Our Great Lakes

THE CANADA-ONTARIO AGREEMENT RESPECTING THE GREAT LAKES BASIN ECOSYSTEM

2002–2003 BIENNIAL PROGRESS REPORT

Annex 2 - Harmful Pollutants

Introduction

This annex addresses the work that has been done towards the elimination of high-profile harmful pollutants such as mercury, dioxins, furans and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Also included are other pollutants that seriously affect the health and/or functioning of the Great Lakes Basin ecosystem.

Considerable progress has been made in addressing the release of many of these pollutants. But the Great Lakes continue to suffer from contamination due to the persistence of these chemicals and other substances of concern.

The annex contains three overall goals, 10 projected results and 65 specific commitments.

Continued threats and new challenges

Persistent bioaccumulative toxic substances continue to threaten fish, wildlife and human health by virtue of their long-term accumulation in aquatic sediments, which act as reservoirs for the contamination of aquatic organisms.

Even though water concentrations may be extremely low, sediment-associated contaminants may be accumulated by organisms and continue to be problematic through food chains. Additionally, the Great Lakes continue to be threatened by pollutants deposited from air, as well as from industrial and municipal effluent discharges.

Newer challenges include the impacts of hormone-mimicking chemicals and pharmaceuticals on the health of fish, wildlife, and humans.

Canada and Ontario remain committed to the virtual elimination of persistent bioaccumulative toxic substances, such as those mentioned above, as well as to the significant reduction of other harmful pollutants from effluent discharges and air deposition. The focus on reductions of emissions and releases will yield environmental benefits over the long-term, as contaminant levels in fish, wildlife and sediments may remain for many decades.

It takes partnerships to succeed

Many commitments under COA are delivered through a variety of partnerships between agencies (both domestic and international), communities and non-government organizations.

For example, progress on reducing the release of harmful pollutants is being made through the actions of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) and the partnership of the Great Lakes Binational Toxics Strategy (GLBTS).

Achieving reductions and results through building these partnerships is a benefit of the continued federal/provincial focus on the Great Lakes.

The challenge of the last 10 per cent For more than 25 years, policies and programs designed to reduce society’s reliance on persistent, toxic and bioaccumulative chemicals have been a cornerstone of federal and provincial environmental efforts. Effective pollution control and pollution prevention instruments, both regulatory and non-regulatory, have been augmented by restrictions, bans and phase-outs of specific compounds (or classes of compounds) where appropriate. As a result, reductions in the production, use, release and/or unsafe disposal of many listed chemicals of concern have been pursued to the extent technologically and economically practicable. In a number of cases, usage and associated environmental releases in Ontario have decreased by 90 per cent or more. However, it is an axiom of environmental management that eliminating that last 10 per cent may require an even greater investment in effort, resourcefulness and ingenuity than has been expended to date. The goals set out in the 2002 COA relating to harmful pollutants are both ambitious and challenging. Some pollutants that reach the Great Lakes through transboundary transport and atmospheric deposition may require action beyond the scope of COA. Success will only be achieved through the dedicated application of the commitments made by the parties and their partners over the full five-year time frame of the Agreement.

Progress Report 2002–2003

Annex 2 addresses Canadian and Ontario initiatives that support the virtual elimination of persistent bioaccumulative, toxic substances and the significant reduction of other harmful pollutants.

Under the COA Agreement, Canada and Ontario have identified three five-year goals and 10 results to be achieved through working with producers and addressing other sources of pollutants.

The Goals and Progress Made

Goal 1 Have in place policies and programs to make progress towards virtual elimination for persistent bioaccumulative toxic substances such as mercury, dioxins, furans and PCBs.

• Results 1, 2 and 3 of this annex are dedicated to the elimination of PCBs, mercury and dioxins/furans, respectively. They reflect a variety of mature programs, as well as some newer initiatives. Regulatory as well as voluntary measures by the public and industry have resulted in significant reductions to date (compared to 1988 figures), including 86% for PCBs, 85% for mercury and 84% for dioxins/furans. The variety of programs in place today will yield additional emissions reductions over the next few years.

