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1.0 Organisational Structure and Division Mandates
1.1 Environmental Technology Centre
1.2 Analysis and Air Quality Division (AAQD)
1.3 Emissions Research and Measurement Division (ERMD)
1.4 Emergencies Science and Technology Division (ESTD)
1.5 Emergencies Engineering Technologies Office (EETO)
1.6 Special Programs Division (SPD)
1.7 Microwave-Assisted Processes Division (MAPD)
1.1 Environmental Technology Centre (ETC)
The Environmental Technology Centre (ETC) of Environment Canada (EC) was established in
the mid-1970s to provide specialised scientific and R&D support for the department's
environmental protection activities.
The Centre advances science and develops technology in the following areas: technologies
for measuring air pollutants in ambient air and those emitted from mobile and stationary
sources; the analysis of a wide variety of organic and inorganic compounds in diverse sample
matrices; remedial action for hazardous waste sites; prevention of and response to
environmental emergencies such as oil and chemical spills; and collaborative development
of "clean" laboratory and industrial processes.
Most of the R&D work and some of the specialised scientific support services
are undertaken in collaboration with other government organisations, the
academic sector, and private industry. Much R&D work is undertaken in
co-operation with international partners. Contractors working on- and
off-site perform a significant part of the work, as does an ongoing Alternative
Service Delivery (ASD) contractual arrangement for the Emergencies
Engineering R&D work. The official Mission of the ETC is included in Appendix A.
Project results are documented in informal (unedited) manuscript reports
and formal (edited) reports available in both official languages.
In addition, staff members contribute technical and scientific papers
to journals and to proceedings of conferences and workshops. A list
of patents, reports, and papers from the Centre during this review
period is included in Appendices B through F. A list of staff members
and how to reach them is provided in Appendix G and acronyms are listed
in Appendix H.
At the Centre, the Director's Office is responsible for the overall direction
of ETC programs and for central services such as administrative support.
In addition, co-ordination of special issues is undertaken on occasion.
The scientific, laboratory, and field capabilities of the Centre are divided
among the following six scientific Divisions:
- Analysis and Air Quality Division (AAQD)
- Emissions Research and Measurement Division (ERMD)
- Emergencies Science and Technology Division (ESTD)
- Emergencies Engineering Technologies Office (EETO)
- Special Programs Division (SPD)
- Microwave-Assisted Processes Division (MAPD)
1.2 Analysis and Air Quality Division (AAQD)
The AAQD is responsible for coordinating the operation of the
federal?provincial National Air Pollution Surveillance (NAPS)
Network, which consists of 516 air-monitoring instruments at
271 monitoring stations located in 163 urban areas in Canada.
Air quality data are published and disseminated to monitor
and assess the quality of ambient air in Canada. The Division
also evaluates and develops new ambient air pollution
measurement technology in support of the NAPS network and
priority issues such as Long-Range Transport of Air Pollution
(LRTAP), Air Toxics, Smog, and development of Canada-Wide Standards.
The Division measures a variety of organic and inorganic compounds
in diverse sample matrices, such as from air pollution-related sources,
contaminated soils, hazardous wastes, and other residues. Analytical
methods are also developed to ensure that the most appropriate procedures
are available for specific sample types and to support the development of
environmental regulations. The Division is also engaged in Regulatory
Compliance and Quality Assurance activities in support of internal and
external programs.
The Organic Laboratory measures ultra-trace levels (parts per trillion -
ppt, parts per quadrillion - ppq) of many organic compounds, with particular
emphasis on the analysis of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs),
polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs),
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and other priority pollutants.
A specially designed and operated Organic Ultra-Trace Laboratory is used
for sample preparation and analysis of these toxic pollutants. The
laboratory also carries out analytical projects in support of national
programs like the Enforcement Program, develops Analytical Reference
Methods to support the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA)
regulations, designs and implements inter-laboratory studies to validate
analytical procedures, and manages quality assurance/quality control
(QA/QC) and method development programs to ensure that data generated
by contract labs are of the highest quality. It also undertakes special
studies such as the development of Levels of Quantitation (LoQ) used for
"virtual elimination" under CEPA and the Toxics Substances Management Policy.
The Inorganic Laboratory develops and applies ultra-trace methods for
determining the presence of elements and anions in air particulate matter.
The principal techniques used are X-ray fluorescence and ion chromatography.
