Search

Using data from a number of radon surveys, it was assessed that on average, radon progeny concentrations in Canadian homes are about three times higher than in school buildings, 4.7 times higher than in public buildings and indoor workplaces, and 12 times higher than in outdoor air. Canadian statistics show that most Canadians spend ~70% of their time indoors at home, 20% indoors away from home and 10% in outdoors. Due to relatively higher radon concentration in residential homes and longer time spent indoors at home, the exposure at home contributes to 90% of the radon-induced lung-cancer risk.

We developed a method to better estimate the carbon stocks of in-use harvested wood products (HWP) by using the Eora multiregional input-output tables to link global HWP production and end uses, compared to existing global-scale studies that focused on semifinished HWP. Using the new method, we allocated global HWP to country-specific end uses, including solid HWP used in (1) construction, (2) furniture production, and (3) other end uses, and as (4) household and sanitary paper and (5) other paper and paper products, while the HWP carbon stocks in these end uses were estimated using the Stock Change Approach. We reported that HWP produced globally contained an annual average of 277.7 teragram carbon in 1992-2015, of which 63.0, 12.6, 76.7, 9.1, and 116.3 teragram carbon were consumed by the above five end uses, respectively. By 2015, the carbon stocks of global in-use HWP produced since 1992 accumulated to 2938 teragrams of carbon, of which the above five HWP end uses accounted for 1489, 268, 890, 0, and 291 teragrams of carbon, respectively. Country-specific HWP production and consumption varied significantly, with the eight leading consuming countries (United States, China, Japan, Canada, Germany, Russia, United Kingdom, and France) accounting for 69% of the global in-use HWP carbon stocks. published

Background Pictou Landing First Nation (PLFN), a small Mi'kmaw community on the Canadian east coast, has had a relationship with a tidal estuary known as A'se'k for millennia. In the 1960s, it became the site of effluent disposal from a nearby pulp mill. Almost immediately, health concerns regularly and consistently reverberated throughout the community. Objectives The Pictou Landing Native Women's Group (PLNWG) formed a community-based participatory research (CBPR) partnership with an academic team to conceptualize community well-being in the context of environment and human health connections. This paper documents Mi'kmaw Elders' stories of A'se'k before it became contaminated. Methods Using narrative inquiry vis-a-vis oral histories, we carried out conversational interviews with 10 Elders from PLFN. These interviews were thematically analyzed and 're-storied' through a process of (w)holistic content analysis. Results Our findings present four broad story layers, recounting the themes that emerged through analysis and presenting a broad Mi'kmaw narrative of A'se'k. These story layers share: what A'se'k originally provided, the historical/cultural context of PLFN, changes to land and health after the mill was put in, and reflections on the past and future of A'se'k. Conclusions Our research offers a novel contribution to the literature by showing how Mi'kmaw perspectives on the pollution at A'se'k reveal the close connection between Mi'kmaw livelihood, local ecologies, and health and well-being. Our research also provides insights into the way the research relationship developed between the PLNWG and the academic team, providing a pathway for others seeking to decolonize the research landscape.

A bleached kraft pulp mill in Nova Scotia has discharged effluent wastewater into Boat Harbour, a former tidal estuary within Pictou Landing First Nation since 1967. Fifty years of effluent discharge into Boat Harbour has created >170,000 m3 of unconsolidated sediment, impacted by inorganic and organic contaminants, including metal[loid]s, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), dioxins, and furans. This study aimed to characterize metal(loid)-impacted sediments to inform decisions for a $89 million CAD sediment remediation program. The remediation goals are to return this impacted aquatic site to pre-mill tidal conditions. To understand historical sediment characteristics, spatiotemporal variation covering ~quarter century, of metal(loid) sediment concentrations across 103 Boat Harbour samples from 81 stations and four reference locations, were assessed by reviewing secondary data from 1992 to 2015. Metal(loid) sediment concentrations were compared to current Canadian freshwater and marine sediment quality guidelines (SQGs). Seven metal(loid)s, As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, Hg, and Zn, exceeded low effect freshwater and marine SQGs; six, As, Cd, Cr, Pb, Hg, and Zn, exceeded severe effect freshwater SQGs; and four, Cd, Cu, Hg, and Zn, exceeded severe effect marine SQGs. Metal(loid) concentrations varied widely across three distinct temporal periods. Significantly higher Cd, Cu, Pb, Hg, and Zn concentrations were measured between 1998 and 2000, compared to earlier, 1992–1996 and more recent 2003–2015 data. Most samples, 69%, were shallow (0–15 cm), leaving deeper horizons under-characterized. Geographic information system (GIS) techniques also revealed inadequate spatial coverage, presenting challenges for remedy decisions regarding vertical and horizontal delineation of contaminants. Review of historical monitoring data revealed that gaps still exist in our understanding of sediment characteristics in Boat Harbour, including spatial, vertical and horizontal, and temporal variation of sediment contamination. To help return Boat Harbour to a tidal estuary, more detailed sampling is required to better characterize these sediments and to establish appropriate reference (background) concentrations to help develop cost-effective remediation approaches for this decades-old problem.