Goal 2 Reduce other harmful pollutants that have a significant environmental impact.

• Other harmful pollutants include criteria air contaminants (including sulphur dioxide and volatile organic compounds), Tier I and II substances (including benzo(a)pyrene, hexachlorobenzene and cadmium) and pollutants in municipal effluents and biosolids. When fully developed, actions identified under Results 4, 5, and 6 will contribute to reductions in the use, generation and release of harmful pollutants. Examples of reduction success to date (compared to 1988 figures) include 45% for benzo(a)pyrene and 62% for hexachlorobenzene.

Goal 3 Have comprehensive knowledge of the sources, movement, fate and impact of harmful pollutants, including persistent bioaccumulative toxic substances, for policy and program development purposes.

• Research is required to determine sources, fate and impact of many contaminants of concern in order to develop sound approaches to reduction. This need is addressed in Results 7, 8, 9 and 10 of the annex, which focus on pollutant transport and loadings, as well as research towards understanding impacts of pollutants on human health and the environment. A key factor in successfully achieving this goal is the collaborative nature of the federal and provincial commitments to integrate reporting and data storage systems.

Progress on Achieving the Projected Results

Result 1 The virtual elimination of high-level PCBs.

• Reduced the number of PCB storage sites (both federal and private) from 1,555 in 1993 to 550 in 2003. The amount of high-level PCB waste in storage was reduced by some 86%.

• Through separate initiatives, Canada and Ontario worked on regulations for PCB phase-out, destruction and/or harmonization of import and export regulations/policies.

• Under the GLBTS, fact sheets, brochures and websites for owners of PCBs are being developed to promote PCB phase-out/destruction activities.

• Hydro One, Stelpipe (a subsidiary of Stelco), Slater Steel, and Enersource Hydro (Mississauga) were awarded the first award plaques under Environment Canada-Ontario Regions Recognition Program for their excellent accomplishments in phasing out PCBs through voluntary efforts. Hydro One shipped approximately 3,200 tonnes of PCB waste during 1995–2001 and decontaminated an estimated 6.5 million litres of low-level mineral oil. Enersource (Mississauga) Hydro eliminated 100% of high-level PCBs (about 100 tonnes).

Result 2 An 85% reduction in mercury releases (compared to 1988) by 2005, and a 90% reduction by 2010.

• Reduced mercury releases by 85% by the end of 2002. The amount of mercury released into the Great Lakes Basin has dropped from more than 14,000 kilograms a year in 1988 to just under 2,100 kilograms annually.

• Passed a regulation in Ontario (O. Reg 196/03) making installation of dental amalgam separators required in all dental offices where dental amalgams are repaired, placed or removed, and that are maintained by members of the Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario (RCDSO).

• A multi-stakeholder group developed best-practices flowcharts for the management of dental amalgam and mercury wastes within dental practices. These were published in October 2003.

• Prepared a draft document, the Model Municipal Mercury Policy. When finalized, the policy will help municipalities eliminate the use of mercury in equipment or materials (such as thermostats and lights) from municipal operations.

• Carried out public outreach on mercury awareness and elimination strategies in Lake Superior North Shore communities, hospitals, and federal facilities.

• Produced a COA fact sheet on mercury for use by the public, which is available from Publications Ontario and Environment Canada.

• Removed 20,000 mercury switches from cars before disposal, under the mercury switch-out program.

• Required mercury control equipment to be installed at a number of potential emission sources, reducing mercury emissions by almost 400 kilograms/year from 2000 levels.

Result 3 A 90% reduction in the release of dioxins and furans (compared to 1988) by 2005, and the reduction of other persistent bioaccumulative toxic substances.

• Reduced the releases of dioxins and furans by 84%, through the end of 2003, from a baseline of 1988.

• The Canadian Council of the Ministers of the Environment (CCME) agreed to Canada-wide standards for dioxins/furans from steel manufacturing and iron sintering plants in March 2003. Compliance with these standards by 2010 will result in reductions of 72% in Ontario.

• Passed a regulation in Ontario (O. Reg 323/02) requiring hospital incinerators to close by December 6, 2003. The elimination of this source has resulted in significant reductions of dioxins and furans, as well other bioaccumulative and persistent pollutants.

