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Reports on Ciba Specialty Chemicals' acquisition of Canada-based LPM Technologies Inc., a supplier of specialty chemicals for the pulp and paper industry. Expansion of Ciba Specialty's position in the market for chemicals used to enhance speed, efficiency and quality of paper production.

New substances destined for import into, or manufacture in, Canada must be reported to Environment Canada and Health Canada under the New Substances Notification Regulations (Chemicals and Polymers) (NSNR). With the use of information provided by the notifier, and other complementary information available to the 2 departments, the New Substances Program conducts ecological and human health risk assessments. Over the past 10 y, more than 750 ecotoxicity studies have been submitted to the New Substances Program of Environment Canada under the NSNR. Most of these experimental studies are not publicly available but are useful in the ecological risk assessment of new substances and for the development of Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationships (QSARs). In this paper, we describe the development and validation of a computer-based scoring system and our approach in the development of scoring methods used to assess the quality and usability of ecotoxicity studies with fish, Daphnia spp., and green algae. Results of ranking exercises conducted with these methods are described and discussed, together with the potential use of these results in a regulatory context. In addition, the methods are discussed in comparison with other similar evaluation schemes described in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we present a comparative assessment of drinking-water standards from almost all South American countries, using the USA and the Canadian standards and the World Health Organization (WHO) Guidelines as references. Similarities and discrepancies between standards/ guidelines were identified through descriptive analyses and, in the case of chemical standards, clustering techniques. In general, one or another of the four consecutive editions of the WHO Guidelines were shown to be quite influential in setting drinking-water standards in the region, but not so much the USA and the Canadian standards. Considerable discrepancies between South American drinking-water standards were found, mainly with respect to chemical substances. Questions are raised about their scientific basis and/or the practicalities for their enforcement. In conclusion, the paper highlights that many drinking-water regulations in South America need updating, taking on the approach of health-based targets in setting these standards, as well as that of a broader risk-based preventive management in the entire supply system to assure water safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With improved analytical techniques, environmental monitoring studies are increasingly able to report the occurrence of tens or hundreds of chemicals per site, making it difficult to identify the most relevant chemicals from a biological standpoint. For the present study, organic chemical occurrence was examined, individually and as mixtures, in the context of potential biological effects. Sediment was collected at 71 Great Lakes (USA/Canada) tributary sites and analyzed for 87 chemicals. Multiple risk‐based lines of evidence were used to prioritize chemicals and locations, including comparing sediment concentrations and estimated porewater concentrations with established whole‐organism benchmarks (i.e., sediment and water quality criteria and screening values) and with high‐throughput toxicity screening data from the US Environmental Protection Agency's ToxCast database, estimating additive effects of chemical mixtures on common ToxCast endpoints, and estimating toxic equivalencies for mixtures of alkylphenols and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). This multiple‐lines‐of‐evidence approach enabled the screening of more chemicals, mitigated the uncertainties of individual approaches, and strengthened common conclusions. Collectively, at least one benchmark/screening value was exceeded for 54 of the 87 chemicals, with exceedances observed at all 71 of the monitoring sites. Chemicals with the greatest potential for biological effects, both individually and as mixture components, were bisphenol A, 4‐nonylphenol, indole, carbazole, and several PAHs. Potential adverse outcomes based on ToxCast gene targets and putative adverse outcome pathways relevant to individual chemicals and chemical mixtures included tumors, skewed sex ratios, reproductive dysfunction, hepatic steatosis, and early mortality, among others. The results provide a screening‐level prioritization of chemicals with the greatest potential for adverse biological effects and an indication of sites where they are most likely to occur. Environ Toxicol Chem 2022;41:1016–1041. Published 2022. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of SETAC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The annual bark yield in Canada is as much as 17millionm3. Currently, more than half of the bark is incinerated or landfilled and the remainder of the bark is mainly used as a cheap source of energy in saw/pulp mills. Both bark incineration and landfilling can lead to environmental problems. Due to the abundance of ash in bark and the lower sintering point of bark ash than that of wood ash, the combustion of bark can lead to fouling which would damage the combustors. Bark contains a large fraction of extractives and lignin (up to 50wt% on a dry basis), which can be utilized as a renewable source of chemicals, particularly aromatic chemicals. The technical routes and technologies on the valorization of tree barks for chemicals and materials are reviewed in this paper. These include direct utilization of bark for wooden panels, and extraction for extractives (mainly tannin) and their the application in resins and foam materials, as well as conversion of bark via thermochemical technologies, mainly phenolysis, direct liquefaction in alcohols and pyrolysis. Finally, some challenges and perspectives on the production of chemicals and materials from bark are discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article discusses the acquisition of Chemos Chemicals Canada by Boehme Filatex Canada. It states that Boehme Filatex Canada has acquired Chemos Chemicals Canada in Quebec, Canada, which includes all sales, assets and products lines. It relates that the acquisition follows Boehme Filatex Canada's sale in 1998 of its personal care and industrial and institutional lines of products. According to the company, this move is congruent with the long-term focus of the company and its commitment to the textile industry worldwide.

Managing risks to human health and the environment produced by endocrine-active chemicals (EAC) is dependent on sound principles of risk assessment and risk management, which need to be adapted to address the uncertainties in the state of the science of EAC. Quantifying EAC hazard identification, mechanisms of action, and dose-response curves is complicated by a range of chemical structure/toxicology classes, receptors and receptor subtypes, and nonlinear dose-response curves with low-dose effects. Advances in risk science including toxicogenomics and quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSAR) along with a return to the biological process of hormesis are proposed to complement existing risk assessment strategies, including that of the Endocrine Disruptor Screening and Testing Advisory Committee (EDSTAC 1998). EAC represents a policy issue that has captured the public's fears and concerns about environmental health. This overview describes the process of EAC risk assessment and risk management in the context of traditional risk management frameworks, with emphasis on the National Research Council Framework (1983), taking into consideration the strategies for EAC management in Canada, the United States, and the European Union. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents the trade indices of the member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Volume of imports of Canada for live animals in September 2003; Price index of Mexico in September 2003; Unit value index of New Zealand for food and beverages in the first quarter of 2003; Volume index of Japan for chemicals in March 2003.

The objective of this study is to decide if chemical concentrations measured during 1988-1997 in precipitation by the Canadian Air and Precipitation Monitoring Network (CAPMoN) indicate changes in the annual patterns. The inference is based on SO4, NO3, Cl, NH4, Na, Ca and K concentrations monitored daily with the rain water acidity pH. By pattern is understood the probability distribution of the annual sample at a particular location. Most of the annual data can be well described by means of a linear regression model with second order polynomial trend and autocorrelated noise. Statistical analysis based on the model shows luck of systematic significant year to year increases or declines of the concentrations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]