FEDERAL-PROVINCIAL PROGRAMS AND INITIATIVES

CCME Policy for the Management of Toxic Substances

In January 1998, Ministers endorsed the CCME Policy for the Management of Toxic Substances. The Policy sets out a comprehensive, integrated, cooperative and concerted approach for the management of toxic substances.

The CCME is now working towards results-based, accelerated action plans that will prioritize, evaluate and categorize toxic substances. Implementation of the CCME Toxics Policy is being coordinated with the process for developing Canada-Wide Standards.

The Canada-Wide Accord on Environmental Harmonization

Description

The Canada-Wide Accord on Environmental Harmonization, which came into effect in January 1998, establishes a common vision, objectives and principles to govern the partnership between the federal, provincial and territorial governments, and the development and implementation of Sub-Agreements. In particular:

Three Sub-Agreements have been developed, dealing with environmental inspections, environmental standards, and environmental assessment, respectively.

In particular, the Canada-Wide Environmental Standards Sub-Agreement provides a mechanism to allow for the development and implementation of national standards and guidelines for substances which are toxic and persistent.

Action

Relevant Annex 15 substances targeted for development of Canada-Wide Standards include dioxins/furans and mercury.

Canada Wide Standards for Dioxins and Furans

The January 1999 Inventory of Releases prepared by Environment Canada and the Federal/Provincial Task Force on Dioxins and Furans provides basic information essential to identification of priority sectors for controlling of releases of dioxins & furans to the atmosphere, and to soil whee appliable. As the inventory of releases to soils is not complete, the Development Committee has focused on sources of atmospheric releases at this time.

The Inventory of Releases report lists quantities of emissions to the atmosphere from specific sectors by province and territory, and provides national summaries for each sector. This provides an opportunity to quickly identify an initial set of priority sectors which cumulatively represent over 80 percent of Canadian releases of dioxins and furans to the environment. These sectors vary from being regional or provincial, to national in scope and presence. There are many other sectors that are very small sources of dioxins and furans emissions, and they will be addressed at a later date.

The Development Committee has identified six priority sectors for CWS development:

Priority Sector TEQ g/y* (1999) % total (1999)
Teepee Burners (Newfoundland) 75.4 41.6
Residential Wood Burning (National) 35.7 19.7
Burning Salt Laden Wood (B.C.) 10.5 5.8
Steel Manufacturing (National) 10.2 5.6
Municipal Incinerators (National) 6.8 3.8
Iron Sintering (Ontario) 5.7 3.1
TOTALS 144.3 79.6%

*Toxic Equivalency in grams per year

Stakeholder Participation

The range and diversity of sectors, the region-specific nature of some sectors, and the desire to utilize existing processes wherever possible are factors to consider in the development of an effective and efficient stakeholder participation process. The diverse nature and range in scale of the priority sectors does not seem to suit an approach that engages a large, national group of stakeholders to participate in the development of CWS for all the priority sectors. In addition, the effort and cost of managing, and participating in, such a process may not be reflected in the final product.

The goal of stakeholder participation is to obtain, consider, and provide feedback on the ideas of people with an interest in Harmonization issues, and offer opportunities to influence decisions before they are made. An effective stakeholder participation process should capture, acknowledge and respond to the full spectrum of stakeholder interests, and result in more informed and credible decision-making. (Annex to the Harmonization Accord)

The model preferred by the Development Committee is to establish a series of stakeholder groups to address issues and seek solutions within each priority sector. Sectoral stakeholder groups could be apprised of common issues that emerge through the development process. Development Committee members could play a liaison role between sectoral stakeholder groups.

Representatives of each sectoral group could be engaged in a national process to finalize the CWS package for consideration by Ministers. There is some flexibility in what a discharge based CWS may entail, including, but not limited to, a percentage reduction in the national emissions from all sources, specific concentrations of dioxins and furans in stack emissions for each priority sector, technical specifications, operating procedures, or feedstock criteria. However, the CWS package that is recommended should conform to the principles developed by the Canada- Wide Standards Implementation Committee.

For more details please refer to the CCME Website at:
http://www.mbnet.mb.ca/ccme/3e_ priorities/3ea_harmonization/3ea2_cws/3ea2e_priorities/3ea2e2_dioxins/involvement.html

Canada Wide Standards for Mercury

An example of a Canada-Wide standard relevant to Annex 15 substances is the Canada-Wide standard for mercury. The initiative is carried out in conjunction with a number of other ongoing mercury related initiatives, including the Binational Toxics Strategy, the New England Governors and Eastern Premiers Mercury Action Plan, the UN-ECE Heavy Metals Protocol and the North American Regional Action Plan for Mercury. The development of Canada-wide Standards stress the precautionary principle, pollution prevention and sound life cycle management for effective reduction and elimination of anthropogenic mercury releases to the environment.