Result 4 Reductions in the use, generation, and release of other harmful pollutants.

• Conducted 60 Burn it Smart! workshops in 2002/03 to encourage the use of EPA/CSA certified, low-emission wood stoves and promote good wood-burning practices in Ontario communities. Approximately 1,300 people attended these workshops.

• Passed a regulation in Ontario (O. Reg. 397/01), setting caps on electricity sector emissions. The regulation requires a 53% reduction in nitrogen oxides and a 25% reduction in sulphur dioxide emissions from Ontario Power Generation’s six coal- and oil-fired generating stations by the year 2007. In addition, Ontario has committed to stop burning coal at the Lakeview Generating Station in Mississauga by April 2005. The move will stop thousands of tonnes of pollutants from entering Ontario’s air and the Great Lakes.

• Expanded Ontario’s Drive Clean program, as of July 1, 2002, to cover the entire southern Ontario smog zone from Windsor to Ottawa: an area that includes about 5.5 million vehicles.

• Ontario’s Smog Patrol conducted more than 28,000 inspections of heavy- and light-duty vehicles, and issued over 5,000 tickets to those driving polluting vehicles, from 1998 until the end of December 2003.

Result 5 Reductions in the release of harmful pollutants in municipal wastewater discharges.

• Released a federal regulation in 2003 (SOR/2003/99) outlining specific conditions that must be met regarding the content of hexachlorobenzene in products, including coagulants used in municipal wastewater treatment. • Formed a Municipal Wastewater Task Group under the CCME. A long-term, nationwide strategy for reducing releases from municipal wastewater systems will be developed by this task group.

• The Ontario Municipal Discharge Strategy is being developed.

• Canada and Ontario continued working together with municipalities on several separate technical studies to evaluate new treatment technologies for the removal of ammonia, pathogens and other harmful pollutants in municipal wastewater.

Result 6 Voluntary reductions in the release of harmful pollutants by targeted stakeholders and sectors.

• Environment Canada and the Automotive Parts Manufacturers Association signed an Environmental Performance Agreement in 2002. The agreement aims to achieve verifiable reduction in the use, generation and release of specified harmful pollutants.

• Ontario continued the development of environmental management agreements with industry to encourage further reductions of harmful pollutants beyond compliance requirements.

• Ontario continued discussions with the Canadian Steel Producers Association, the Clean Air Foundation and the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers Association on an agreement to address mercury emissions from scrapped cars that are melted down to produce recycled steel products.

Result 7 A common approach for effective emissions reporting.

• Integrated reporting requirements under Ontario’s Mandatory Monitoring and Reporting Regulation with the Federal National Pollutant Release Inventory.

• Continued collaborative work to ensure integrated reporting requirements, including discussions on shared monitoring for greenhouse gas emissions.

Result 8 Improved quantification of in-Basin and out-of-Basin sources of harmful pollutant releases.

• Canada and Ontario completed a secondary smelting operations emission inventory project in 2003.

• Ontario continues to maintain a public database and website for online air quality information and smog alerts. This informs people about smog days so that they can take appropriate action to reduce health risks.

• Conducted voluntary stack testing at two facilities in 2002 and three facilities in 2003. Nine stack tests have been conducted at voluntary facilities since 2000.

• Under the GLBTS, Canada continued development of a cadmium release inventory.

• Initiated a harmful pollutant-tracking project in 2002 to update emissions inventories, fill in data gaps and track reduction progress.

• Ontario Power Generation initiated an intensive investigation of mercury within their facilities to aid in developing emissions limits.

Result 9 Knowledge of the occurrence, fate and impact of harmful pollutants on human and environmental health to be gathered and communicated to the public.

• Started a collaborative four-year project in 2002 to help develop a best management practices manual for biosolids and manure application to agricultural land.

• Ontario posted 15 Air Standards Information draft documents on the Environmental Registry (ER) for 90 days of public comment.