X-ray fluorescence is used to analyse 40 elements (aluminium up to lanthanum
and lead). Ion chromatography is used to analyse ten major anions, including
the "acid rain" components sulphate and nitrate, and ten cations (alkali
metals, ammonium, and earth alkali metals). The laboratory organises and
participates in round-robins at the national and international level to
promote improvements in the capabilities of Canadian analytical laboratories.
In addition, the laboratory performs legal analyses for the regional offices
of Environment Canada and provides advice on analytical equipment and methods
to private industry and government laboratories.
1.3 Emissions Research and Measurement Division (ERMD)
For more than two decades, the ERMD has played a leading national role
in measuring polluting emissions. The team of engineers, chemists, and
technologists conducts laboratory and field studies of air pollution
originating from mobile and stationary sources. The primary focus of the
group is to undertake activities in support of departmental issues such
as Climate Change, Smog, Toxics, Regulatory Compliance and Enforcement.
Some of the activities include:
- characterisation of emissions from sources such as incinerators,
boilers, kilns, smelters, stacks, marine vessels, aircraft,
off-road vehicles, and utility engines;
- measurement and characterisation of greenhouse gases and organic
emissions from municipal landfills;
- evaluation of process control technologies;
- evaluation of remediation and waste destruction technologies;
- quality assurance/quality control;
- development of Reference Methods; and
- advice and assessment.
The Division conducts the compliance and audit testing of new model,
light- and medium-duty vehicles and motorcycles, heavy-duty and utility
engines, and outboard marine engines under CEPA 1999.
The Division also provides support to industry through collaborative
programs for the research and development of new technologies that help
to reduce pollution. These collaborative projects involve the evaluation of:
- alternative and reformulated fuels for light-duty passenger cars and trucks;
- alternative fuels and after-market exhaust emissions control equipment
for on-road, heavy-duty vehicles;
- electric and hybrid vehicles, both light- and heavy-duty; and
- new sampling and analysis instrumentation for stationary source
emissions testing.
1.4 Emergencies Science and Technology Division (ESTD)
The Emergencies Science Division undertakes research on the properties,
behaviour, and effects of spilled hazardous materials and the effectiveness
and environmental benefits of in-situ countermeasures such as spill-treating
agents, burning, and bioremediation. Such information is used to develop
research and operational models that predict the behaviour and fate of
untreated and treated oil and chemical spills. Research and development
is also carried out on techniques for measuring contamination in air,
water, and soil at spill sites and on technologies for airborne remote
sensing of spills.
The Division prepares technical spill-response guidelines and manuals
for use by emergency response personnel and contingency planners and
serves as the primary centre of scientific advice on pollution emergencies
to the regional offices of Environment Canada and other organisations.
For spills of national concern, this role includes direct involvement
in response operations through providing information and predictions
about spill behaviour, fate and effects, airborne remote sensing services,
on-site specialised sampling, and analytical support. Training in the
use of personal protection equipment and portable hazard-level monitoring
equipment is also provided to departmental emergencies personnel and to
other responders.
The Division coordinates the preparation of the biannual Spill Technology
Newsletter and organises the annual international Arctic and Marine
Oilspill Program (AMOP) Seminar, the Technical Seminar on Chemical Spills
(TSOCS), and the Biological Solutions for Oil Spills (BIOSS) Technical
Seminar.
1.5 Emergencies Engineering Technologies Office (EETO)
This Office, and a competitively awarded contractual arrangement for
Alternative Service Delivery (ASD) by a private contractor, has
essentially replaced ETC's internal organisation that was previously
known as the Emergencies Engineering Division (EED). Both the EETO
and the private contractor now form part of the ESTD.
The EETO is the ESTD's one-person office responsible for managing
the current five-year ASD contract and for the day-to-day technical
linkage between the contract group and Environment Canada. The
privatised organisation, still based at the ETC, is now known as
the Environmental Technologies Program of the Emergency and Safety
Services Division of SAIC Canada. The full company name is Science
Applications International Corporation of Canada.
The work of EETO and SAIC includes R&D on, and evaluation of,
sorbent performance and containment, recovery, and disposal equipment
for response to oil and chemical spills in marine and non-marine
environments. It also includes development, dissemination, and use of
testing protocols for evaluating spill-response equipment in the lab
or at pilot scale in the field.
The Section develops and maintains a range of prototype mobile cleanup
equipment that is used, in cooperation with others, to demonstrate and
adapt innovative methods for on-site mitigation of water or soil
contamination, which is difficult to handle using conventional techniques.
