Publications

Alberta brownfield redevelopment : practical approaches to achieve productive community use

Description

A brownfield site is defined as "an abandoned, vacant, derelict or underutilized property where past actions have resulted in actual or perceived contamination and where there is an active... More ≫

Description

A brownfield site is defined as "an abandoned, vacant, derelict or underutilized property where past actions have resulted in actual or perceived contamination and where there is an active potential for productive community use including reuse and full redevelopment." The Working Group analyzed information from Alberta and other jurisdictions, identified issues, created and evaluated options to prepare recommendations and advice for the Minister of Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development, and Municipal Affairs.

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Directive for monitoring the impact of sulphur dust on soils [2011]

Description

Specifies the regulatory requirements for soil monitoring and mitigation activities that may be required when sulphur manufacturing, processing or storage facilities in Alberta have the potential... More ≫

Description

Specifies the regulatory requirements for soil monitoring and mitigation activities that may be required when sulphur manufacturing, processing or storage facilities in Alberta have the potential to release sulphur dust to soils.

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Directive for monitoring the impact of sulphur dust on soils (December 2011) : factsheet

Description

This one-page fact sheet provides an overview of a new directive for monitoring the impact of sulphur dust on soils.

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Public assurance monitoring - snow, soil and water sampling Peace River Three Creeks area

Description

Growing public concern about the possibility of hydrocarbon deposition contaminating local and regional soils and surface waters in the Peace River Three Creeks area led Alberta Environment to... More ≫

Description

Growing public concern about the possibility of hydrocarbon deposition contaminating local and regional soils and surface waters in the Peace River Three Creeks area led Alberta Environment to undertake a preliminary sampling initiative that incorporated snow, surface water and soil sampling to determine whether there is evidence of contamination from the oil and gas industry to the surrounding environment.

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Soil and groundwater remediation guidelines for diethyelene glycol and triethylene glycol

Description

Glycols, including diethyelene glycol (DEG) and triethylene glycol (TEG), have a wide range of uses including chemical feedstocks, solvents and antifreeze. In addition, glycols are used in the... More ≫

Description

Glycols, including diethyelene glycol (DEG) and triethylene glycol (TEG), have a wide range of uses including chemical feedstocks, solvents and antifreeze. In addition, glycols are used in the dehydration of natural gas streams. However, no soil or groundwater remediation guidelines have been published provincially or federally to date for these amines. This document develops proposed soil and groundwater remediation guidelines for DEG and TEG consistent with Alberta Environment protocol.

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Soil monitoring directive (2009)

Description

Risk for soil contamination exists at industrial plants that have a potential for release of substances to the environment. Soil contamination may also become a source of contamination for... More ≫

Description

Risk for soil contamination exists at industrial plants that have a potential for release of substances to the environment. Soil contamination may also become a source of contamination for groundwater, surface water and air. Remediation costs often increase sharply when soil contamination spreads to other media. This directive establishes the regulatory requirements and professional guidance which are needed to ensure that the soil resource and associated environmental media are protected at industrial sites.

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Wood Buffalo Environmental Association Human Exposure Monitoring Program : 2006 monitoring year results

Description

This report summarizes the results of the second year of an ongoing community exposure and health effects assessment program undertaken in the Wood Buffalo region of north eastern Alberta. While... More ≫

Description

This report summarizes the results of the second year of an ongoing community exposure and health effects assessment program undertaken in the Wood Buffalo region of north eastern Alberta. While the Wood Buffalo region enjoys good air quality most of the time, increased industrial activity and subsequent population growth has raised people's awareness about air quality and quality of life in the region. In response to this, the Wood Buffalo Environmental Association (WBEA) has established a Human Exposure Monitoring Program (HEMP) in the Wood Buffalo region. Supported by scientific and technical assistance from Alberta Health and Wellness, the monitoring results for 2006 are presented in this report.

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Assessment of the potential lifetime cancer risks associated with exposure to inorganic arsenic among indigenous people living in the Wood Buffalo region of Alberta

Description

The toxicity of arsenic is a subject of considerable research, as well as some controversy, particularly in relation to its potential to cause cancer. In order to better understand and assess the... More ≫

Description

The toxicity of arsenic is a subject of considerable research, as well as some controversy, particularly in relation to its potential to cause cancer. In order to better understand and assess the significance of the elevated cancer risk from arsenic exposure, Alberta Health and Wellness retained Cantox Environmental Inc. (CEI) to review previous research and assess the potential cancer risk using refined methodology consistent with that typically used by CEI. The work was meant to serve as a “second opinion” of the lifetime cancer risk that could be presented to people living in the Wood-Buffalo region from arsenic exposure.

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Evaluation of treatment options to reduce water-borne selenium at coal mines in west-central Alberta

Description

Microbial Technologies, Inc. reviewed the environmental chemistry of selenium and technologies for its treatment at three mountain coal mines in West-Central Alberta. These mines have recently... More ≫

Description

Microbial Technologies, Inc. reviewed the environmental chemistry of selenium and technologies for its treatment at three mountain coal mines in West-Central Alberta. These mines have recently been shown to release selenium to adjacent water bodies, resulting in its uptake into the food chain. Based on limited data from the Alberta mines, selenium is found in the dissolved form (mostly as selenate) in surface waters, a form that from a chemical perspective is relatively unreactive. Selanate can be reduced to selenite, a form more readily removed (chemically) from solution, or (biologically) to elemental selenium, an insoluble form. Currently, the expected duration of selenium release at the Alberta coal mines is not known.

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A preliminary survey of pharmaceuticals and endocrine disrupting compounds in treated municipal wastewaters and receiving rivers of Alberta

Description

Pharmaceuticals, hormones, and other known or suspected endocrine disrupting compounds have been widely detected in various waters throughout the world. Prior to this study, however, sampling for... More ≫

Description

Pharmaceuticals, hormones, and other known or suspected endocrine disrupting compounds have been widely detected in various waters throughout the world. Prior to this study, however, sampling for these substances was rather limited within Alberta. In 2002 and 2003, due to concerns about potential impacts on humans, livestock, aquatic organisms, and wildlife, Alberta Environment collected wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluents and receiving river water from numerous locations throughout the province and analysed them for a broad range of organic wastewater contaminants (OWCs). This initial survey, encompassing an assortment of pharmaceuticals, antibiotics, steroids, surfactants, and plasticizers, was designed to determine which compounds are released by WWTPs in Alberta and to assess their presence in receiving river waters.

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