• In 2003, approximately 3,900 facilities submitted both annual reports and smog-season emission reports under the Airborne Contaminant Discharge Monitoring and Reporting Regulation (O. Reg. 127/01), which requires the mandatory tracking and public reporting of over 350 air pollutants.

• Continued a technical review of national standards for particulate matter to determine whether updated standards are needed to reflect emerging scientific evidence on the human health impacts of fine particulate.

Result 10 An understanding of the ecological and human health risks of priority chemicals.

• Continued multiple investigations by Canada and Ontario on the occurrence and fate of emerging chemicals of concern, including endocrine-disrupting chemicals, pharmaceuticals and veterinary drugs, fire retardants, siloxanes, perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluoroalkanoic acids, and halogenated phenolics. Synthesis reports of key findings to be compiled for decision-making purposes.

• Initiated studies to evaluate the effects of priority chemicals and effluents on thyroid and retinoid function, and continued assessment of Great Lakes fish health to determine if there is evidence of effects from endocrine disruption.

Phasing out polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs): 25 years of effort paying off

What are PCBs? Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are a class of manufactured chemicals that last for many years. They do not break down easily on their own and they are difficult to destroy. From the 1930s to 1970s, PCBs were used as ingredients in a number of industrial materials, including sealing and caulking compounds, inks and paint additives. They were mostly used to make coolants and lubricants for certain kinds of electrical equipment, including transformers and capacitors in fluorescent lights, before being banned in 1978. High-level PCBs are defined as fluids that contain more than one per cent PCB or 10,000 parts per million.

Of all the man-made toxic chemicals, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) may have the worst reputation and, as a result, have received the most regulatory attention over the years.

Back in the early 1970s, the emerging environmental movement focused on PCBs when scientists tracked the persistent compounds through the food chain, and warned they were responsible for the disappearance of the bald eagle and other large predators from the Great Lakes Basin.

Swinging into action

Twenty-five years ago governments began to take action. Canadian regulations were put in place to ban the import, manufacture and sale (for re-use) of PCBs, and to severely restrict their use to in-service electrical transformers and capacitors.

Strict federal and provincial regulations were introduced to control the handling and storage, import and export, packaging and labelling, treatment and destruction of PCBs. Management programs to track and monitor the use, storage, transportation, and ultimate disposal of PCBs have supported these regulations. As well, research programs have studied the environmental impacts, long-range transport, absorption into the food chain, and ultimate fate.

COA and the GLBTS have called for the virtual elimination of the high-level PCBs that are currently in use or storage. The Canadian PCB Workgroup, established under the GLBTS, is also working to accelerate the destruction of high-level PCB wastes that have the potential to enter the Great Lakes Basin.

Big reductions in the last 10 years

In January 1993, there were more than 1,500 active storage sites registered with either the Ontario Ministry of the Environment (MOE) for storage or registered with Environment Canada for in-service PCB equipment. Approximately 25,000 tonnes of high-level PCB wastes were stored in these sites throughout Ontario at that time.

Ten years later, the number of active sites has been cut by nearly two-thirds, and the amount of waste in storage reduced by some 86 per cent. As of April 2003, there were 555 sites in the Ontario inventory, including 25 federal sites and 530 non-federal sites.

Work continues

Approximately 3,854 tonnes of high-level PCBs remain in storage and another 3,596 tonnes are in service (in use for operation equipment) at sites across the province.

Regulators have increased efforts to capture the interest and involvement of PCB owners and users. Starting in 1999, Environment Canada sent out request letters urging voluntary decommissioning and destruction of high-level PCBs in storage to owners of selected (priority) industry sectors that have large stocks of high-level PCBs in use and/or in storage.

Selected sectors operate in sensitive areas and include schools and educational institutes, food processing/water treatment facilities and firms, health care facilities, government facilities and firms in the mining/smelting sectors, the iron and steel industry and automotive, pulp and paper companies.