In 2005, Human-Smoked (HS) tar and nicotine yields from commercial Canadian cigarettes were determined using a part filter analysis method to obtain estimates representative of human smoking behavior. In 2006, new cigarette designs were introduced to ensure compliance with the Canadian Low Ignition Propensity (LIP) regulations. It was not known how the changes in product design would affect HS yields. To assess the impact of the cigarette design modifications on HS yields, a further group of Canadian smokers was recruited for smoking the modified version of 10 products previously assessed. No differences in estimated HS tar yields were found between products following product modification. The HS nicotine yield was different for one product. In general, HS yields were higher than ISO machine yields while Canadian intense machine yields were more representative of the maximum HS yields. The same product ranking order was obtained for HS yields and the two machine yields but differences between the mean HS yields and ISO yields were smaller as the product ISO yields increased. Higher HS yields were measured when products were smoked by male smokers. The methodology used in this study showed the wide range of HS yields obtained by smokers as well as a good degree of stability in average HS yields just before and after the introduction of LIP regulations.

Forty-one bacterial strains isolated from the headbox water of two machines in a Canadian paper mill were associated with the genera Asticcacaulis, Acidovorax, Bacillus, Exiguobacterium, Hydrogenophaga, Pseudomonas, Pseudoxanthomonas, Staphylococcus, Stenotrophomonas based on the sequence of their 16S rRNA genes. The metabolic profile of these strains were determined using Biolog EcoPlate, and the bacteria were divided into four metabolic groups. Metabolic profiles of the bacterial communities colonizing the headbox water of two paper machines was also determined weekly over a 1 year period. The only compound that was not reduced by the bacterial community was 2-hydroxybenzoic acid. Utilization frequency of the other carbon sources in the Biolog EcoPlate ranged from 3 to 100%. The metabolic profiles of the bacterial community did not vary considerably between the two paper machines. However, the metabolic profile varied among the sampling dates.

Over 100 bacteria from pulp and slime samples in a Canadian paper mill were identified by partial sequencing of their 16S rDNAs. Seventy-one percent of the isolates could be assigned to a bacterial genus with a high level of confidence. Another 12% exhibited at least 95% similarity within their 16S rDNA sequence with unidentified organisms that originate from warm or wet environments. Pseudomonas, Bacillus, and Pseudoxanthomonas isolates were represented at a relatively high proportion in both pulp and slime samples. This is the first time that Pseudoxanthomonas strains have been isolated from pulp and slime samples on a paper machine.

The recent introduction of new vaccines into the school-based immunization program in British Columbia (BC) included monitoring of adverse events following immunization (AEFI) for these new vaccines. This commentary discusses different methods used to collect AEFIs in school immunization campaigns and the effects on response rate. The results of a study using an internet-based tool inspired this paper. The study examined adverse events following human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine given to grades 6 and 9 students. The low response rate of the internet survey resulted in insufficient findings regarding adverse events. Consequent to the analysis of the study's data, a literature review was conducted to examine survey methodologies used to collect adverse event data following school-based immunization of adolescents. A PubMed search used various combinations of the following terms: vaccine, immunization, immunization programs, reactogenicity, adverse reactions, safety, adolescent, schoolchildren, and survey. Potentially relevant papers were identified based upon the titles and abstracts and subsequently reviewed. Only four studies were deemed appropriate for comparison purposes: all were done in Canada.

