Publications

Swan Hills Treatment Center: PCBs and PCDD/F in wild game and fish tissue (1999-2014)

Description

The Swan Hills Treatment Centre (SHTC) is a facility for the safe disposal of special wastes located approximately 12 km northeast of the town of Swan Hills, AB. On October 16, 1996, a malfunction... More ≫

Description

The Swan Hills Treatment Centre (SHTC) is a facility for the safe disposal of special wastes located approximately 12 km northeast of the town of Swan Hills, AB. On October 16, 1996, a malfunction of a transformer furnace was discovered to have caused the release of a portion of process gases containing polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) into the ambient air. These chemicals can be harmful to human health. Therefore, in 1997 Alberta Health (AH) conducted a human health risk assessment study to estimate human exposure and to evaluate the effectiveness of public health interventions. As a result of the study, food consumption advice for wild game and fish taken within a 30 km radius of the facility were issued out of concern that PCBs and PCDD/Fs were accumulating in these locally caught foods. A long-term environmental monitoring and human exposure assessment program has been ongoing since 1998 to monitor concentrations of...

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Alberta biomonitoring program : chemicals in serum of pregnant women in Alberta

Description

A comprehensive list of priority environmental contaminants were monitored in blood serum of pregnant women in 2005, with the purpose of establishing the magnitude of exposure to environmental... More ≫

Description

A comprehensive list of priority environmental contaminants were monitored in blood serum of pregnant women in 2005, with the purpose of establishing the magnitude of exposure to environmental contaminants during pregnancy for women living in all regions of Alberta. The objectives were specifically to examine the influence of age, geographic location, and seasonality on the maternal serum concentrations of man-made or naturally occurring chemicals that women may absorb from food, drinking water, air, soil, household dust, or commercial products. This is the first Province-wide biomonitoring study for Alberta.

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Focus on PCBs

Description

Over the past number of years, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have often been in the news. Why are people concerned about polychlorinated biphenyls? What are they? This fact sheet provides... More ≫

Description

Over the past number of years, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have often been in the news. Why are people concerned about polychlorinated biphenyls? What are they? This fact sheet provides background information on PCB's and presents some of Alberta's management challenges.

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