As a result of an extensive Alternative Service Delivery (ASD) study and
a competitively bid transition process initiated in January 1997, this
Division became a privatised contractor group on April 1, 1998. The new
group continues as a technology R&D partner of Environment Canada. Under
this arrangement, the research studies and technical services are still
undertaken as requested, specified, and approved by Environment Canada
through an ongoing series of work orders provided for under the contract.
External clients can also make separate arrangements to hire the contractor
for similar technical services and studies.
The Section has served as the primary centre of specialised engineering
advice on pollution emergency cleanup to the regional offices of
Environment Canada and other organisations. For spills of national concern,
this could include direct involvement in cleanup operations through the
provision of on-site expertise and unique mobile water- or soil-
decontamination equipment. It also involves the transfer of Canadian
technologies in collaboration with companies in the private sector.
Over the current reporting period, the internally funded ASD contract
with SAIC resulted in the undertaking of 22 projects in the third contract
year in R&D or Related Scientific Activities/Technical Support for ETC in
emergencies engineering technologies. The fourth year involved 24 such
projects, some of which were further extensions of work initiated in the
previous year.
1.6 Special Programs Division (SPD)
The SPD provides strategic, operational, and policy support to the
Director's Office. Two science units in the Division provide input
to Departmental regulatory and policy processes by ensuring the
availability of scientifically sound test methods (Methods Development
& Application Section) and by developing a base of Canadian commercial
laboratories that can generate internationally accepted data on new
substances (Good Lab Practice Compliance Monitoring Unit). The Division
also manages and coordinates programs with Centre-wide application or
implications, such as the design and implementation of a comprehensive
Environmental Management System (EMS) and a Quality Assurance/Quality
Control (QA/QC) system for the Centre's analytical chemistry operations.
The Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) Compliance Monitoring Unit provides
support to the scientists from the Commercial Chemicals Evaluation Branch in
Environment Canada and the Environmental Health Directorate in Health Canada
by inspecting Canadian laboratories that provide data in support of New
Substances Notifications. The Unit maintains information on the compliance
status of overseas GLP laboratories and audits specific laboratory studies
at the request of domestic or overseas regulatory authorities. In addition,
the Unit is responsible for developing GLP programs and supporting the GLP
activities of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (
OECD).
The Method Development and Application Section is responsible for
forecasting the need for Environment Canada analytical methods and
particularly for developing new toxicological methods required for
regulation. Priority analytical chemistry methods and performance-based
method guidance are developed in conjunction with the departmental
Laboratory Managers' Committee. Aquatic and sediment toxicology methods
are developed in conjunction with staff from Environment Canada's regional
offices, as well as from provincial and private sector laboratories. The
Section also develops audit checklists and provides guidance on data
interpretation for methods required under the Fisheries Act and the
Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) regulations. As well,
the Section provides significant support to the laboratory accreditation
program of the Canadian Association of Environmental Analytical Laboratories
(CAEAL) in the area of environmental toxicology.
1.7 Microwave-Assisted Processes Division (MAP)
In 1994, the MAPD was formed at ETC to accelerate the development
and commercialisation of various applications of Environment Canada's
patented Microwave-Assisted Processes (MAPTM). This decision arose
from the recognition of the early contribution of these clean
processing technologies to addressing climate change issues by
reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Examples of applications of these environmentally friendly technologies
include sample preparation techniques for subsequent biological,
chemical, and physical characterisation; extraction of high value-added
substances from a variety of origins; valorisation of biomass that would
otherwise be regarded as a waste product; provision of clean, solventless
routes to existing and novel high value-added substances; and exploration
of the applicability of the technologies to more recalcitrant problems
such as site decontamination.
When developing new applications for the technologies, staff of the MAPD
work closely with the various licensees of the technologies and with other
interested parties and stakeholders. The Division's work can be divided
into two main areas - development of analytical methods and of industrial-
scale processes.
The MAPD has an established set of procedures to determine the feasibility
of various industrial-scale applications of MAP. It begins its feasibility
study in the laboratory to evaluate the efficiency of MAP. Using these
laboratory results and, if warranted by the preliminary economic estimates,
the applications are then validated using a bench-scale unit where the
operational parameters are optimised with respect to the configuration,
size, and specifications of potential industrial processes. The MAP
pilot-plant facilities are located at ETAD-Burlington and are capable
of reproducing manufacturing conditions. Finally, the Division can
assist in designing and developing pilot- or full-scale processing
equipment and in the initial implementation stages of the actual
processing activity.
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appendices
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