Some Parties (Countries) to the UNFCCC decided to include the carbon uptake by harvested wood products (HWP) in a new general accounting framework after 2012 (post Kyoto). The analysis aims to make a comparison between the cascaded use of HWP and the use of wood for energy. We combine the new HWP framework with an assumed increased 50 million m3harvest level in Canada and evaluate the impact of the GHG emissions over a 100-year period. Our reference case assumes all harvested wood is an immediate CO2emission (IPCC default) and no substitution effects, i.e. annual GHG emissions of 41 million tonnes CO2eq. In our wood utilization scenario's, harvested trees are allocated (in varying shares) to three end-products: construction wood, paper products and pellets for power production. In comparison with our base case, a combination of fossil fuel substitution, material substitution and temporary carbon uptake by HWP leads to significant decreases in GHG emissions. All scenario's show annual GHG emission between 18 and 21 million tonnes CO2eqexcept for triple use without recycling (at least 24 million tonnes CO2eq). We conclude that GHG emissions of our scenarios are substantially lower than IPCC default. However, it is difficult to incorporate one single method to account for GHG uptake and emissions by HWP, due to end use efficiency and recycling options. Further GHG allocation over individual countries is not straightforward and needs further research. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd.

Pulp and paper mills use a variety of chemical substances potentially hazardous to human health. Compounds of both short- and long-term toxicological significance are found in workplaces, air emissions, and water effluent. In this paper we evaluate the body of published literature on cancer associated with working in pulp and paper mills as well as in surrounding communities. Multiple comparisons, questionable statistical power, and the absence of individual exposure assessments have resulted in non-corroborative findings over the years. However, a new generation of study sophistication, international in scale and coordinated by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), has catalogued tens of thousands of exposure measurements made at a large number of work stations within the pulp and paper industry, allowing for greatly improved individual-level exposure assessments. This approach reduces non-differential misclassification of exposure, increasing the power of these studies to detect exposure disease relationships, especially for rarer cancers. While the ability to associate specific chemical exposures with cancer outcomes in the large IARC multinational cohort may yet help to resolve the status of some of the many chemicals not currently classifiable as to their carcinogenicity by IARC, this effort has, to date, not added significantly to knowledge. Of the three studies they have published to date, one involved a well-established carcinogen (asbestos) and another involved a mixture containing probable carcinogens (volatile organochlorines). While the asbestos study is somewhat unremarkable for finding an association with pleural cancer in the expected direction, the volatile organochlorine study may be most notable for failing to find an association between volatile organochlorine exposure and liver cancer, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, or esophageal cancer, as some previous studies had found. Nonetheless, given the known hazards and the potential for both environmental and human exposure by any of a number of pathways, vigilance on the part of governments for regulation and for ongoing workplace and environmental monitoring remains a health imperative.

A greenhouse study was undertaken to determine the suitability of adding papermill sludge to neutral/alkaline gold mine tailings to improve the establishment of Festuca rubra, Agropyron trachycaulum and Medicago sativa. Festuca rubra root and shoot biomass and A. Trachycaulum shoot biomass were increased with papermill sludge amendment. The addition of papermill sludge and fertilizer drastically increased the shoot and root biomass of M. sativa (20-30 times) while A. trachycaulum and F. rubra showed a more moderate increase in growth. Photosynthetic pigment content of the leaves was higher in papermill sludge treatments than in the treatments without papermill sludge. The organic carbon content, macro-aggregate content and field capacity of the gold mine tailings were increased while the bulk density was decreased by the addition of papermill sludge. This study suggests that addition of papermill sludge and adequate fertilization can alleviate some of the adverse conditions of neutral/alkaline gold mine tailings.

In Canada, Environmental Effects Monitoring (EEM) programs exist within two regulations: the Pulp and Paper Effluent Regulations and the new Metal Mining Effluent Regulations under the Canadian Fisheries Act. EEM provides a biological, effects-based feedback loop to assess the effectiveness of technology-based regulations in protecting receiving environments. The promulgation of the Pulp and Paper Effluent Regulations, in 1992, represented a significant step forward in the Canadian regulatory approach by incorporating directly into a regulation a requirement to assess the effects of effluent discharges on receiving environments using proven scientific monitoring methodologies. Similarly, an assessment of the aquatic impacts of mines resulted in recommendations to amend the Metal Mining Effluent Regulations, recently promulgated in 2002, and includes an EEM program as a science-based feedback loop. As such, these regulations recognize the possibility that national, technology-based standards may not necessarily protect all receiving environments because of the diversity and variability of both discharges and receiving sites across the country. Since that time, EEM has improved its flexibility by considering both advances in science and the uniqueness of monitoring sites across Canada to allow the most appropriate and cost-effective monitoring approaches at each site while maintaining national consistency. This paper discusses the use of monitoring under two Canadian regulations to assess effects on aquatic ecosystems. As well, the National EEM approach to maintaining up-to-date scientific practices in a national regulatory program is discussed using examples.

