CANADIAN ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION ACT

ATLANTIC REGION HIGHLIGHTS
1996/97

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The following highlights the significant activities the Atlantic Region conducted in support of CEPA in 1996/97.

The sunken oil barge Irving Whale was successfully lifted from the ocean bottom in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The operation recovered approximately 80% of the bunker C cargo and over 1,800 kg of PCBs, thereby significantly reducing the continued environmental threat from that source. Some contaminated sediments in the vicinity of the site were also successfully removed.

A number of studies were undertaken to determine the impact of toxic substances on regional ecosystems.

• The second year of a three-year study assessing the exposure of Maritime loons to mercury and its possible impacts was completed. Results from 1996 field work confirmed very high concentrations of mercury in blood of loons in Kejimkujik National Park, Nova Scotia. Cooperative studies with Parks Canada also confirmed high mercury concentrations in yellow perch (loon's preferred prey) in many of the Park's lakes. Interim study results were presented at several international and regional mercury meetings.
• An ecological risk assessment of PCB contamination at Five Island Lake, Nova Scotia was completed and the results presented to a Federal-Provincial Technical Committee, the media and the public. Further field assessment has focused on possible PCB impacts on mink, river otter and raccoons, in collaboration with the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources and the Canadian Cooperative Wildlife Health Centre at the University of Prince Edward Island. That assessment will be completed in 1997-98.
• Cooperative research on contaminant concentrations in bald eagles breeding in Placentia Bay, Newfoundland was initiated. That project is being led by Memorial University of Newfoundland with assistance from the Newfoundland & Labrador Wildlife Division and Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS). The objectives are to assess the current exposure of eagles to contaminants at the former US Naval Facility at Argentia, and to collect baseline data for the proposed development of the Voisey's Bay Nickel Co. smelter and refinery at Argentia, Newfoundland.
• Seabird eggs were collected from six colonies in Atlantic and Quebec Regions to continue the long-term monitoring of contaminants in the marine environment in Eastern Canada. That monitoring program began in 1968 and provides a unique data set for assessing the spatial and temporal trends in marine pollution levels on Canada's Atlantic coast. Seabird eggs were also collected from two colonies in the Gulf of St. Lawrence to provide baseline data for assessing the changes in PCB concentrations associated with the raising of the Irving Whale.
• Fieldwork was completed in a joint project with the National Wildlife Research Centre (NWRC), Ontario and Quebec Regions to assess the concentrations of lead in American woodcock in eastern Canada. Several hundred woodcock were collected with assistance from hunters and provincial wildlife agencies. The birds were x-rayed to determine if they had ingested lead shotgun pellets, and tissues will be analyzed for lead concentrations at NWRC. The project will provide information needed to determine if the national ban on the use of lead shot for waterfowl hunting should be extended to federally regulated upland bird hunting.
• A study of contaminants in white suckers near the Highway 101 Landfill, Sackville, Nova Scotia was conducted to determine the potential for bioaccumulation of contaminants in fish tissue and mercury contamination near that landfill. Most of the persistent organic and inorganic contaminants analyzed in whole fish samples collected were not detected. Those that were detected, including mercury, were not detected in significant concentrations.
• A study to assess heavy metal concentrations in four species of fish in the Richibucto, NB watershed was conducted in association with the University of Moncton Sustainable Environment Program.

The remediation of the Muggah Creek Watershed, the largest hazardous waste site in Canada containing the Sydney Tar Ponds, Coke Ovens, a municipal dump and 38 sewage outfalls, was revitalized. The federal government has embarked on a co-management concept, as a partner in the process, spearheaded by the community-based Joint Action Group on Environmental Cleanup (JAG). The remediation is expected to be carried out over three phases and take at least 10 years to complete.

Environment Canada provided technical advice to Public Works and Government Services Canada on the remedial action plan for the former US Naval Facility at Argentia, Newfoundland. The remedial action plan, which commits an expenditure of $81M, will address long term groundwater monitoring at the site, construction of hazardous waste landfills and remediation of underground petroleum hydrocarbon plumes and approximately 60 sites contaminated by petroleum hydrocarbons, PCBs, solvents or heavy metals.

Total gaseous mercury (TGM) measurements made at Kejimkujik National Park showed a marked seasonal TGM cycle with highest concentrations in June and the lowest in April. No cycle was apparent at St. Andrews, NB. TGM concentrations in this region are lower than those found in U.S. urban sites but higher than TGM in remote areas. Aircraft based vertical profiles of TGM in the atmosphere over southwestern Nova Scotia, the Bay of Fundy and the Gulf of Maine confirmed that mercury is well mixed throughout the troposphere and that a large pool of atmospheric mercury probably exists globally.

Mercury concentrations in precipitation were measured at Kejimkujik National Park and St. Andrews, NB beginning in July 1996 in cooperation with the U.S. Mercury Deposition Network (MDN). Mercury concentrations in precipitation over the six month sampling period were substantial and total annual deposition estimates indicate that over 10 ug/m²/yr of mercury is deposited to regional ecosystems via precipitation.

