furans in the Canadian Aquatic Environment
• 1-6: Canadian Water Quality Guidelines for the Protection of Aquatic Life: Nitrate Ion
• 1-7: Canadian Water Quality Guidelines for the Protection of Aquatic Life: Inorganic Mercury and Methylmercury
• 1-8: Canadian Guidance Framework for the Management of Phosphorus in Freshwater Systems
• 1-9: Canadian Soil Quality Guidelines for the Protection of Environmental and Human Health: Toluene, Ethylbenzene and Xylenes (TEX)
• 1-10: Canadian Soil Quality Guidelines for the Protection of Environmental and Human Health: Benzene

Sediment Assessment Series

This series of factsheets was developed by the National Guidelines and Standards Office of Environment Canada to consolidate information on the variety of existing approaches to the assessment of sediment quality in Canada and to highlight sediment assessment programs developed by Environment Canada. Additional factsheets will be added to the series as new sediment assessment tools or programs are developed.

You can access the electronic versions of the first five factsheets of the Sediment Assessment Series from the Download Documents webpage.

Short Course: Canadian Water Quality Guidelines (CWQGs) for the Protection of Aquatic Life: their derivation, application, and interpretation

This short course offered by the National Guidelines and Standards Office of Environment Canada will provide current CWQG users* with an understanding how a national water quality guideline is developed under the current protocol and how the procedure could change under the new proposed protocol. Participants will have the opportunity to assess the uses, advantages, challenges, and limitations posed by the methodology employed to develop national water quality guidelines. Participants will be guided through exercises to assess toxicity data to determine which studies are relevant to developing a Canadian national guideline. Factors which can modify the guideline value and issues concerning interpretation will also be discussed. As a result of this workshop, participants will be better informed in how to use these guidelines for decision-making. If you are interested in more information about holding or attending a short course, please contact the NGSO.

* The course content will assume that participants are current users of the CWQGs for the Protection of Aquatic Life and are at least somewhat familiar with these guidelines.

Other Projects

Source to tap

In order to ensure clean drinking water, a multiple barrier approach is required to protect drinking water sources, and improve water treatment, operation and maintenance of storage and distribution systems. Each of these components have contaminant control barriers. Individually, the barriers can be inadequate in effectively removing or preventing contamination, but together are more effective in reducing the risk from contaminants in drinking water. As a result, the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) Water Quality Task Group and the Committee on Environmental and Occupational Health (CEOH) Drinking Water Subcommittee has developed an integrated source to tap guidance document for drinking water protection.

This document is available on the CCME website in PDF format.

Mercury Status Report

Mercury, and particularly a form of it called methylmercury, is a concern to the health of the environment because its toxic effects can reduce wildlife populations. For example, on the Canadian east coast, common loons have twice as much mercury in their blood as loons elsewhere in North America; and, as a result these populations are having difficulty reproducing. The mercury in these loons comes from the mercury in the fish they eat. This report, entitled, Mercury: Fishing for Answers gives an overview of mercury in Canada, and in particular discusses levels of mercury in fish that could be detrimental to wildlife.

You can access the electronic publication, Mercury: Fishing for Answers, from the Download Documents webpage.

Nutrients Science Assessment

In its 1995 response to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development's review of CEPA, the Government of Canada committed to undertake a comprehensive study of nutrients that enter the Canadian environment through human activities. This study was intended to determine the extent to which nutrients, from sources other than laundry detergents, are causing damage to the environment. The 5 Natural Resource Departments (5NR) Nutrients Science Assessment, Nutrients and Their Impact on the Canadian Environment, identifies the sources of nutrients to the environment as a result of human activity, and the effects of nutrient addition on the Canadian environment and the quality of life of Canadians.

The Nutrients Science Assessment has demonstrated that nutrients are a key water quality issue in Canada. As a result, efforts are now underway to ensure that nutrients and their impacts are incorporated as a major theme in any ongoing and emerging water quality programs and committees at the federal and national level. The report can be obtained from the NGSO.

The related State of the Environment Summary entitled "Nutrients in the Canadian Environment: Reporting on the State of Canada's Environment" is available on the SOE infobase or from the Environment Canada Inquiry Centre via e-mail, telephone: (819) 997-2800 or 1-800-668-6767, or fax: (819) 953-2225.

What Are We Working On?

The NGSO is currently working on several projects. If you are interested in more information on any of the following projects, please contact the NGSO.

Guidelines

• Alcohol ethoxylates (water)
• Aluminium (water)
• Dimethenamid (water)
• Imidacloprid (water)
• Nickel (water)
• Uranium (water and soil)

Other Projects

Nearshore Marine Eutrophication Guidance Framework

Concern is growing about eutrophication occurring in estuaries, inlets and coastal ecosystems in both Canadian East and West coasts. In 2003, the NGSO undertook a scoping assessment to understand what factors may lead to marine eutrophication and to evaluate the possibility of implementing a guidance framework on nutrient management for these ecosystem components. To date, concentrations of nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus, silicate) and other parameters (chlorophyll a, residence time, loading, etc.) in Canadian nearshore environments and any information relating to algal blooms and other eutrophic effects (fish kills, changes in biodiversity, etc.) have been gathered. A draft guidance framework is expected in 2005.

A Pesticide Priority List: Evaluation Scheme

Sustainable agriculture activities by provinces coupled with the 2002 renewal of the Pest Control Products Act has revitalised the CCME Water Quality Task Group's interest in pesticides. An evaluation scheme is currently being developed that will enable the Task Group to prioritize pesticide active ingredients for future water quality guideline development. Factors considered in the evaluation scheme include toxicity, fate and behaviour in the environment, extent of use across the country and presence in Canadian waters. A pesticide priority list for 2005 will be generated using this evaluation scheme.

Protocol for the Development of Aquatic Life Guidelines

The NGSO is currently in the process of developing a new protocol for the development of water quality guidelines for the protection of aquatic organisms. This new protocol, while still incorporating elements from the current protocol, will be based on newer scientific principles and a weight-of-evidence approach. It will address issues encountered in the past in the development of water quality guidelines, such as bioavailability, exposure and toxicity modifying factors (e.g., temperature, pH, hardness, counter ions), natural background concentrations, and essentiality.