In 1997, we collected nine river sediment samples, including one duplicate, from above and below three pulp and paper mills on the Wisconsin River in Wisconsin, USA, and one mill on Beaver Dam Creek in Ontario, Canada. We also obtained twenty split sediment samples from the Wisconsin River that were collected by the US EPA in collaboration with Indiana University. Finally, we collected influent and effluent samples from eight pulp and paper related industries in the US and Canada. We analyzed all sediment and water samples for hexa- through decachlorobornanes. We did not detect any chlorobornanes in most of the sediments. When chlorobornanes were detected, the concentration in sediments below pulp mills were similar to or less than in those from above the same mills. Chlorobornanes could not be detected in any of the influent or effluent samples. Thus, pulp and paper mills and relate facilities are not a source of chlorobornanes.

SUMMARYTo assess the potential of fomites and environmental surfaces as vehicles in the transmission of rotaviral diarrhoea, disks (1 cm diameter) of various porous and non-porous materials were contaminated with about 105plaque-forming units of the Wa strain of human rotavirus (HRV) suspended in faecal matter. The contaminated disks were then held for 10 days at either room temperature (22±2 °C) or 4°C with the relative humidity (RH) at the high (85±5%), medium (50±5%) or low (25±5%) level. Survival was longer on non-porous surfaces at the lower temperature and at lower humidity. In contrast, survival on porous surfaces was very variable; better on cotton-polyester than on poster card or paper currency on which HRV survived very poorly. These results suggest that under the right environmental conditions, HRV-contaminated objects could play a role in the transmission of rotavirus infections in hospitals, nursing homes and day-care centres.

Various techniques of determining total reduced sulfur (TRS) gases that are emitted in the manufacture of pulp and paper, particularly in the kraft pulping process, are reviewed. Particular emphasis is placed on two types of popular TRS analyzers used in Canada, viz. coulometers and gas chromatographs, with a discussion on the automation of the latter.

Experience with over 6000 Guthrie tests is presented. This test is a screening procedure for phenylketonuria using small amounts of blood spotted on a filter paper which are tested by a bacterial "inhibition assay". Certain technical aspects of the test (e.g. relation between the concentration of phenylalanine in the blood and extent of the bacterial growth zones produced, type of filter paper, size of the blood spot on the paper) were investigated. It was shown that the Guthrie test clearly distinguishes between subjects with normal plasma phenylalanine levels and patients with untreated phenylketonuria.Applications of the Guthrie test in screening a mental hospital population, admissions to a penitentiary and newborn babies are described.

Background During the 2009 H1N1 immunization campaign, electronic and hybrid (comprising both electronic and paper components) systems were employed to collect client-level vaccination data in clinics across Canada. Because different systems were used across the country, the 2009 immunization campaign offered an opportunity to study the usability of the various data collection methods. Methods A convenience sample of clinic staff working in public health agencies and hospitals in 9 provinces/territories across Canada completed a questionnaire in which they indicated their level of agreement with seven statements regarding the usability of the data collection system employed at their vaccination clinic. Questions included overall ease of use, effectiveness of the method utilized, efficiency at completing tasks, comfort using the method, ability to recover from mistakes, ease of learning the method and overall satisfaction with the method. A 5-point Likert-type scale was used to measure responses. Results Most respondents (96%) were employed in sites run by public health. Respondents included 186 nurses and 114 administrative staff, among whom 90% and 47%, respectively, used a paper-based method for data collection. Approximately half the respondents had a year or less of experience with immunization-related tasks during seasonal influenza campaigns. Over 90% of all frontline staff found their data collection method easy to use, perceived it to be effective in helping them complete their tasks, felt quick and comfortable using the method, and found the method easy to learn, regardless of whether a hybrid or electronic system was used. Conclusions This study demonstrates that there may be a greater willingness of frontline immunization staff to adapt to new technologies than previously perceived by decision-makers. The public health community should recognize that usability may not be a barrier to implementing electronic methods for collecting individual-level immunization data.