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Environmental and Workplace Health

Contaminated Sites Division Annual Report 2004-2005

Table of Contents

2. Activities

Health Canada's Contaminated Sites Division (CSD) activities for 2004-05 are summarized in Figures 1 and 2. The outputs and contributions of the Department's CSD activities in 2004-2005 are detailed in Tables 1 to 4.

Figure 1: Summary of Health Canada's Contaminated Sites Division Activities

Figure 2: Summary of Health Canada's Scientific Investigations Relating to Contaminated Sites
   
• Mixtures
  - Analysis of mixtures at federal sites
  - Review of RA approaches
  - Genotoxicity of soil-borne mixtures
 
• Bioavailability
  - Dermal
  - Oral
  - Pulmonary
  - Database on oral bioavailability of As, Pb and Cd
  - Review of soil analytical methods for comparability to bioavailable fraction
 
• Toxicology
  - Hg vapour
  - Low mol. Wt. hydrocarbons
  - Hight mol. Wt. hydrocarbons
  - Pb
  - Review of toxicology, TRVs and tissue guidelines for PCBs
 
• Indoor dust
  - In-house analytical capability
 
• Risks from remedial technologies
 
• Modelling
  - Predicting plant uptake from soil concentrations
  - Screening air dispersion model (soil particles; stack emissions)
  - Comparison of a variety of environmental fate models
  - Comparison of CWS PHC, Atlantic Risk-Based Corrective Action (ARBCA) and state-of-science indoor intrusion models
 
• Natural sources and levels of metals in CDN soils
  - Database of F/P/T soil geochemical surveys (GSC)
  - Defining CDN 'background' for U, Pb, Ni (GSC)
 
• Risk assessment methods
  - Inter-provincial comparison of variation in contaminated site risk assessment results
  - Quantification of background daily intake for Ba, Be, Ni using probabilistic methods
  - Review and revision of the practice of exposure "amortization" in cancer risk estimation as applied to contaminated sites
     

 

Table 1: Setting Expectations and Plans
Output Selection Criteria
Contaminated Sites Selection Criteria • In 2003-2004, Health Canada requested HHRAs, following its preliminary quantitative risk assessment (PQRA) guidance as a minimum requirement for federal contaminated sites to be considered by the department for site ranking. In 2004-05, parts 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the PQRA guidance were completed and published (see under section Guidelines and Guidance, Table 2.1 for the complete list of Health Canada's CSD current and in-progress publications).
Priority Plans/Lists

• 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 activities, projects and priorities were discussed with CSD staff, various Health Canada groups, and other federal departments involved in the Federal Contaminated Sites Management Working Group.

• Furthermore, a Consultative Committee to the CSD was created to provide advice on research and project priorities. Members of this Committee include: CCME Soil Quality Guideline Task Group; BC Science Advisory Board on Contaminated Sites; Atlantic Partnership in RBCA Implementation (PIRI); and Environment Canada.
Performance Plan

• The 2003-2004 Annual Progress Report was developed to assess the progress of the CSD. The document was published and made available on the CSD Website.

• Under the CSD RMAF, the first and second year evaluations are formative. The third year evaluation, planned next year, includes surveys to evaluate the performance of the CSD.

• An update of the current RMAF is planned in 2005, to reflect the evolution of the CSD.
Human Resources Plan

• To provide services to custodial departments and to deliver on its commitments, Health Canada initiated staffing actions in NCR and its six regions to hire specialized staff. Risk assessment specialist positions in the Atlantic, Quebec, Alberta/NWT and BC/YK regions were staffed on an indeterminate basis. These same regions have also staffed their public involvement positions, but on a temporary basis, pending resolution of job descriptions, classification, and staffing mechanisms. The Ontario/Nunavut region risk assessment specialist position was staffed temporarily in 2004-05 and is now proceeding with a staffing action to secure a qualified candidate on an indeterminate basis. In NCR, the public involvement position was staffed indeterminately.

• The Manitoba/Saskatchewan regional positions (both for risk assessment and public involvement) remained unstaffed in 2004-05. Staff of other regions and the NCR shared the workload arising from sites and contacts in that region.

• Consultation is currently taking place in order to reach a consensus on the job descriptions for the Regional Public Involvement Specialist positions.

• Three graduate students (2 in NCR and 1 in the Quebec region) were staffed temporarily to contribute to and assist with workload, and to gain experience with the CSD.

• Due to burgeoning workloads resulting from a high demand for review of and input to risk assessments, and for input to site risk management plans, new resources requirements are currently being considered to provide additional regional and NCR resources in support of contaminated sites risk assessment, management and communication projects.
Table of Contents
Date Modified: 2006-03-30

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