An inventory of anthropogenic mercury emissions identified base metal smelting, coal-fired power generation, and waste incineration (hazardous, biomedical, municipal and sewage sludge), as the largest sources of emission in Canada, and work has accordingly been focused on these sectors. Multistakeholder advisory groups were established early in 1999 and work is ongoing to develop draft standards for submission to the Ministers in the fall.

In early 1999 a review of major mercury containing products was completed to identify priority products for standards development. As a result, efforts are now being focused on fluorescent tubes, sewage sludge for land application, and the management of dental amalgams. Draft Canada-wide Standards for these products are to be completed in the spring of 2000.

The Canada-Ontario Agreement (COA)

The 1994 Canada-Ontario Agreement (COA) Respecting the Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem provides the framework for federal provincial cooperation and coordination of responsibilities for environmental management of the Great Lakes basin to the year 2000. It represents federal and provincial efforts to fulfill Canada's obligations under the Canada-U.S. Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA). Eight agencies are partners in COA. The lead federal and provincial partners for COA are Environment Canada and the Ontario Ministry of the Environment. Other partners in COA include: the provincial ministries of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Natural resources, and Health; and federally, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and Health Canada.

One of COA's three objectives is to prevent and control pollution. Under this objective, Canada and Ontario work with producers and sources of pollutants to establish schedules and seek to achieve significant reductions (90 per cent by the year 2000) in the release of persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic substances. COA programs and targets include:

Tier l Substances

Tier II Substances

A variety of initiatives are underway as part of COA. Where appropriate, these initiatives are linked with other non-COA ones. For example, Ontario's Pollution Prevention Pledge Program (P4) and Accelerated Reduction/Elimination of Toxics (ARET) are seen as the primary reporting mechanism for COA.

Based on issue analyses, action plans have been prepared for both tiers of substances. These action plans emphasize voluntary pollution prevention measures, such as developing Memoranda of Understanding and participating in the SOPs, and include initiatives to reduce releases of airborne PTSs.

Canada - Ontario Agreement (COA) Toxic Substances Emission Inventory

In April 1998, Environment Canada, EPB-OR, and the Ontario Ministry of the Environment (MOE) jointly coordinated information gathering activities regarding the following two voluntary pollutant emissions inventories:

  1. 1997 Air Pollutants Emissions Inventory for Criteria Air Contaminants (CAC) under the National Emissions Inventory and Projections Task Group (NEIPTG)

  2. 1997 Priority Substances Inventory under the Canada-Ontario Agreement Respecting the Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem (COA)

A general fact sheet was provided to facilities that identified potential sources of COA substances, which included the following:

Sector or Activity COA substance
Aviation Alkyl-lead
Domestic Wood Burning PAHs
Incineration PAHs, cadmium
Iron & Steel PAHs, mercury, cadmium, dioxins & furans
Mining & Smelting PAHs, mercury, cadmium
Open Burning PAHs
p-Dichlorobenzene Deodorizer Use Dichlorobenzene
Petroleum Refining PAHs, mercury, cadmium
Sewage Treatment Plant Discharges Mercury
Thermal Power Generation Mercury, PAHs, cadmium, hexachlorobenzene, octachlorostyrene, dioxins & furans
Vehicle Emissions PAHs, dinitropyrene
Wood Preservation PAHs, pentachlorophenol, dioxins & furans

The joint CAC-NEIPTG/COA pollutant information request was sent to 3,215 Ontario-based facilities, resulting in 512 COA survey responses (15.9%).

The emission inventory that is to be forwarded in the near future will incorporate emission data collected through the ongoing COA Air Toxics Inventory program.

CCME Codes of Practice and Guidelines

The Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME), which coordinates federal and provincial/territorial initiatives on the environment, has developed various codes of practice, guidelines, plans and programs that are intended to manage releases of specific types of persistent toxic substances. Some of these guidelines will be reviewed and updated taking into account new technologies to manage hazardous waste in an environmentally sound manner. Guidelines relevant to Annex 15 substances include:

Federal-Provincial Task Force on Dioxins and Furans

In April 1995, the Federal/Provincial Task Force on Dioxins and Furans was established by the Federal-Provincial Advisory Committee for CEPA (CEPA-FPAC) with a mandate to develop an inventory of sources of releases of dioxins and furans in Canada and to develop an action plan consistent with the objective of virtual elimination as per the Toxic Substances Management Policy (TSMP). An inventory report addressing the first part of the mandate of the Task Force was released in January 1999.

