Priority Substances List Assessment Report for Textile Mill Effluents

Environment Canada
Health Canada
2001
ISBN: 0-662-29341-X
Cat. No.: En40-215/59E

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Canadian Environmental Protection Act 1999

Table of Contents

• List of Acronyms and Abbreviations
• Synopsis
• 1.0 Introduction
• 2.0 Summary of Information Critical to Assessment of "Toxic" Under CEPA 1999
  • 2.1 Identity and physical/chemical properties
    • 2.1.1 Identity
    • 2.1.2 Chemicals present in TMEs
    • 2.1.3 Physical properties of TMEs
  • 2.2 Entry characterization
    • 2.2.1 Sources
    • 2.2.2 Releases of TMEs in Canada
    • 2.2.3 Treatment of TMEs in Canada
  • 2.3 Exposure characterization
    • 2.3.1 Environmental fate of TMEs
    • 2.3.2 Dyes in TMEs
    • 2.3.3 Dilution of TMEs in Canada
  • 2.4 Effects characterization
    • 2.4.1 Whole-effluent aquatic toxicity
    • 2.4.2 Ambient aquatic toxicity
    • 2.4.3 In situ aquatic toxicity
    • 2.4.4 Sediment toxicity
    • 2.4.5 Benthic macroinvertebrate community impacts
    • 2.4.6 Endocrine disruption effects
    • 2.4.7 Mutagenicity of TMEs
    • 2.4.8 Effects of dyes in TMEs
• 3.0 Assessment of "Toxic" under CEPA 1999
  • 3.1 CEPA 1999 64(a): Environment
    • 3.1.1 Assessment endpoints
    • 3.1.2 Environmental risk characterization
      • 3.1.2.1 Overview of approach for determination of risk quotients
      • 3.1.2.2 Results of Tier 1 assessment
      • 3.1.2.3 Overview of approach for the Tier 2 or weight-of-evidence assessment
      • 3.1.2.4 Results of Tier 2 assessment
        • 3.1.2.4.1 Untreated TMEs
        • 3.1.2.4.2 Primary-treated TMEs
    • 3.1.3 Summary of risk characterization
    • 3.1.4 Uncertainties in the environmental risk characterization
    • 3.1.5 Conclusions
    • 3.1.6 Considerations for follow-up (further action)
• 4.0 References

Appendices

• Appendix A Search Strategies Employed for Identification of Relevant Data
• Appendix B Wastewater Treatment Processes Applied to Textile Mill Effluents
• Appendix C Aquatic Toxicity Data for Untreated TMEs
• Appendix D Aquatic Toxicity Data for Treated TMEs
• Appendix E NP and NPE Concentrations and Calculated EEV_TEQ Values for Untreated TMEs and On-Site Primary - and Secondary-Treated TMEs
• Appendix F Mill Discharge Sites

List of Tables

• Table 1 Distribution of wet processing textile mills in Canada
• Table 2 Results of Tier 1 risk quotient calculations using whole-effluent toxicity endpoints

List of Figures

• Figure 1 Wet processing mills in Canada, by mill type
• Figure 2 Distribution of TME releases to the environment
• Figure 3 Degree of treatment applied to TMEs by province in 1996-1999
• Figure 4 Full di lution potential of cumulative TME discharges to rivers in Canada
• Figure 5 Median toxicity of TMEs
• Figure 6 Median toxicity of TMEs from on-site secondary wastewater treatment systems
• Figure 7 Median toxicity of untreated TMEs from various mill types
• Figure 8 Theoretical toxicity reduction in untreated and primary-treated TMEs with varying river currents
• Figure 9 NP and NPE EEV_TEQs in the Annapolis River, 1999