ga ie cknowledgements The development and production of this report required the expertise and assistance of numerous staff of the Ministry of Environment and Energy. In particular, the following people were instrumental in bringing this project to fruition: Project Ceordinaters: Beverley Hanna-Thorpe Nicola Crawhall Report Layout and Graphics: Kim Massicotte Spatied Dispiays af data: Bernie Neary External Assitance: Technical Writer: David Francis - Lanark Communications, Toronto Hustretiuns: Compendium Design International Status Report Working Group: Beverley Hanna-Thorpe (Chair) Bill Bardswick Ed deGrosbois Andrezej Dominski Jack Donnan Les Fitz Cathy Grant Phil Kiely Judy Keith Mary Kirby Garth Lesfresne P.K. Misra Bernie Neary Dave Neufeld Dan Ionescu Gerry Rees George Rocoski Ilan Salamon Christine Staddon John Stager Wing Tse Serge Villard Graham Whitelaw For more copies of the 1982 Status Report, please contact: Ontario Ministry of Environment and Energy Public Information Centre 323-4321 or toll free at: 1-800-565-4923 Printed on recycled paper ISBN PIBS very aad AS red out rte ee to çulalld actly a Thee ine! L A hy Ww | 4 HAE RE ik ae à 47 Au i rs in a it +, ï ay à il | au une _ oe, nn: ban Li 7 - : FR i = £ ery we. LE « a ? SS 4 7 D a STS HS WY eo matty on mitt ho motsib ot le :rrrniqobnele we req itlsgmeaied di Lean tind SEA ni L _ ree reanioveaD 4 _ sqpodfT coral 4 += L] start Wal yall = CPR ge 21 “is ll ‘ PA ~ iP coven oot réel à | è a: | eue SCC eft de ao eat À x k mene nied ky Coin arnt: nodtanpehn| a" * te, pe Ler-Dté 008-1 re Mel one D A . ® e ve je à Labroon ao lernéri 1%! en ennacarcecesenanennsespuAasanacnspasnassanennanaennnaneninananannnnennassseeaneneacananeeasesscesesscsesesssessessssseeeseesseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeseeee es eeseee eee eseeeSeCe St SeTeeseesssee es eer ee eee eee Teese sees lishing the 1992 Status Report on Ontario t, the Ministry of Environment and Energy oe important first step in support of The Status Sees contains : ecosystem — Le rain, one of On- or en’ onmental concerns. The public has a > routine € publication of environmental infor- that c gress on resolving environmental can be tracked and emerging issues can be Nosi ge ministry is responsible for the state of nment. Environmental reporting is dearlya responsibilty for which information assembled from a variety of sources. — a5 the Round Table : in in September 1992 the Ontario Round Table on Environment and Economy submited por to the Premier me the people of Ontario titled, “Restructuring for Sustainability”. he report recommended the integration of economic and environmental reporting; in essence, linking human and ecosystem health to economic and environmental indicators. The Round Table called this “sustainability reporting” In future reports, efforts should also be made to present information on an ecosystem basis, showing the complex linkages that exist between human activity and environmental quality. The acid rain chapter in this re- port is an example of ecosystem reporting which could be developed and applied to other environmental issues and resource sectors. Ecosystem reporting is advocated since it has the potential to inform more comprehensive and integrated economic and environmental decision making than separate reports on the pollution of air, water or land, or on single resource sectors in isolation of other resource and environmental concerns. The Round Table therefore encourages all ministries to adopt the ecosystem approach to information gathering and presentation. As the 20th century draws to a close, there is an urgent need to develop new tools and techniques to support better decision-making, including state of the environment and sustainability reporting. Economic re- ports and indicators are widely available and profoundly influence the decisions of individuals as well as public message fram the round table and private sector decision makers. But economic infor- mation, in and of itself, is not complete since it does not capture the impacts of economic activity on the envi- ronment. Sustainability reports are required which inte- grate environmental and economic reporting and allow impacts on human and ecosystem health to be under- stood and acted upon. The Round Table believes that sustainability reporting must be a major decision sup- port tool in the 21st Century and is committed to work- ing with governments and other stakeholders to develop and refine this tool. cteseececcrecsccccreceronsteececsrecansccecersceserecassccorereeesersrerersenessssenes esse srereseneese®: In the final analysis, reporting must serve the purpose of promoting better decisions — that is, more comprehensive and balanced decisions consistent with increased transparency and accountability of the decision-making process. The public has a right to in- formation that will facilitate their involvement in envi- ronmental and sustainability decision making, as af- firmed in the recently enacted Environmental Bill of Rights. The Ministry of Environment and Energy has taken a significant first step along this path, and the Round Table looks forward to continued progress. Steroars oS. scher readings Chapter 12 SONG NOR-havard ous Waste. <9 25s... eee cee ee ee eee ee eee PR PT LR R REPLI ET Pathways of Poll Figure 7 4 Air water, land:and-living things interact to form @:complex web of fife called: to the interdependent nature of this system, the troduction of pollutants into one part: “ecosystam will often have corresponding and sometimes unexpected consequences in oth Air Pathways Pollutants are released into the air from a variety of sources, such as vehicles, industrial plants, electrety generating plants, landfill sites, pesticide application, and the use of cleaning agents and solvents. Thess pollutants can be transported great distances by air currents, can be picked up in precipitation and deposited in water bodies and sai, and can be absorbed by humans, other animals, plants, fish, and other organisms. Soil Pathways oo Seepage from landfills, the application of pesticides and fertiizers. spils of liquid industrial waste, and poor maintenance of septic tile fields can all introduce contaminants into the soif. Air pollution that sattles on land also contributes to soi contamination, Plants and animals can ingest these contamments in the soil. Water moving thraugh the soll can carry these contaminants into groundwater : Water Pathways Runoff from urban areas, agncuttural jands and roadways can directly enter water bodies or seep into groundweter. Ram and snow can deposit air pollutants nto surface waters. Contaminams in water are absorbed snd can become concentrated in plants. fish. and snimels through the aquatic food chain. "troduction How clean is the air m our cities? Are there cancer- causing chemicals in our drinking water? Is the ozone layer thimning? Is acid ram stiff a problem? Are we nim- ning out of space for our garbage? Is our environment petting better or worse? People want answers to these and other questions about the environment. That is why this report has been published: its object is to give Ontarians a convenient overview of the current status of provincial air and wa- ter quality and waste management, to document and explain the forces affecting these areas, and to measure: the effectiveness of actions to protect and improve the quality of Ontario's environment. This ts Ontario’s first status report on the environ- ment, and as such, should be considered a pHot project: The report, prepared by the Ontario Ministry of Envi- ronment and Energy {MOLE} is dimited to matters of environmental quality that fall within the ministry's area of responsibility - specifically, air quality, water quality, acid rain and waste management. It does not contain information on issues such as the state of wildlife, wetlands, forests or agricultural land in On- tario. For the most part, the information presented in the report is based on data gathered up to 1992 introduction continued Ontario intends to issue further reports on the sta- tus of the environment on a regular basis. Collaboration between MOEE and other ministries and agencies with environmental responsibilities will make these reports more comprehensive. Making environmental monitoring and reporting information and analysis publicly available on a regular basis is an important contribution to social, economic, and environmental decision making. It draws attention to problems and give us benchmarks for evaluating the impact of our activities. It shows us what we have ac- complished so far and reminds us of what remains to be done . As we work towards achieving a more sustainable relationship with the environment, environmental re- porting will play an increasingly important role. This report is a first step in that direction. CHAPTER 1 ONTARIO’S ENVIRONMENT AND ITS ECONOMY Ontario’s environment is characterized by its great size and diversity. With an area of 1,068,580 square kilome- tres, Ontario is Canada’s second largest province. Situat- ed in the middle of North America between the salt waters of Hudson Bay and the freshwaters of the Great Lakes, Ontario spans some 15 degrees of latitude, one- sixth of the distance between the North Pole and the equator. Its climate ranges from sub-Arctic in the north to temperate in the south, with occasional summer over- tones of sub-tropical heat and humidity when air masses from the Gulf of Mexico move through the southern part of the province. Its landscapes are equally diverse, embracing the farmlands, mixed forests, and urban ag- glomerations of the south, the lakes, rivers, evergreen forests and ancient rocks of the Canadian Shield and the scrub and muskeg of the Hudson Bay lowland. This vast territory is also generously endowed with natural resources. Ontario has more than 800,000 