The purpose of the inventory report is to assist the Federal-Provincial Advisory Committee for the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA-FPAC) in identifying priority sectors for the development of prevention and or reduction measures regarding the releases of dioxins/furans consistent with the objective of virtual elimination.

This inventory is a compilation of data supplied to the Federal/Provincial Task Force on Dioxins and Furans by various industrial sectors, and by federal, provincial and municipal agencies. It was realized during the compilation that the information on dioxins/furans and hexachlorobenzene (HCB) is limited. For some sectors that are required to report their releases, such as the pulp and paper sector, the cement industry and some incinerators covered by CCME guidelines, the information available is adequate and reliable. For some other sectors, where actual test data were unavailable, emission factors were used to estimate releases.

At this stage the inventory represents an initial compilation of data. It does not represent an exhaustive or complete compilation of Canadian data relating to dioxins/furans and HCB releases. However, it includes best information available at this time and has been validated by the stakeholders during a public comment period.

The Inventory has been finalized and submitted to CEPA-FPAC. The Inventory will serve as the basis for identifying sectors for controlling releases of dioxins and furans with a view to virtual elimination. With the finalization of the Release Inventory, it is an appropriate point in the process to allow a smooth transition from CEPA-FPAC to the Canada-Wide Standards development process of the Canadian Council of the Ministers of the Environment (CCME). The Release Inventory will serve as the basis for establishing multistakeholder Working Groups on issues of national or regional concern. The Working Groups will report directly to the CWS Development Committee and will undertake the necessary studies and socio-economic analyses to develop a recommended approach and timeline for achieving virtual elimination of dioxins and furans for the specified priority sector.

The Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act (TDGA)

Description

The Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act (TDGA) is an act to promote public safety in the transportation of dangerous goods.

It is essential for manufacturers, shippers, carriers, terminals, users and governments to continually work towards minimizing the risk of mishaps in the transportation of dangerous goods and the harm done by mishaps that do occur. To this end, governments have developed statutes and regulations that apply to all stages of the dangerous goods movement and inspection and enforcement programs to achieve compliance with the legislation. In Canada, the Federal government and each of the provinces and territories have enacted legislation to regulate the transportation of dangerous goods. While the jurisdictional coverage of these pieces of legislation varies, the intent is consistent and, to that end, each piece of legislation adopts the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulations made under the Federal statute.

Each dangerous good falls within one of nine classes of the Schedule to the Act and is further identified by divisions within the class. The regulations prescribe labels and placards for each classification of dangerous goods as well as information to be in documents that must accompany the consignment of dangerous goods.

Action

Specific classes in the TDGA which are relevant:

Eastern Canadian Premiers and New England Governors Mercury Action Plan

Description

In June 1997, the Conference of the New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers (NEG/ECP) charged its Committee on the Environment to: "continue to advance the understanding of mercury in this region;" "support cooperative action...to begin to address mercury releases and resulting public health and environmental impacts;" and develop a regional Mercury Action Plan. A Mercury Action Plan was subsequently developed by representatives of the New England states and Eastern Canadian provinces. One of the primary objectives is to influence those jurisdictions outside of this region to undertake similar actions to curb transboundary sources of mercury emissions.

Action

  1. Establish a Regional Mercury Task
  2. Mercury Emissions Reductions
  3. Source Reduction and Safe Waste Management, Including Recycling
  4. Outreach and Education
  5. Research, Analysis and Strategic Monitoring
  6. Mercury Stockpile Management

Integrated Atmospheric Deposition Network (IADN)

IADN is a network established for conducting monitoring and research of toxic substances in air and precipitation, and is mandated by Annex 15 of the Canada-U.S. Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. The main focus of IADN is to determine regionally representative atmospheric deposition loadings of toxic pollutants to the Great Lakes. The measured substances include trace elements and certain organic chemicals (semi-volatile organic compounds and pesticides).

Monitoring stations have been established on the shorelines of each Great Lake to assess regional atmospheric impacts. Two Master stations form the core of the Canadian IADN effort and fourteen smaller stations (known as Satellite stations) measure one or more components of the IADN list. The four Canadian agencies participating in IADN are Environment Canada's Atmospheric Environment Service (AES), National Water Research Institute (NWRI), Ontario Region's EHD, and the Ontario Ministry of the Environment.