A study on the spatial and temporal distribution of organic contaminants in wet precipitation in the Region continued. In addition to the benchmark site at Kejimkujik National Park, sites were established at Gros Morne National Park, Newfoundland and Kouchibouguac National Park, NB. All precipitation collectors were upgraded to allow for larger sample volumes and trouble free operation during the winter months. The data indicates interesting patterns of deposition for compounds such as the organochlorine pesticides, PCBs and PAHs.

The Regional Environmental Quality Laboratory, in support of the Mercury Action Plan, developed the capability to measure ultra-low concentrations of mercury in environmental media. Concentrations as low as 0.2 ng/L (parts per trillion) are readily determined in water samples, which represents a level two orders of magnitude lower than conventional methods.

The ecological risk assessment of textile mill effluents under the Priority Substances Assessment Program was initiated. The Atlantic Region is leading that assessment which is scheduled to be completed in 1999. Activities conducted during 1996-97 included: an initial literature review; the establishment of an Environmental Resource Group (experts from government, industry and the scientific community) to assist in completing the assessment; and the drafting of a Problem Formulation document, providing the goals and focus of the assessment.

Three years of mussel contaminant monitoring data, 1993 to 1995, were compiled and released in three Gulf of Maine Council on the Marine Environment (GOMCME) "Gulfwatch" technical reports. The reports provide summaries of toxic contaminant concentrations measured in mussels from the five Canadian/US jurisdictions bordering the Gulf of Maine; identify the spatial distribution of toxic contaminants throughout the Gulf; measure physiological effects on mussels; and interpret the data in the context of environmental health and guidelines for human consumption.

A draft Policy and Discussion Document for the Management of Ozone-depleting Substances at Federal Facilities was developed by the Region.

The Region completed a use pattern assessment study of ozone-depleting substances in high-tonnage chillers at regional commercial and recreational facilities. That study will contribute to the national ODS inventory update.

A human health risk assessment of the Pictou Landing First Nation community's exposures associated with Boat Harbour, NS was conducted by a consultant hired by a joint environment and human health advisory committee. That study did not identify risk associated with the Boat Harbour Treatment Facility, which receives pulp and paper mill waste, or for the use of Boat Harbour over the next nine years. A preliminary aquatic food chain model used in the assessment identified a potential problem beyond 2005 associated with regular consumption of fish from Boat Harbour. Further work is planned to define and eliminate that risk.

The regional component of the National Pollutant Release Inventory processed 230 substance reports from 79 facilities. Releases to air, surface water and land totaled 7,619 tonnes, with methanol, ethylene glycol, chlorine dioxide, ammonia, zinc, chloride and sulphuric acid as the top substances. Reported transfers to off-site facilities totaled 11,301 tonnes, with aluminum and methanol as the top substances.

Fifty ocean disposal permit applications were reviewed and 55 permits were issued. The Middle Shoal Channel ocean disposal permit was suspended in the fall of 1996 by a Federal Court order after the Union of Nova Scotia Indians requested a judicial review of the environmental assessment of that project. The re-assessment of that project was initiated in December 1996 and will be completed in 1997.

Monitoring was conducted at four Newfoundland fish offal disposal sites to identify the zone of impact and to assess the impact of those operations. That study did not find any significant impacts at any of those approved sites, however it was not clear if the lack of fish offal was due to the dispersive nature of those sites or the lack of compliance in disposing of wastes at those sites. That will be addressed with an increased compliance promotion effort in the upcoming year.

A research project was conducted at one of the three designated disposal sites at the Northumberland Strait Crossing site to evaluate monitoring equipment and to assess disposal site stability. Data collected from that study indicated that equipment designed to continuously record sediment suspension, salinity and temperature at the disposal site was far more effective than a water sampling program for the assessment of disposal impacts. A high potential for sediment erosion was identified, however, that site was not used during the dredging and disposal operations of the Strait Crossing Project.

A research project designed to investigate the effects of natural sediment variables (e.g. sediment grain size, ammonia and sulfide content) on the results of amphipod sediment toxicity tests was conducted by the regional ocean disposal program and the ECB Toxicology Laboratory. Results of that study will be reported in the upcoming year.

A report on the effects of dredging and ocean disposal on bacteriological water quality in Yarmouth Harbour was completed. Data from this study showed that dredging and disposal activities in that harbour did not significantly affect the densities of fecal coliform and the concentrations of suspended particulate matter in the water column at either the dredge or disposal site.

The ECB Toxicology Laboratory participated in a monitoring program for the ocean disposal site at Cap-aux-Meules, Quebec. Twenty four sediment samples were tested for redox potential, ammonia, sulfide and toxicity to marine amphipods and to sea urchin gametes.

Enforcement efforts included 114 inspections to monitor compliance with various regulations under CEPA. Those inspections resulted in seven investigations and one warning. Several of those investigations were carried over into the following reporting period resulting in a number of warnings and charges laid in one major international file to be documented in next year's report. The investigations were related to improper PCB storage, improperly documented imports of gasoline and illegal exports of ozone depleting substances.