square kilometres of forest, of which slightly less than half are available for commercial use. The province is a leading producer of copper, nickel, uranium, gold and silver, and has about half of Canada’s most fertile agri- cultural land. Lakes and rivers cover nearly a fifth of the province's surface, providing energy for hydroelectric power as well as water for domestic, industrial and recreational use. Ontario’s inland waters and the Great Lakes also support an abundance of wildlife and provide the basis for major sport and commercial fisheries. The environment is made up of air, land, water and living things. These interact to form a variety of distinct natural communities or ecosystems. Ecosystems exist on many scales, from local to global, but all perform the important function of cycling life-sustaining energy and materials between the living and non-living parts of the environment. As Figure 1.1 shows, the processes that ac- complish this create a complex web of relationships among the different parts of the system. Because of this network of interdependence, a disturbance affecting one part of an ecosystem will often have corresponding and sometimes unexpected consequences in other parts of the system. People, the ecosemy and the enirornent Part of our impact on ecosystems stems from the sheer size of our population, especially when large num- bers of us are concentrated in cities. Part of it also comes from our technology, which gives us the power to con- sume resources and alter the environment rapidly and on a large scale. In Ontario, the human impact on the environment is considerable. More than 10 million people - well over COS LEE RU US a third of Canada’s population - call Ontario home. Most of them - more than 80 per cent - are urban dwellers, and nearly half of them live in the Golden Horseshoe, the megalopolis stretching around the west- ern end of Lake Ontario from Oshawa to St. Catharines. Altogether, close to 90 per cent of the population lives in southern Ontario, a region that comprises about 10 per cent of the province’s area (Figure 1.2). In addition, Ontario is Canada’s most highly indus- trialized province, accounting for more than 40 per cent of its industrial output. There are more than 22,000 mills, smelters, factories and other industrial facilities in the province, involved in such activities as pulp and mms n nee teen nee nee en een mens n nee een nn mnrnrnnmmenenennensesennes nes ones nrnsrnnccn nee ee ce nee ner ess sense pee ee eee nnnen0e0000000000000000000020000000000060000 000000000000 reser PP 00 000000000000 nn noneee) introduction continued paper production, metal processing, petroleum refining, chemical production, food processing and many other types of manufacturing. Maintaining and expanding this industrial output requires the consumption of large quantities of energy and resources and results in the re- lease of air pollutants, water pollutants and hazardous wastes. The impact of industrialization is greatest in south- ern Ontario, where the vast majority of these plants are located. Half of them are in Metropolitan Toronto. Most of the rest are in other localities within the Golden Horseshoe or in the Sarnia-Windsor region. In the north, industrial activity is much more dispersed and introduction continued is focused primarily on resource processing operations such as pulp and paper mills and metal smelters. Industrial pollution, however, is not the only source of environmental stress. Agricultural pesticides and her- bicides are a significant source of toxic chemicals in both air and water, and chemical fertilizers, and live- stock wastes contribute to water pollution. The impact of agricultural pollution is most evident in the south- western and southeastern counties, where about 50 per cent of the land is under cultivation (Figure 1.3). In the north, mining and forestry impose additional stresses on the environment. Both can significantly alter or disrupt wildlife habitat. Poor forestry practices may also cause soil erosion, pollution from pesticide and her- bicide use, and depletion of the forests themselves if care is not taken to regenerate areas that have been cut. Min- ing also may produce acidic and toxic wastes that can contaminate ground and surface water. Abandoned mines are a further source of these contaminants. The conveniences of modern day living are also sources of pollution. Car and truck emissions contribute to urban smog. Fridges and air conditioners contain chemicals that deplete the ozone layer. Towns and cities continually generate sewage and garbage which require proper treatment and disposal. Even ordinary household items such as paints, cleaners and cosmetics can be sources of harmful pollutants. Moreover, a society such as ours has a large appetite for energy - to power industries, heat homes and run cars. Much of this energy comes from fossil fuels, such as gasoline, oil and natural gas. In fact, 77 per cent of the energy used by Ontario consumers is derived from fossil fuels. Ontario’s motor vehicles alone use more than 15 billion litres of gasoline and diesel fuel a year. Electricity also supplies many needs, but about a quarter of what Ontario generates comes from the burning of coal and other fossil fuels. The rest is produced by nuclear power (48 per cent) and water power (29 per cent). The production of this energy imposes both costs and risks on the environment. The burning of fossil fu- els contributes to urban air pollution, global warming and acid rain. Nuclear energy creates radioactive wastes that are difficult to dispose of safely and hydro power can have major impacts on watersheds and wildlife habitat. For the most part, environmental problems that are created in Ontario have their greatest effect in Ontario. But because ecosystems know no borders, Ontario’s en- vironmental quality affects and is affected by the envi- ronmental quality of surrounding regions and other parts of the world. A clean environment is something we owe both to ourselves and to the rest of the global community. a mixture of many different kinds of gases and nded pee Most of these come from natural Others are created and released into the air as a tof oe activities. When concentrations of some these gases and particles become too high, they can human health and damage the environment. x pion linked to human activity comes from it sources such as large factories or thermal-electric or plants and from atea sources such as motor traffic usehold imac. Some of the gases and particles d from these sources affect only the area near the e, but others may be carried by air currents, affect- reas hundreds of kilometres away. At pollutants affect the environment in at least ways. They can directly damage the health of and animalst that breathe the air. They can conta- other p Ee of the environment such as soils and And they can change the makeup of the atmos- t way in which some of its most important The chapter in this section look at four aspects of see : face Ontario residents today: common toxic air pollutants stratospheric: ozone ton and ob warming. we teneececcecerecseeccressecsreresscsssecssecesenessssereserserereseseseees air continued CHAPTER 2 COMMON AIR POLLUTANTS The most common air pollutants in Ontario are sulphur dioxide (SO;), nitrogen dioxide (NO>), carbon monox- ide (CO), total reduced sulphur compounds (TRS), par- ticulate matter (PM), and ozone (O3). While all of these contaminants occur naturally, hu- man activity increases these natural levels substantially. At higher concentrations most of these pollutants are a steetecencecsceeesecsserscerererececececscscecereceressesrerscssoceesesecesecerses: health hazard, affecting the respiratory and cardiovascu- lar systems and making breathing more difficult, espe- cially for people with chronic respiratory diseases. A number of them also damage plants and crops and speed up the aging of plastic, rubber, dyed fabrics and other materials. Some have foul odours or form a dirty haze that decreases visibility (Table 2.1). High air pollution levels usually occur in urban or industrial centres due to emissions from traffic, factories and buildings. But rural areas are sometimes affected as well, when pollution is carried by air currents. The time of day and the weather can also have an important effect on pollution levels. The quantity of a particular pollutant in outdoor air at a certain time and place is known as the ambient concentration. Ambient concentrations of the six com- mon pollutants have been monitored regularly across Ontario since the early 1970s. This monitoring program not only helps to identify pollution risks but also pro- vides information that can be used to indicate long-term pollution trends and measure the effectiveness of pollu- tion control measures. Ontario has set air quality criteria (AQCs) for each of these six pollutants which indicate when pollution levels become too high. The criterion is given as an average ambient concentration for a certain length of exposure such as a day, an hour, or a year, and it marks the point at which the pollutant becomes potentially harmful. How cleat ts Ontario's air? Ontario’s air quality has improved substantially over the past twenty years. Ambient levels of sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide, suspended particles and ni- trogen dioxide have all declined - in some area substan- tially. The sharp reduction in levels of sulphur dioxide alone represents a major advance in public health. Stud- ies conducted by the Urban Air Group at McMaster University suggest that every one part per hundred mil- lion increase in average annual sulphur dioxide levels re- sults in one extra doctor’s visit per year for every person in the province. Still, some serious air quality problems remain. Ground-level ozone levels have shown a resurgence in the