Recognition award Environment Canada instituted a PCB Recognition and Award Program in 2002 to identify individual companies or industry associations that go beyond the basic regulatory requirements. The program recognizes the contribution that responsible PCB owners are making to finally remove these toxic materials from storage sites and in-service equipment and publicizes their success stories. In September 2003, at the Binational Toxic Strategies Integration meeting in Toronto, the first four companies received their PCB recognition plaques. • Hydro One and Enersource (Mississauga) Hydro were among a small group of utilities that eliminated all of the high-level PCBs they had in service. Hydro One shipped approximately 3,200 tonnes of PCB waste during 1995–2001 and decontaminated an estimated 6.5 million litres of low-level mineral oil. Enersource (Mississauga) Hydro eliminated all of its high-level PCBs (about 100 tonnes). Enersource destroyed over 30 tonnes of high-concentration PCB equipment by the year 2000. • Slater Steel (Bar Division) in Hamilton, was recognized for being completely PCB-free in 1998. • Stelco’s Steel Pipe Division in Welland was recognized for destroying all of its high-level PCBs by 2001.

Reducing PCBs through regulations

Currently there are four federal PCB-related regulations in force – the Chlorobiphenyls Regulation (1977), the Storage of PCB Material Regulations (1992), the Export of PCB Regulations (1996) and the Federal Mobile PCB Treatment and Destruction Regulations (1990).

The first three are being amended. The PCB (revised) regulations and PCB storage regulations have gone through extensive public consultation and comments, and are scheduled for publication in the Gazette in 2005. In addition, the federal Export and Import of Hazardous Wastes Regulations are being amended to bring them in line with international standards. Further information can be obtained from Environment Canada’s website, www.ec.gc.ca/pcb.

The proposed revisions include strict phase-out dates for certain categories of PCBs. Both high-and low-level PCBs would have to be phased out from sensitive locations within three years of the proposed regulations coming into force.

The PCB Workgroup is also looking at new initiatives, including PCB audits for small and medium-sized companies, and possible financial incentives. The federal government also intends to develop a national compliance promotion workshop to support the implementation of the forthcoming PCB regulations.

Drumming up support for local action: Reducing the release of dioxins and furans

What are dioxins and furans? Dioxins and furans are formed when certain organic materials burn slowly at high temperatures. In Canada, dioxins and furans are created by the fires in waste incinerators, iron ore sintering plants, steel manufacturing plants, and pulp and paper mills, to name a few of the industrial sources. The two toxic and cancer-causing chemicals are also created when people burn their waste in burn barrels. Household garbage now includes plastic packaging, disposable items such as razors, treated wood and junk mail. When these items are burned, dioxins, furans, arsenic, barium, mercury, lead, formaldehyde, PCBs and particulate matter are just some of the toxic chemicals that are released. Once released, the dioxins and furans can contaminate water, soil and plants. Toxins are then taken up into the food chain, accumulating in the fat of animals, which are ultimately eaten by humans. In addition to increasing the risk of cancer, dioxins have also been linked to diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and developmental problems in children. These toxins may also compromise the immune system and disrupt the endocrine system, which includes the hypothalamus, pituitary, thyroid, parathyroid, adrenal and reproductive glands.

Under COA, the two governments are committed to slashing the release of dioxins and furans by some 90 per cent by the year 2005 from a baseline of 1988. In the past several years, they have capped or have made plans to reduce the dioxins and furans produced by waste incinerators, iron ore sintering plants, steel manufacturers, and pulp and paper mills. By the end of 2003, emissions had been reduced by 84 per cent.

Tackling backyard burning

The ubiquitous 55-gallon drums used by thousands of rural residents in this country to burn their garden garbage and household waste produces about 10 per cent of the man-made dioxins and furans released into Canada’s atmosphere every year. In Ontario, studies show that burning garbage at home or the cottage is the fourth-largest source of dioxins and furans in the province.

Surveys of Ontario’s residents in small cities and rural areas show that almost 25 per cent routinely burned their household trash in backyard barrels, firepits and outdoor furnaces. Burning agricultural and household waste, some of which includes plastic containers, chlorine-soaked plastics and wrappings from bales of hay, offers the ideal conditions for forming dioxins and furans.