Within the program, the selected toxic target compounds have been listed in prioritized groups. The highest priority group includes polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and -HCH (lindane), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs; with benzo(a)pyrene, B(a)P, as a representative species) and lead (Pb). The second priority group includes the chlorinated industrial chemicals and pesticides: hexachlorobenzene (HCB), 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(4-chlorophenyl)ethane (p,p'-DDT) and its metabolites (p,p'-DDE and p,p'-DDD), trans-nonachlor, methoxychlor, mirex, dieldrin and aldrin. The additional trace metals included are arsenic (As), selenium (Se), cadmium (Cd), and mercury (Hg). Except for Hg, the sampling and analysis methods for most of these species have been operational since 1993. A third priority group contains compounds which have an important atmospheric component but which require additional method development to accurately measure their concentrations in atmospheric deposition samples. These include toxaphene (a mixture of polychlorinated camphenes), co-planar PCBs, dioxins/furans, and agrochemicals such as triazines and alachlor/metolachlor.

Great Lakes Commission Regional Air Pollutants Inventory Development System (RAPIDS) Inventory

Environment Canada, EPB-OR, and the Ontario Ministry of the Environment (MOE) have worked cooperatively on the collection of air pollutant emission information since 1990. In the U.S., the Great Lakes Commission has developed an emissions inventory system for air pollutants in the Great Lakes Basin, known as the Regional Air Pollutants Inventory Development System (RAPIDS). Both Environment Canada and the Ontario Ministry of Environment have actively participated in the development of this system. Canada and Ontario have provided Canadian emission data to the system and, in exchange, have received access to the RAPIDS system and the U.S. emission data. The inclusion of 1993 and 1996 air pollution information to the system is currently being prepared amongst the nine regional jurisdictions. This database will eventually represent a comprehensive Great Lakes Basin air pollutant emission inventory, combining data from both Canada and the U.S. in one system.

The current system presently contains information regarding criteria air contaminants (CAC), including carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulphur oxides (SOx), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), total suspended particulate (TSP), and fine particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10); and toxic substances, including dioxins and furans, and mercury. The RAPIDS is capable of identifying air pollutants by category, such as mobile, area sources, and point sources.

The Great Eastern Ontario Wood Stove Change-Out Program to Reduce Particulates and Toxics from Residential Woodburning

Wood stoves have been identified as a major source of particulate matter and also of dioxins and furans and PAHs. The Great Eastern Ontario Wood Stove Change-Out was a pilot joint initiative of the Hearth Products Association of Canada, the Association of Registered Wood Energy Technicians of Ontario, Renewable Energy in Canada, and wood stove manufacturers and retailers, with support from Environment Canada, Natural Resources Canada, and the Ontario Ministry of the Environment.

The overall objective of the program was to promote cleaner, safer and more efficient residential woodburning. The objective was met through a public education campaign and the offering of special "changeout" trade-in rebates that encouraged woodburners to upgrade their existing old technology woodstoves and fireplaces to new cleaner-burning EPA or CSA approved appliances. The rebates were offered by the manufacturers and retailers of hearth products between January 15th to March 8th, 1999. The program took place in Eastern Ontario - specifically from Napanee to the South, Bancroft to the North and the Quebec border to the East.

The official number of 'changeouts' was 113. In addition to the official changeouts, there were 64 new EPA-approved stoves purchased at participating dealers that were not eligible for the changeout rebate but where the dealer felt the sale was due, in part, to the changeout program. Official change-out stoves were taken out of service by having the stove door permanently removed. The program also included the donation and installation of 4 new EPA-approved stoves to four local community buildings.

Quantified reductions in air pollutant emissions as a result of the 'changeouts' are in the process of being developed.

Dofasco Environmental Management Agreement

In November 1997, the first facility-based Environmental Management Agreement (EMA) was signed between Dofasco Inc., Environment Canada and Ontario Ministry of Environment. This Agreement consolidates the objectives of major Dofasco, EC and MOE environmental programs and sets targets and timelines for key parameters of air quality, water quality, waste management, community activities and energy usage.

Through the EMA, Dofasco has committed to COA, SOP and ARET initiatives which includes for benzene, an 80% reduction by the year 2000, and for PAHs, a 30 % reduction by the year 2000 and 50% reduction by the year 2005 (from 1993 base year). Dofasco is currently developing a protocol and manual with the Canadian Steel Producers Association to work towards PAH targets. Between 1993 and 1998, Dofasco reported a 50% reduction of benzene emissions from the 1993 base as a result of the benzene emission reduction program at the cokemaking byproducts plants. In addition, there was a downward trend of pollutant loadings to Hamilton Harbour via process effluent and of common air pollutants (particulate, nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxide and carbon dioxide) to the atmosphere. Dofasco also committed to destroy 100% of stored high level PCBs and will pursue appropriate destruction of stored low level PCB waste.