last few years. In places where industry and vehicle air continued traffic are densely concentrated, pollution levels rise rapidly when weather conditions favour their buildup. As a result, many centres in the province continue to experience periodic episodes of moderate to poor air quality. A useful indicator of overall air quality around the province is the Air Quality Index (AQI). Published since 1988, the index is based on individual readings for each of the common pollutants and is presented as a single number. As Table 2.2 shows, the index is divided into five categories, depending on the possible health, vegeta- tion, property, and aesthetic effects of different levels of pollutants. A special component of the Air Quality Index - the Air Pollution Index (API) - measures 24-hour running averages of sulphur dioxide and particulate matter. If the API reaches unacceptable levels and weather conditions favour a buildup of these pollutants, the government can order major emitters to reduce or cease operations. Some vegetation begins to show adverse effects from air pollution when the Air Quality Index enters the moderate range (index values 32-49). Aesthetic effects such as odours, haze, and soiling of materials are also evident in this range. Effects on human health are gener- ally not noticeable until the index passes 50 and depend on the pollutant involved. Ozone, carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide are considered health threats when concentrations are in the poor range (index values 50- 99). People with respiratory problems are the first to be affected, but as the index rises the number affected in- creases. Figure 2.1 shows the number of days at various monitoring sites for which the Air Quality Index was above 31 for one hour or more during 1992. Almost all these instances of readings higher than 31, however, air continued were in the moderate range and are unlikely to have been a threat to human health. The very high number of readings above 31 at Fort Frances and most of those at Cornwall were due to reduced sulphur compounds, which are not a health hazard. For most other Ontario communities, ozone and suspended particles were the main pollutants. Altogether, only five locations reported AQI values greater than 50 in 1992, and in only one of these (Windsor College Street) was there actually a risk to health. That occurred at the College Street site in Windsor, where ozone concentrations were in the poor range for a period of four hours. The same site also recorded the highest AQI level for 1992 (a value of 71, due to suspended particles). Although poor air quality days do occur, in general the health risk from outdoor air in Ontario communi- ties is low. To measure effectiveness in controlling air pollution, the rest of this chapter looks at how emissions of each of these pollutants has changed over the past 10 to 20 years. Sulphur oxide Sulphur dioxide is a colourless gas produced by the combustion of sulphur-containing fuels like oil and coal and by certain industrial processes. In 1992, Ontario industries, businesses, and households released about 900,000 tonnes of it to the atmosphere. Approximately 75 per cent of this amount came from electric power stations burning coal and oil and non-ferrous metal smelters and sintering plants using high-sulphur ores. (Sintering is a roasting process for concentrating ores.) Most of the remaining emissions came from iron ore smelters, petroleum refineries, pulp and paper mills, and home, office and factory heating. Because it is the principle component of acid rain, sulphur dioxide has been the focus of some very strenu- ous and successful efforts to reduce emissions. Between 1970 and 1992, province-wide emissions of SO; de- clined by 73 per cent, thanks to tighter emission con- trols, improved process technology, and conversion to low-sulphur fuel. Emissions from smelters alone de- creased by 80 per cent over the same period (Figure 2.2). By the end of 1994, Ontario's overall SO; emissions are targeted to reach 885,000 tonnes, with most of the re- ductions coming from Ontario Hydro, the smelting op- erations of Inco and Falconbridge, and the sintering operations of Algoma Steel. As emissions have declined, ambient concentrations of sulphur dioxide have also declined. Between 1971 and 1992, the yearly average of ambient sulphur dioxide concentrations for all monitoring sites in the province decreased by about 83 per cent (Figure 2.3). In 1992, the highest concentrations were recorded in industrial cities such as Sarnia, Hamilton, and Sudbury, where there were thermal power stations, smelters, or petrochemical - number of days Se mmUmr—” gg __ _ gy __ _ 50 E oe A elekelew.---8 SO epertree5 tt h25522555 25 De - Ss=Ss55 Fsssstbsssssges Beas" S8LCRE Se ESS Ss +58 2 $3 2 38~ D = = = tS Zs = wo uw 3 > L AnanaA é _ — à en è Te BB we. 8 > = pa EE Ÿ is 3 2 : : È 2B = te i BS fe fe re E 1 2 3 3 “> es Bs : = | 7 tS hy > M À 2 By SB: NA 3 SBS SBS SB Be SH SBS NH Ni RL R si SBS 8 : LE Em SP PA M PP mn ere 9D 5450939495 7877 787980 21 82 82 84 85 88 27 22 ESOS D Note: 12 stes operated over 22 years : yreceseses: TE ie ces = 22% 23 238 2 Z 32 o LITLE LR SISA SITISR ISIE. 1! | = i refineries (Figure 2.4). However, none of these places exceeded the annual air quality criterion, although a total of 15 locations (13 of them in the Sudbury area) exceeded the one-hour criterion at least once. Ritrageses clhoxickes The air around us is mostly a mixture of nitrogen and oxygen - about 78 per cent of the former and about 21 per cent of the latter. Whenever anything is burned in air at a high temperature, as in a furnace or a car engine, these gases combine readily to form various oxides of nitrogen. The most common of these is nitrogen diox- ide, a reddish-brown gas with a pungent and irritating odour that is commonly seen hanging over cities during the summer. About 60 per cent of Ontario’s nitrogen oxide emis- sions come from various means of transportation, most- ly from motor vehicles. Other sources include thermal- electric generating plants, incinerators and chemical processes. Altogether, Ontario produced nearly 450,000 tonnes of nitrogen oxides in 1992. Nitrogen oxide emissions had remained fairly con- stant during the 1980s, but fell by more than 20 per cent between 1989 and 1992 (Figure 2.5), thanks largely to the introduction of new vehicle emission standards. These resulted in a significant decrease in transportation emissions, even though Ontario vehicles recorded an in- crease in total kilometres travelled (Figure 2.6). Because motor vehicles are the major source of emissions, getting nitrogen oxide emissions down - and keeping them there - is a difficult long-term propo- sition. Better technology and regular inspection and maintenance can reduce the emissions per vehicle. But every additional car or truck on the road is a new source air continrued of emissions and the number of vehicles in Ontario con- ou AVERAGE ANNUAL NITROGEN DIOXIDE CONCENTRATIONS tinues to increase from year to year. ee _ INONTARO 1975-1992 ee The yearly average of nitrogen dioxide concentra- ‘Mean concentraton {ppb} tions at monitoring sites in Ontario improved by about EE 13 per cent between 1975 and 1983 and this has re- mained fairly constant since then (Figure 2.7). The high- LEO HSE SE RE ES rare OPO HT. —— M À __. se ne EEE poner A, ¢ Parr $ est levels are normally found in larger cities, especially : during rush hours when traffic density is greatest. How- : : ceo ever, there were no instances of exceeding the hourly air 3 ~*~ ae SOOO OU EERE EEEEEELL quality criterion in 1992 (Figure 2.8). Note: 15 tes 4a weeny “FIGURE 2.3: EOCAE NITROGEN: DIOXIDE CONCENTRATIONS - Carban monoxide :LEGR MAXIMUM, $992 = Carbon monoxide is a colourless, odourless gas that forms when carbon fuels are burned without sufficient ee ae Ac oxygen. The use of various forms of transportation is responsible for about 75 per cent of emissions, with the burning of fossil fuels for home heating and commercial 100 and industrial operations accounting for most of the rest. In spite of an increase in the number of vehicles on Kitohaner od Ottawa RER Thunder Bay usé : B Saut Ste. Marie RE the roads, carbon monoxide emissions have declined by 6 À Re NS à Se à ee LS eS SESPS2SS2S22S 52585 about 30 per cent over the last decade. In 1992, they to- 3 BSEEE? ae È 5 Ze LES = os Se D PTS talled nearly 1,900,000 tonnes (Figure 2.9) > = & 2 ë = 5 Zo a Lower emissions have generally led to improve- ments in ambient concentrations of carbon monoxide. By 1983, average annual concentrations had fallen by approximately 75 per cent from their levels a decade be- fore, and they have remained relatively steady since then (Figure 2.10). Neither the one-hour nor the eight-hour air quality criteria were exceeded in 1992 (Figure 2.11). air continued ARTS RTE SE nes x i Ÿ RS RS SIT TRS TEEN = Ses i$ S PIÉRERRERERRE = NNSNNSV USN a; MS SSS MES BN EBX MS HS RS HES LE BR BS SES BIT ES BTE RTE UE ee | pg ee, 773 737374757877 787980 ‘81828384 "85 8687 88 499091 92 Note: 9 sites operated over 22 years PPRROPRERES (UE NSP Burlington 77 St. Catharines à Total reduced suiphur compounds Total reduced sulphur compounds are a group of sulphur-containing gases with a highly disagreeable odour that can be detected even at very low concentra- tions. Hydrogen sulphide, with its rotten egg odour, is probably the best known of these. Although they are not normally considered a health hazard, reduced sulphur compounds are the primary cause of odours in towns where kraft pulp mills are located. Other sources include steel mills and petroleum refineries. Province-wide averages of total reduced sulphur compounds (TRS) declined in the early 1980s, then increased towards the middle of the decade. Since 1988, they have shown a generally declining trend (Figure 