“If you are burning garbage at home, you’re making poison,” says Environment Canada’s Bruce Gillies, who heads the team tackling the problem of burn barrels. Dioxins and furans are known carcinogens and the cause of developmental, respiratory and cardiovascular problems. In addition, the toxic compounds are also known to interfere with the immune and reproductive systems. The Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 has designated dioxins and furans for “virtual elimination”.

To reduce the emissions from burn barrels, the Ontario and Canadian governments, and their counterparts in U.S. federal and state governments, set up a burn barrel team under the GLBTS. Representatives from all three levels of government on both sides of the border worked with representatives from industry, academia, environmental organizations and community groups, as well as with Aboriginal peoples, to design a multimedia public education campaign on the dangers of burn barrels and about dioxins and furans.

Thunder Bay’s community organization EcoSuperior ran the first pilot project. The group produced television and radio advertisements, as well as flyers and posters, to explain the dangers of burning waste in open barrels. These media items showed how dioxins and furans are formed, and the reasons they pose a problem to the health of humans and the environment.

As well, EcoSuperior arranged to have leaflets inserted into property tax bills and the permits issued by local fire departments for controlled burns. Over the course of the pilot project, which ran from early spring 2002 until late fall 2003, the group also held information meetings in schools, with community groups and at town councils. It provided special garbage bags and educational material to visitors to the areas’ parks. EcoSuperior also set up a website to provide background information, technical studies, hands-on advice and outreach materials in cyberspace. The website is located at www.openburning.org.

In October 2003, the campaign was extended to the Lake Ontario region when the Lanark and Leeds Green Community Program launched its burn barrel program. The burn barrel team plans to use the Household Garbage Burning Strategy now tested in two locations on the Great Lakes as the model for similar programs in Canada and United States.

“We’ll be looking at the barriers that may stand in the way of waste diversion, as well as to improving our education and outreach efforts,” says Gillies. “We will also work closely with our local partners to make the rollout a success. This means working closely with local public officials and decision-makers to get them to buy into the program. Where necessary, municipal bylaws that would prohibit the burning of garbage may be considered as a tool to persuade those individuals who will not change their habits voluntarily.”

Other sources of dioxins and furans The governments of Ontario and Canada have tackled other sources of dioxins and furans, besides burn barrels, since they signed the COA in 2002. Under the new Canada-wide standards developed by the Canada Council of Ministers of the Environment, emissions of dioxin and furans from iron sintering plants are slated to drop by 90 per cent, and from steel manufacturing electric arc furnaces by 60 per cent by the year 2010. The council of environment ministers also endorsed Canada-wide standards for incineration and for the coastal pulp and paper sectors. In Ontario, the provincial government put in place a regulation to close all existing hospital incinerators by December 6, 2003. The closures were confirmed through site visits by the ministry. It is now examining ways to divert more waste, including regulatory and non-regulatory initiatives to promote recycling and other ways to reduce the amount of garbage going to landfill sites. The province’s waste diversion strategy calls for 60 per cent diversion of non-hazardous waste from Ontario’s landfills by expanding recycling programs and supporting initiatives to manage waste more effectively.

Cooperative programs rein in mercury releases: Cutting Mercury in the Great Lakes

About mercury Mercury is a heavy metal that is listed as a “toxic substance” under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999. Once in the environment, mercury takes years to degrade and accumulates in vegetation, crops, fish, wildlife, and humans. It has long been recognized as a serious threat to the environment and to human health. In most chemical forms, mercury is a neurotoxin. This means it can cause damage to the brain and central nervous system and harm the kidneys and lungs. Methylmercury, one of the most toxic forms of mercury, is known to affect learning ability and neuro-development in children. Mercury, a silvery liquid metal, has a number of unusual properties, such as conducting electricity and combining readily with other metals that make it useful for a variety of products. Mercury has been, and in some cases still is, used in batteries, thermometers, switches, thermostats, smoke detectors, fluorescent lights, medical instruments, high-intensity discharge lamps and dental amalgams for fillings. Two-thirds of the mercury released into the atmosphere comes from the fuels burned in steel mills, cement plants and coal-fired power plants. Mercury is also released from the smokestacks of incinerators burning municipal solid waste, sewage sludge, and hazardous waste. Airborne mercury is a particular concern because the prevailing winds carry mercury compounds for hundreds of kilometres until they drift down to earth or are washed down in rainstorms. Today, atmospheric deposition is one of the major sources of mercury to Ontario’s lakes, streams and eventually fish.