2.12). The 1985 average is unusually low because of production shutdowns and decreases in emissions at the kraft pulp mill in Cornwall and monitoring problems at Fort Frances. As Figure 2.13 shows, the one-hour air quality crite- rion for TRS is most commonly exceeded in towns such as Fort Frances, Cornwall, Terrace Bay, and Red Rock, as a result of kraft pulp mill operations. Iron and steel or petroleum refinery operations also contribute to occa- sional instances of readings in excess of the criterion in Hamilton and a few other locations. The Ministry of Environment and Energy is now working with major in- dustrial emitters to reduce emissions to more levels. air continued Particuizta matter FIGURE 2.13: NUMBER GF INSTANCES WHERE 1-HOUR Major emitters of particulates include incinerators, ___ KRAFT PULP Mili TRS CRITERION was EXCEEDED, 1992 construction sites, quarries, metal smelters, motor vehi- cles and pulp and paper mills. In cities, vehicle exhaust a ; and road dust are the principal sources. In Ontario, ees these and other sources related to human activities ac- count for about 200,000 tonnes of emissions a year, but § ~ 456 + eee natural sources such as forest fires may contribute up to five times as much. = Fugitive sources, such as road and construction dust and surface erosion are virtually impossible to measure. As a result, estimated emissions, as shown in Windsor i Fort Frances Figure 2.14, are not necessarily a good predictor of am- bient levels. Until the mid-1980s, particulate emissions showed a slight upward trend but have declined since then, probably because of cleaner emissions from motor vehicles, industries and other combustion sources. The highest emission rates are in urban areas. During the past 22 years, average province-wide concentrations of particulate matter have fallen by 61 per cent, with a 17 per cent decrease over the last 10 years (Figure 2.15). Typical levels of total suspended particulate (TSP) are shown in Figure 2.16 for selected monitoring sites across Ontario. There were no in- stances of exceeding the annual TSP criterion at these sites in 1992. ÿ A EE PRET TR = : RE | = D IT | || ; Il EPEEE EEE L. = TTT yroveneeeee 43 Groumblevel ozone Ozone is a form of oxygen, made up of three oxy- gen atoms instead of the usual two. At high altitudes it filters harmful ultraviolet radiation from incoming sunlight, but at the earth’s surface it is an unwelcome pollutant. Small amounts of ozone form and break up natu- rally in clean air at the earth’s surface as a result of the action of sunlight on nitrogen oxides (NOx). In polluted Sarnia { London à Hamilton 4 air, however, ozone formation is increased by the higher levels of nitrogen oxides reacting with other chemicals — notably volatile organic compounds (VOCs), that Big Sault Ste, More | ER : Windsor semen ie | i RS evaporate from sources such as gasoline and solvents. Weather conditions have a considerable influence on surface ozone levels. Air masses can carry ozone or its nitrogen oxide and VOC precursors over several hundreds of kilometres. Levels can soar during summer hot spells, when dry, sunny weather favours ozone for- mation and stagnant air masses prevent its dispersal. Indeed, ground-level ozone is primarily a summer pol- lutant. Ozone is a major component of photochemical smog and forms near or downwind of sources of NOx and VOCs. Motor vehicles are a major source of both groups of substances. Other major sources of VOCs in- clude a variety of solvent-based materials, from printing inks to nail polish remover, and surface coatings such as paints and varnishes (Figure 2.17). In spite of increased vehicle usage, VOC emissions have remained fairly close to the 1987 level of 630,000 tonnes per year throughout the past decade. Like nitro- gen oxides they have also shown a moderate decline since 1990. In the case of VOCs, this can be attributed to new vehicle emission standards, changes in the composi- tion of gasoline used in the summer and the effects of economic recession. Natural sources such as forests and forest fires also telease significant quantities of VOCs to the atmosphere. In fact, emissions from natural sources may be as much as three times greater than those from sources related to human activities. Although towns and cities are major sources of both NOx and VOCs, ozone pollution is not exclusively an urban problem. Approximately 50 to 60 per cent of ground-level ozone concentrations in Ontario blow into the province from sources south of the lower Great Lakes (Figure 2.18). In rural areas in the path of these air streams, ozone levels often exceed the provincial one- hour air quality criterion. Indeed, instances of exceeding the criterion have been more frequent at rural sites in southwestern Ontario than in large cities such as Toron- to and Hamilton - and certainly far more significant than at rural sites such as Hawkeye Lake, north of Thunder Bay, which are not exposed to the same air flow (Figure 2.19). air continued Note the movement of these air masses from south of the Great Lakes 2 eS measured A Windnor Collo go. HS during high œone perods. - =. thule = = + ao ee 2 a 3 D : 5 AHarnitton Bout, JE RER En NE re 32 E Ë Figure 2.20 shows province-wide trends from 1983 to 1992 for average annual ozone concentrations and in- stances of exceeding the one-hour air quality criterion. These instances were highest in 1983, 1988, and 1991, and annual averages were higher in all four years from 1988 to 1991 than in any of the preceding years. Weather ee factors explain part of this pattern, but the complex in- NO RSS BS teen cee teraction of weather conditions and precursor emissions [ makes it difficult to analyze ozone trends with certainty. $2 84 “85-86 88 ‘63 "20: St "ge Note: 23 ses opereted over 10 years Beducineg air poils Toronto passed Canada’s first anti-pollution bylaw in 1907 to regulate smoke, but society did not begin to get really serious about air pollution until the late 1960s. Average province-wide reductions of common pollu- tants within the last two decades can be attributed to the MOEF’s abatement activities and enforcement of air pollution regulations, such as the Ambient Air Quality Criteria, and the General Air Pollution Regulation, which fall under the Ontario Environmental Protection Act. These activities have required industries, motorists and others to reduce their emissions of various pollu- tants. Changing economic conditions have also forced a move towards more efficient and cleaner technologies in many areas. The oil crisis of the early 1970s, for ex- ample, encouraged the development of smaller and lighter cars that used less fuel. Economic downturns, as well, usually bring a temporary decline in pollution levels, simply because less is being produced and less is being consumed. | 46 air continued CHAPTER 3 Toxic AIR POLLUTANTS Air is one of the most common routes by which people can be exposed to toxic pollutants. These pollutants can be divided into two categories, persistent and non-per- sistent substances. Once released, non-persistent toxic compounds, such as benzene, quickly break down into harmless byproducts. They are therefore a health con- cern when they are emitted continuously. Persistent substances, such as PCBs, present a par- ticularly difficult problem, because they may remain in the environment long after the source of emission is capped. Many persistent toxic substances accumulate in living tissues and can be transmitted through food chains in increasing concentrations from one organism to another. Thus, even very small amounts of these sub- stances in the air can eventually build up to harmful lev- els in the bodies of people and of birds, animals and fish that are regularly exposed to them. Most toxic air pollutants are either heavy metals like lead or organic chemical compounds. All metals are persistent substances and so are many of the organic compounds. With very few exceptions, an organic compound is essentially one that contains carbon. There are millions of different chemicals in this family and most of them, like sugar, are harmless. But some organic groups con- tain a number of toxic compounds. The most common- ly toxic organic chemicals are: * chlorinated organic compounds, such as dioxins and furans, PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls), and organochlorine pesticides like chlordane and DDT; D | 47 FIGURE 3,1 ar continued + volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as benzene; * a group of benzene derivatives known as PAHs (polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons). There are potentially hundreds of toxic air pollu- tants. A number of these substances are released into the air from industrial sources. Others, like pesticides and herbicides, are used on farms and in gardens. And many others are found in everyday products like gaso- line, paint and cosmetics. Some are synthetic chemicals, others are of natural origin and some, like dioxins, fu- rans and heavy metals, come from both natural sources and sources related to human activities. Toxic air pollutants in Gntario At elevated levels, some toxic air pollutants have been linked to a wide variety of health problems, includ- ing acute poisoning, cancer, genetic mutations, organ damage and changes to the nervous system. With very few exceptions, concentrations of the most important air toxics are low throughout Ontario and well within the safe range indicated by provincial guidelines. Where comparisons can be made, levels of toxic air pollutants in Ontario communities compare favourably with levels measured in similar locations in the United States and western Europe. In the case of benzene, aver- age median concentrations at urban and suburban sites in the U.S. were 50 to 100 per cent higher than those in most Ontario cities. For other toxic chemicals - B(a)P, formaldehyde, perchloroethylene, methylene chloride and dioxins and furans - Ontario values were similar to or less than those reported for comparable areas in the United States, Germany, France and Finland. In fact, most Ontarians likely face much greater ex- posure to toxic chemicals indoors than outdoors. The average home or office, for example, may contain elevat- ed levels of formaldehyde, VOCs and PAHs from sources such as synthetic carpets, plywood, paints, glues, sol- vents, wood-burning fireplaces, and cigarettes. Not only are concentrations of these chemicals often higher in indoor air, but people in Ontario also spend a much greater part of their time indoors. A recent study of a group of office workers in Windsor showed that they en- countered the highest concentration of toxic substances while commuting, but 71 per cent of their total exposure to air toxics occurred at home (Figure 3.1). This section focuses on eight pollutants that cur- rently appear to present the greatest health risk because _Mean concentration (micrograms/m?} 4 PPLPIPLD ALPE PORT SLIDES PILL 1 MMMM LPL AMS iS or MPEP ID AIL LTTE, TE RES i > Note: 10 «tes opersted over RE years RE _ > A | SM: < ‘a à | Tiel Pes PRERERRERER EER. TH TZTS 74°75 7877 78 79'80'81 'S2'83'84'SS 8S'S7'S8'SS'S'St 92 of their high toxicity and their prevalence in the atmos- phere. These substances include two heavy metals, five organic compounds commonly found in urban air, and dioxins and furans. Heavy Metais Small quantities of some metals, such as iron, are essential to the human body. Others, such as lead, mer- cury and cadmium are highly toxic, especially to the kidneys and the nervous system. This section focuses on two metals, lead and manganese. Lead particles are the most common heavy metals in the air. Lead is especially toxic to children, who ab- sorb it much more readily than adults. Until recently, the largest single source of lead in the atmosphere was leaded gasoline. However, with the introduction of un- leaded gasoline in Ontario in 1974 and the subsequent phasing out of leaded fuels over the next decade anda half, the presence of lead-contaminated particles in the air has dropped dramatically (Figure 3.2). Some 840 tonnes of lead are still emitted to the at- mosphere annually, most of it (about four-fifths) from mining and metal processing operations (Figure 3.3). The highest atmospheric lead levels in the province are now found near lead processing plants in Toronto and Mississauga. Because high concentrations of lead may still occur in the vicinity of such point sources, their emissions are closely monitored to ensure they do not exceed the provincial standard of 5 micrograms per cu- bic metre of air for 24 hours. As ambient concentrations of lead have declined, however, those of another metal, manganese, have in- ERAGE ANNUAL Annual mean concentration {micrograms/m) BN TSP ix ONTARIO 1983-1992 Note: 40 sites operated over 10 years creased. Manganese was used as a substitute for lead in unleaded gasoline. Annual average concentrations of manganese increased steadily throughout the 1980s and were almost twice as high at the end of the decade as they were at the beginning (Figure 3.4). Although man- ganese has industrial uses, its more recent use as a sub- stitute for lead in gasoline likely accounts for the rise in manganese concentrations. yrosceeeee 48 air corntinused Manganese is an essential element in people’s diets and, in fact, most of the manganese in people’s bodies comes from food. Health effects do not occur from low level exposure to manganese in air and food. However, exposure in more concentrated doses can lead to harmful effects. Miners and metal workers exposed to high levels of manganese dust sometimes experience a syndrome known as manganism, which is marked by mental and emotional disturbances and slowness and clumsiness of = = : ES: = movement. So far, manganese concentrations around € ZT 4 . . » . 3 33 3 the province have been well within the MOEE’s guide- = 8 £ 5 lines. eet E = 3 7 8 | Note: MOEE guidsline for methylene chionde s 1765 micrograms/mY24 hrs. nan cat? POKES MDEE guideline fro PCE is 4000 micrograms /m3/24 hours Urban air toxics Interim guideline for benzene to be introduced m 1994 Of all the toxic chemicals that come from typical city sources such as industries and motor vehicles, those of greatest concern are formaldehyde, benzo(a)pyrene [B(a)P], benzene, methylene chloride and perchloroeth- ylene (PCE). Formaldehyde is widely used as a fungicide and preservative and as a raw material in the manufacture of plastics, plywood and particle board. B(a)P, a byproduct of the incomplete combustion of carbon fuels, is found in wood smoke, cigarette smoke, diesel exhaust and coke oven emissions. Benzene is an easily vaporized compo- nent of gasoline and is also found in the exhaust gases of gasoline engines. Methylene chloride is used commonly as a paint remover and degreasing solvent, and is an in- dustrial byproduct, while PCE is a degreasing solvent and a dry cleaning fluid as well All of these compounds are either known or probable carcinogens. PCE and B(a)P are also highly persistent in the environment. Concentrations of urban air toxics in almost all lo- calities, though, have been well below current provincial guidelines. The highest normally occur in urban indus- trialized areas such as Toronto, Hamilton, and Windsor. As might be expected, the lowest levels of toxic contami- nants are usually found at rural sites, such as Dorset near the southwest boundary of Algonquin Park Be- tween 1989 and 1992, one of the air toxics guidelines, for B(a)P, was exceeded on a number of occasions. These elevated levels were recorded at a site adjacent to the Al- goma Steel mill in Sault Ste. Marie, and at several moni- toring sites in Hamilton. MOEE and Environment Canada began to monitor ambient air concentrations of these chemicals in 1989. Figure 3.5 shows ambient air concentrations for ben- zene, methylene chloride and PCE at several locations in the province between 1989 and 1991. Table 3.1 shows ambient concentrations of B(a)P and formaldehyde at selected locations for the same period. In both cases, these concentrations are median - or mid-range - values. These levels - like those of most other air pollutants - can vary considerably over a short distance. While downtown Hamilton, for example, had the highest mid- range value in the province for methylene chloride, an- other site in the city had no detectable level and a third recorded only a trace. As yet, no provincial guidelines for benzene have been set, but mid-range values run from a low of 0.35 micrograms per cubic metre at Dorset to a high of 8.30 micrograms per cubic metre at a site in Hamilton ex- posed to emissions from major traffic routes and nearby steel mills. Readings at other sites have been closer to the lower end of this range. air cantinued Dioxins and furans There are more than 200 different varieties of poly- chlorinated dioxins and furans. These highly persistent compounds are commonly produced as byproducts of combustion or chemical processes involving chlorine. Prolonged exposure even to very low doses of some of these substances has produced cancer in laboratory ani- mals. Average concentrations of dioxins and furans in outdoor air have been measured at three sites in Ontario: Toronto, Windsor, and Dorset (Table 3.1). Sur- prisingly, levels at Toronto were very similar to those at Dorset. The similarity underscores the fact that dioxins and furans come from a wide variety of sources - mostly from industry and traffic in Toronto and wood burning in Dorset. The highest levels were recorded at Windsor, where there is a large concentration of industrial sources. Al- though levels there were three to four times higher than in Toronto and Dorset, they were still well within the current provincial guidelines. Some industries in Sarnia and Hamilton, and pulp and paper factories that use chlorine in their processes are also sources of dioxins and furans. Setting standards te protect human health Not enough is known yet about the effects of sus- tained exposure to very low levels of these pollutants over many years and decades. Most of what is known about their toxic effects is based on exposure to much larger doses in the workplace or on laboratory experi- ments on animals whose bodily processes may differ in important ways from those of humans. Where there is air continued evidence of the long-term effects on humans, it is often complicated by other factors and therefore difficult to interpret. Because of this lack of direct information, guideline levels for environmental exposure are set very cautious- ly. They are usually based on the dosage at which no adverse effects are observed in laboratory animals. A large safety factor is then added to produce the guideline value for humans. eovecceces: nes mener een esnsns en enenenenen nn n nee een eme en n ne n eee eme nee nee ne eeeeeeee sees eeesee et essen es eeeen ee However, the evidence on the effects of long-term exposure to low levels of these pollutants are monitored to determine that the safety factors are adequate in all cases. For this reason, MOEE will continue to review its guidelines and modify them as more information be- comes available. Figure St - The Vertica Structure of the Atmospl ere layers. The lowest layer. the troposphere. extends 10-15 km above the earths takes place. Next is the stratosphere which extends SO km above the earth's surface between the two layers is called the : tropopause. CHAPTER 4: STATOSPHERIC OZONE The stratospheric ozone layer, located 25 to 35 km above the earth’s surface, makes up no more than 5/10,000 of one per cent of the atmosphere’s total mass at a concen- tration of about 8 to 10 parts out of a million (Figure 4.1). Yet this thin, wispy veil of gas is a crucial