Under the 2002 Canada-Ontario Agreement, the two governments worked on two fronts to reduce the amount of mercury released into the atmosphere. First, the federal and provincial governments developed new regulations and standards to cut emissions of the toxic chemical. Second, the two governments formed partnerships with industrial and professional associations to reduce the use of mercury and ensure products that contain mercury are collected and disposed of safely.

Standards and regulations to cut emissions

To reduce emissions of mercury, the CCME adopted three countrywide standards for mercury. These standards target fluorescent lamps, waste containing dental amalgams and emissions from incinerators.

For its part, the Ontario government is putting into place the new standards for incinerators and has already amended a number of Certificates of Approval (which are needed to operate an incinerator) to include the new standards.

“By installing the mercury control equipment, operators of these incinerators have cut mercury emissions by an estimated 400 kilograms a year from 2000 levels,” says Ian Smith of the Standards Development Branch of the Ontario Ministry of the Environment.

Of equal importance, provincial regulations have also closed 70 hospital incinerators. The result is that all of Ontario’s biomedical and other hospital waste – once the fourth-largest source of mercury releases in the province – is treated at state-of-the-art waste management facilities, which effectively eliminates mercury emissions from these sources.

In addition, new Ontario regulations require dental offices to install equipment that captures the mercury-based dental amalgams that used to go down the drain. To support the province, some municipalities, such as Toronto and Ottawa, have passed bylaws to reduce the amount of mercury entering municipal sewer systems.

The Ministry of the Environment is encouraging the use of mercury-free products, alternative fuels and better technology to reduce and to monitor mercury pollution. The ministry is also expanding recycling programs, decommissioning current sources of mercury and cleaning up sediments containing mercury.

Partnerships and cooperation

Cooperation among governments, non-government organizations and industrial and professional associations is essential in reducing mercury use. A number of cooperative partnerships are in place. For example:

• The COA partners have worked with manufacturers to reduce the amount of mercury used in lamps. • The federal government and the Canadian Dental Association have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to reduce the amount of mercury discharged from dentists’ offices to local sewer systems by some 90%. • The Clean Air Foundation is managing the Switch Out program, a partnership of the federal and provincial governments as well as industry and non-government organizations. The program focuses on the switch that turns on the light in automobile trunks. These switches contain minute amounts of mercury, which add up to large amounts of the toxic chemical when cars reach the end of their useful lifespan, and are taken to the scrapyard to be crushed or recycled in electric arc furnaces. To date, more than 130 scrapyards and auto dismantlers in Ontario have joined the program. Plans are now afoot to expand Switch Out across the country. • The Regional Municipality of Niagara and the Association of Municipal Recycling Coordinators have developed a collection program for the mercury-containing switches in household appliances. Further, the regional municipality is working on a mercury elimination policy and plan. When finished, it can be used as a template by other upper-tier municipalities. • Lake Superior’s north shore communities from Thunder Bay to Sault Ste. Marie are serving as a model of environmental leadership. A public education and outreach program coordinated by EcoSuperior, a non-government organization based in Thunder Bay, kept local businesses and residents informed of the uses and dangers of mercury. EcoSuperior then followed this with extensively promoted programs for recycling button batteries, thermostats, fluorescent lamps and other consumer products that might contain mercury.

“Cooperative programs with business, industry and local community groups are essential to the success of mercury reduction efforts,” says Jim Bailey of EcoSuperior.

Getting the numbers down

Releases of mercury in the Great Lakes Basin have been cut by 83 per cent, in 2004, from the baseline set in 1988. That translates to 2,400 kilograms a year in 2004 from 14,000 kilograms a year in 1988.

“We will continue to build on the gains achieved so far,” says Environment Canada’s Robert Krauel. “We anticipate a reduction of 90 per cent of the 1988 baseline by 2010.”

Sarnia industrial area - Tony Walton for the Ontario Ministry of the Environment