compo- nent of the upper atmosphere. The ozone layer acts as a protective shield for life below by absorbing the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays before they reach the earth’s surface. As an absorber and emitter of warming infrared radiation, ozone also plays a critical role in shaping the structure of the atmosphere and determining the patterns of the world’s climate. Fears about the possibility of human damage to the ozone layer have been around since the 1960s, but they were confirmed dramatically in 1985 with the discovery of the Antarctic ozone hole - a continent-sized area of severe but temporary ozone depletion that develops every September and October. In most of the rest of the world, ozone depletion has been much less severe but still noticeable. Over the middle latitudes of North America, it appears to have been occurring at the rate of four to five per cent per decade. Research has shown a strong link between the destruction of stratospheric ozone and the chemical activity of several widely used chlorine and bromine compounds. The best known of these are the chloroflu- orocarbons (CFCs), used as refrigerating and air condi- tioning fluids, solvents, and foaming agents (Figure 4.2). Others include halons (bromine compounds used in fire extinguishers), methyl chloroform (a metal-cleaning agent) and carbon tetrachloride (used mostly in the making of CFCs). Total CFCs = 9,000 metric tonnes CFCs and halons are responsible for most ozone depletion. Environment Canada estimates that Canada accounts for 1.7 per cent of the world’s supply of these chemicals, and Ontario is the biggest producer and user in the country. One thing these chemicals have in common is a very long lifetime in the atmosphere, ranging from about six years for methyl chloroform to several hun- dred years for some of the CFCs. This is long enough to allow them to migrate into the stratosphere. Once there, they are broken down by intense ultraviolet radiation, releasing chlorine or bromine atoms. These react with a a a air continued ozone, destroying it in the process and forming new, unstable chemicals that soon split apart, releasing the chlorine or bromine to begin the process again. In this way, each chlorine or bromine atom has the capacity to destroy one hundred thousand or more molecules of ozone (Figure 4.3) As the amount of ozone in the stratosphere de- creases, we can expect more ultraviolet radiation to reach the earth’s surface. Some varieties of UV are more destructive than others. Fortunately, the most powerful, UV-C, is entirely screened out by the ozone layer. The least powerful, UV-A, is only partially absorbed, and most of it reaches the earth’s surface. However, it is the middle variety, UV-B, that causes most concern, because it is still very potent and able to do a good deal of biological damage. Under normal conditions, some UV-B 70 penetrates the ozone layer, = = but as ozone amounts de- crease, a significantly greater amount can be expected to reach the earth’s surface. UV-B stimulates the formation of vitamin D in the body, but too much of it causes sunburn and speeds up 2 at sea level pi the aging of the skin. Repeated overexposure can lead to skin cancer, as well as cataracts and other eye diseases, and may damage the immune system. Among light- skinned peoples, skin cancer rates tend to increase to- wards the equator, where the ozone layer is not as dense and UV-B intensity is greater. Changes in the normal in- Note: 100 Dobson unes are equrelent a mm thick layer of pure ozone tensity of UV-B could also damage some plants, includ- ing food crops and some plankton that are essential to ocean and lake food chains. rene kes over Ontario The amount of ozone in the stratosphere varies with the latitude and season. It also can vary consider- ably from day to day and year to year at any given loca- tion. This natural variability sometimes makes it diffi- cult to analyze trends in ozone amounts. However, as Figure 4.4 shows, total ozone amounts began to showa noticeable decrease over Toronto in the late 1970s and declined by about four per cent during the following decade. Data are not available for other locations in Ontario, but other sites in Canada show a similar pattern. More recently, the 75 80 85 a rate of ozone de- cline has increased, at least in part because of the tem- porary effects of volcanic particles from the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the summer of 1991. A study of ozone over Toronto between 1989 and 1993 showed that winter concentrations decreased by an average of 4.1 per cent a year. During the same period, average summer concentrations declined by 1.8 per cent a year. Over the four years of the study, the intensity of UV-B radiation at ground level in Toronto increased by an average of 35 per cent annually in winter and 6.7 per cent in summer. ~~ It should be noted, however, that these are relatively large percentage increases of small amounts, and that UV-B levels in southern Ontario are still low in compar- ison to those found farther south. As the effects of the Pinatubo eruption fade, it remains to be seen whether ozone and UV-B levels return to values closer to those of the late 1980s. Nevertheless, as nature’s first line of defence against ultraviolet radiation weakens, the sun’s rays must be treated with more caution. To help Canadians avoid ex- cessive ultraviolet exposure, Environment Canada issues a daily UV-B index with its weather forecasts. The index uses a scale of 0-10 to indicate the relative amount of UV-B that can be expected, given the season, time of day and current weather. The higher the number is on the index, the greater the UV-B intensity and the faster your skin will burn when exposed. At a value of 10 - typical of a clear, summer day in the tropics - light, untanned skin will burn in less than 15 minutes. Stopping the darnege The international community has moved with un- usual swiftness and unanimity to halt the destruction of the ozone layer. In 1987, 24 nations met in Montreal to formulate an action plan for controlling ozone-de- pleting substances. By September 1992, the Montreal Protocol, as the plan is known, had been signed by 86 countries responsible for considerably more than 90 per cent of the world’s CFC and halon supply. The protocol now requires all signatories to elimi- nate the consumption of halons by the end of 1993 and CFCs by the end of 1995. Carbon tetrachloride is to be air continued completely phased out by the year 2000 and methyl chloroform by 2005. Hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) have been authorized as a temporary substi- tute for CFCs. These are much less powerful ozone de- stroyers but still have some potential for damaging the ozone layer. They also contribute to global warming. Present agreements call for a phased reduction of HCFCs to begin in 2004 and to be completed by 2030. In response to the Montreal Protocol, Canada reduces its annual use of ozone depleting substances (ODS) from 20,000 tonnes in 1986 to 10,000 tonnes in 1991. Ontario accounts for approximately half of the to- tal use of ODS’s in Canada. This 50% cut in only 5 years is due to strong provincial regulatory controls and swift industrial innovation. Even after production of these chemicals has ceased, thousands of tonnes of them - mostly CFCs in refrigerators and air conditioning systems - could still remain in use for several years. To reduce the risks from spillage or other accidental venting of these, Ontario re- cently introduced regulations banning the use of CFCs and HCECs in new motor vehicle air conditioners, be- ginning with the 1996 model year. Pre-1996 models would still be allowed to use CFCs. The regulations would also prohibit the venting of CFCs, HCFCs, and hydrofluorocarbons to the atmosphere. In addition, any- one servicing refrigeration equipment containing fluo- rocarbons will have to complete a brief training course and be certified by the province. How long will it take for the ozone layer to recover? The production of ozone-depleting substances is now declining sharply. But those released in the past continue to make their way into the stratosphere, and some of air continued those still in use will do so in the future. As a result, levels of these chemicals in the stratosphere are still increasing. Scientists estimate that the quantity of ozone-destroying chemicals in the stratosphere will peak around the turn of the century and decline there- after. However, given the long lifetimes of these chemi- cals, it will be several decades yet before much of the current damage will be reversed and ozone levels in the stratosphere recover significantly. CHAPTER 5 GLOBAL WARMING The atmosphere provides a blanket of insulating gases that keep the earth’s surface from losing heat too rapidly, thus maintaining a favourable temperature to support life. The insulating action of these gases is commonly known as the greenhouse effect and the gases themselves are known as greenhouse gases. Without the greenhouse effect, the earth would lose the heat it absorbs from the sun much more rapidly, leaving it, on average, about 33°C cooler than it is now — too cold to support life as we know it The most abundant greenhouse gases in the atmos- phere are water vapour, carbon dioxide and methane. Others include ozone, CFCs and nitrous oxide. The most significant characteristic of all these gases is their ability to absorb and re-emit infrared radiation, which is given off by the earth as it cools. Surprisingly, these gases constitute only a very small part of the atmosphere. Wa- ter vapour, which represents up to four per cent of the atmosphere’s mass, is by far the most common and the most variable from place to place. Carbon dioxide, how- ever, makes up only about 355 of every million parts of the atmosphere, while methane constitutes only about 17 parts out of every ten million. All play a critical role in the earth’s climate system. Studies of fossilized air in ancient ice from Greenland and Antarctica show a very close correspondence be- tween the amount of greenhouse gases in the air and the earth’s temperature. Greenhouse gas concentrations are lowest during ice ages and highest during warm periods. Concentrations of greenhouse gases have been rising since the beginning of the industrial revolution more than 200 years ago. The most significant increase has been in the amount of carbon dioxide, which is now more than 20 per cent higher than at any time in the past 160,000 years and is increasing globally ata steady rate of about 0.5 per cent per year (Figure 5.1). Most of this increase has come from the burning of fossil fuels such as coal and oil. A smaller portion comes from the accelerated rate of clear cutting and burning the world’s forests. Methane levels are now more than twice what they were in pre-industrial times. Methane comes from many different sources, including natural wetlands, rice pad- dies, landfills, coal mines, the digestive systems of cattle and sheep, and gas and oil extraction and transmission. Levels of other greenhouse gases - ground-level ozone, nitrous oxide, and CFCs - are also increasing. As greenhouse gas concentrations rise, the atmos- phere is able to hold more heat. This should cause tem- peratures to increase significantly, but because the earth’s climate system is so complex, how it will respond to these increases is not entirely clear. The climate sys- tem has several interacting parts, including not only the atmosphere but also the oceans, the continents, the polar ice masses, and all the earth’s plants and animals. All these will respond in different ways to an increase in greenhouse gases and to any extra warming of the atmosphere. Some of these responses may moderate or offset any warming tendency. Others may intensify it. Other characteristics of the climate system - such as rainfall and snowfall, evaporation rates, or the move- ment of weather systems - may change as well. Scientists have developed elaborate computer models to help them predict how the climate system will respond to increased levels of greenhouse gases. Their predictions suggest that with a doubling of CO; emissions, the earth’s average temperature will increase by anywhere from 1.5°C to 4.5°C, with the amount of warming being least in the tropics and increasing towards the poles. Since the difference in average global temperature between the last ice age and the present is only about 5 to 6°C, even the lowest of these estimates could cause noticeable changes in Ontario’s climate. Not only might it get warmer, but it might affect the amount and loca- tion of rainfall, or the frequency of droughts, the length of the growing season, or the water levels of the Great Lakes. These changes, in turn, could affect almost every- thing from the health of Ontario’s forests to the kinds of crops we grow, to the efficiency of hydro dams. These changes would require personal and eco- nomic adjustments that could be difficult and costly. That’s why, from both a provincial and global perspec- tive, global warming is a major concern. Ë air continued 50 "BS. 79 FS 80 ‘BS Source U.S. National Oceanic and Aunosphenc Administration, Environment Canada Emissions themselves are not an actual indicator of warming. There must be evidence of long-term changes in global and regional temperatures and changes in tem- perature-dependent natural processes, such as the ad- vance or recession of glaciers and the freezing of lakes. Greenhouse gases come from both natural sources and sources related to human activity. Globally, natural sources of some greenhouse gases, such as carbon diox- ide and nitrous oxide, are much greater than the sources related to human activities. But in the relatively stable climate system that we have enjoyed since the end of the last ice age, nature has been able to remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere at about the same rate as they were produced. The biological, chemical, and phys- ical processes that remove these gases are known as sinks, and they have also been able to remove a portion - but not all - of the greenhouse gases emitted by sources linked to human activities. It is this surplus of emissions from sources linked to human activities that is causing greenhouse gas concentrations to rise. pores ai continued Gntario’s greenhouse gas eminsions In 1990, an estimated 166 million tonnes of carbon dioxide were emitted by sources related to human activi- ties in Ontario. By far the greatest part of these emis- sions, more than 90 per cent, came from the burning of fossil fuels for energy - for transportation, industrial en- ergy, electric power generation and heating (Figure 5.2). Methane is produced when organic matter decays in the absence of oxygen. In Ontario, about two thirds of the nearly 1.1 million tonnes emitted as a result of human activities in 1990 came from landfills and sewage treatment systems, while most of the remaining third came from cattle and sheep. Nitrous oxide emissions from human activities in the province totalled nearly 31,000 tonnes in 1990. Nearly adipic acid, which is used for making certain types of nylon. Close to 40 per cent came from the burning of fuels. CFC emissions were estimated at 6,577 tonnes. These came mostly from the leakage or discard- ing of refrigerator and air conditioning fluids and the use of CFCs as solvents. Kilogram for kilogram, carbon dioxide is actually the least powerful of the major greenhouse gases, but because of the amount emitted it is the most important contributor to greenhouse warming. Per person, Cana- dians are among the top emitters in the world. In 1987, each Canadian produced an average of 18.4 tonnes of carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels for Li em 55 per cent of this came Z .. from the production of A Other: sewage treatment, prescribed res. agriculture, fugitve production refrger on. closed ¢ coll foam. rois à ue energy. To some extent, this is the result of special cir- cumstances - a widely dispersed population and great distances between major cities, a cold climate and re- source-intensive industries. But it is also a product of heavy dependence on fossil fuels and an extensive use of energy resources. Although Ontario is Canada’s leading industrial producer, its carbon dioxide emissions, on a per capita basis, have been below the national average. In 1987, Ontario produced 16.6 tonnes of carbon dioxide per capita from energy-related emissions, ranking seventh among the provinces and 10 per cent below the national average. Globally, the com- parison is less favourable. The world as a whole produces about 22 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide a year from energy- related sources. Ontario’s emissions amount to about 7 one-thousandths of that amount even though our population is less than 2 one-thousandths of the global total. Between 1960 and 1979, Ontario’s energy-related carbon dioxide emissions more than doubled, largely because of increases in population, industrial expansion and an improved standard of living that encouraged a greater use of cars and other energy-consuming devices. Since then, there has been a moderate decrease, with emissions for 1991 about 12 per cent lower than for 1979. euceccesecececcesesessecevecesecseecesesecsessesevecsseerensarscececececenccsescscscsseceescesscseeneessseerseeesesseeeeees «| NNN N NNN N NER N RENE RE RENE EER EE SEEREEESEESOEEEEEE SESE SS SETESESESSESSSESESSESESSLESSSESEDESSTESES SE air continued To some extent, improvements in energy efficiency bos 53% ENERGY-RELATED CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONS, = 1960-1991 have put a brake on the growth of carbon dioxide emis- sions, but the most decisive influence on emissions has been economic conditions. Decreases in emissions have usually coincided with periods of economic recession, as in 1975, 1979-82 and 1990-91. The only exception is the 1984-86 emission decrease, which resulted from an ex- pansion of nuclear generating capacity (Figure 5.3). Still, efforts to improve energy efficiency have been significant. As Figure 5.4 shows, the amount of carbon dioxide emitted for every $1000 of economic output has declined by an average of 2.5 per cent a year over the FIGURE 5.4: ONTARIO ENERGY RELATED CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONS past two decades. Without these improvements in ener- = PER UNIT ECONOMIC OUTPUT gy efficiency, Ontario’s carbon dioxide emissions would now be much higher. Emissions {tonnes} per $ 1,000 Gross Domestic Product bk the earth gettire warmer? Scientists estimate that the buildup of greenhouse gases during the past couple of centuries should already have caused the earth’s average temperature to rise any- where from 0.4°C to 1.3°C during the past 100 years. Analyses of global temperatures, in fact, show an in- crease of about 0.5°C since 1861. The 1980s were the warmest decade on record and 1990 and 1991 were the warmest years. | As Figure 5.5 shows, the warming has not occurred evenly, but has proceeded by steps. Temperatures began to rise in the 1890s, levelled off in the 1940s, and then began to rise again in the late 1970s. Nor has warming occurred equally in all parts of the world or even in all parts of Canada. In northern Ontario, the temperature 1880 j 4910: 1920 83 1840 950 : 960 4970 198 4890 oO Ss age, 0.5°C. But in southern Ontario, it has been slightly Note: graph shows variations of Se using a 30-yssr {1950-79} average temperature as a reference point {represented by the O'C fine) Source: Oak Ridge National Laboratory increase since 1890 has been the same as the global aver- a es grememenennnnennnentenennnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnennnn ar continued freeze-up dates and a much stronger trend towards ear- lier break-up dates, resulting in a general shortening of the ice seasons at these lakes. Although this evidence suggests a slight cooling of temperatures in the late fall, it is offset by a more substantial warming in the spring. These trends may indicate changes in precipitation and other climatic elements as well. Clearly, some warming has occurred. But can this be attributed to a human-induced buildup of the green- Note: graph shows variations of annual temperatures using a house effect? So far, it cannot be so attributed with com- 30: 1950-73 temperature referen mt. : 2 à = fas eae by De ke = =. eee plete certainty. Climate is naturally variable, and there Sms See have been periods within the past 10,000 years when temperatures have been as warm as they are now or even slightly warmer. However, there is a reasonable probabil- ity that increasing levels of greenhouse gases are the cause. If this is so, then global temperatures within the next century can be expected to rise to higher levels than at any time in the history of human civilization. Howirey thie buildup af gremnhause ganas It will take at least another decade, if not longer, for scientists to establish a conclusive link between a greater 4800 4310 1920 4990 1540 4950 4960 1970 4980 1880 : Note: graph shows variations of annual temperatures using a oO aa 2 reterence pole greenhouse effect and global warming. In the meantime, Source: Environment Conese. the buildup of greenhouse gases can be slowed through more, 0.6°C (Figure 5.6a&b). As a whole, Canada has measures such as reforestation, energy conservation, the warmed by 1.0°C in the past century. The greatest use of less polluting fuels like natural gas and the devel- warming has been on the Prairies and in the central opment of alternative energy sources. These will not sub-Arctic. Parts of the eastern Arctic, however, have only improve the chances of dealing with the risk of actually become slightly cooler. global warming but will also pay dividends in many Further evidence of warming comes from studies other ways - providing cleaner air and water, reducing of lake ice that Environment Canada has carried out at acid rain, conserving resources, preserving the ozone eight Ontario sites over the past two to four decades. layer and making ecosystems healthier. The studies have noted a weak trend towards earlier 414 Tairi dy of the effects of acid rain offers many examples ‘complex linkages among different parts of the en- ent. It also shows how human activities in one th sve Consequences in another, perhaps hun- or thousands of kilometres away. In the case of Le an of events begin with fhe reas of ee thermal power stations, smelters and lends with the deacon of fish and other of lake life, often in environments far from obvi- of pollution. wait described in the 1850s bya 1 scientist in England’s industrial Midlands, but it ot onsidered a serious problem until a century en | sh populations began to decline a bles in s and eastern North America. In Ontario, lake cation was fist reported in the ery 1960s in the A few years later, researchers from the “Toronto noticed that lake water had acidi- northeast corner of Georgian Bay. During the “idification was reported in other parts of orthern Ontario, notably in the Muskoka- nstrated that there were links between emissions of acid gases, rainwater chemistry, lake acidification and effects on lake life. It was not until the mid-1980s, however, that Cana- dian Ontario and U.S. governments began to develop co-ordinated policies for controlling acid rain. The problem has been complicated by the fact that these gases can travel long distances, crossing provincial and international borders as they are carried along by atmos- pheric currents. Much of the acid rain affecting southern Ontario comes from the United States. Similarly, much of the acid rain affecting the eastern states and provinces originates in Ontario. Solving the problem has therefore required close co-operation between governments. In spite of these difficulties, however, important progress has been made. acid rain continued CHAPTER G HOW ACID RAIN AFFECTS THE ENVIRONMENT What is acid rain? Pure rainwater, even in unpolluted areas of the world, is usually slightly acidic. Acid rain, formed from acidifying pollutants in the air, is substantially more so. Acidity is measured on the pH scale. A pH of 0 in- dicates maximum acidity, 14 represents maximum alka- linity, and 7 is neutral. Each full point on the scale repre- sents a tenfold change in acidity. Normal, slightly acidic rainwater has a pH somewhere between 5.0 and 5.6. But during the 1980s, the average pH of rainfall over central Ontario was 4.2, or about ten times more acidic than normal rainwater. Acid rain gets its acidity from two air pollutants, sulphur dioxide (SO;) and nitrogen oxides (NO,), which react with water in the air to produce sulphuric and nitric acids. In Ontario, sulphur dioxide comes mainly from the burning of sulphur-containing coal to produce electricity and from the smelting of sulphur- containing ores. Nitrogen oxides are produced during combustion. Various means of transportation, taken to- gether, add up to the largest source of nitrogen oxides in the province, accounting for about 60 per cent of emis- sions. Motor vehicles produce more than two thirds of those emissions. The acids reach the earth’s surface in two ways. One is through wet deposition, in which the pollutants are washed out of the air by precipitation - not only the fa- miliar acid rain but acid snow, fog, and hail as well. The other is dry deposition, in which acid gases or particles in the air reach the earth directly. Acid deposition, the preferred scientific term for acid rain, encompasses both of these possibilities. Because acid pollutants can travel hundreds of kilo- metres before being deposited, Ontario is exposed not only to its own acid emissions but also to those from ad- jacent industrial areas of the United States. These U.S. emissions are carried by weather systems moving ina northeasterly direction and account for about 50 per cent of the sulphuric acid deposited in the province. In Ontario, acid deposits formed from sulphur dioxide have had a much greater impact on the environ- ment so far than those formed from nitrogen oxides. One reason is that there are far more sulphur dioxide emissions - nearly 1,000,000 tonnes per year as com- pared to less than 500,000 tonnes a year for nitrogen ox- ides. Another is that the nitrate from nitric acid is used rapidly as a nutrient by plants during the growing sea- RE ee eee re ny acid rain continuer son. It is usually only in the spring, after the ground has been frozen and plants have been dormant for several months, that nitrate shows up to any significant extent in surface runoff. Consequently, the battle against acid rain has been fought largely on the sulphur dioxide front. bat areas are affected? Some parts of Ontario receive more acid rain than others, but some areas also have natural characteristics that help to protect them against acidification. The greatest amount of acid rain in the province, for exam- ple, falls in the southwest, yet the area has no acidic lakes or rivers. The reason lies in geology. Most of southern Ontario has limestone bedrock underlying it. In these limestone regions, soils and water have a strong capacity to neutralize the acid deposition falling on them - much like antacids that neutralize stomach acidity. These are the areas of high neutralizing capacity shown in Figure 6.1. Soils and water in areas of underlying granite bedrock, however, have very little neutralizing capacity. In softwater lakes, high concentrations of sulphate These are the areas shown as low in Figure 6.1., and they indicate exposure to acid pollutants formed from sul- include the Canadian Shield as well as the Muskoka, phur. (In hardwater areas, sulphate may already be pre- Haliburton, Parry Sound, and Nipissing cottage country sent from natural sources.) Thus, in Figure 6.2, lakes in of south-central Ontario. Under unpolluted conditions, the northwest show the low sulphate concentrations the pH levels of lakes in these areas would lie somewhere typical of unpolluted lakes on the Shield. Lakes farther between 6 and a little more than 7; however, today many east, however, show extremely high concentrations of are between 5 and 6. Smaller lakes have been found to be sulphate, even though no natural sources are present. particularly susceptible to acidification. These areas of high sulphate concentration correspond Some of these sensitive areas, such as the cottage closely to the areas of low pH (high acidity) in Figure country of south-central Ontario, are exposed primarily 6.3. The most severe acidification is apparent in lakes in to acid pollutants originating in the United States. Oth- the Sudbury area. ers, such as the Sudbury area, receive most of their acid pollutants from local sources. se : 33 aeacecesreccsscsccssscccccsscsescscsessorsessecsesessecseeeresearsesesrereeesencerereeeen ere = acid rain continued | saeeeeceneceeecesecscensecscscscecesscccscessrerscscssscccenersenesesterseeresseeseneeeseeeseeeceeeee ee ee: Efects of acid denasttisn LAKES Unpolluted Ontario lakes support a wide variety of life which depends on microscopic plankton for food. Plankton can be broadly divided into phytoplankton (microscopic plants) and zooplankton (microscopic ani- mals). As the pH of a lake decreases, indicating a rise in acidity, the number of different kinds of plankton drops dramatically (Figure 6.4). This result is not unexpected, as they developed in systems with near-neutral acidity and some of them may lack the means to adapt to an acidified environment. The total quantity of plankton in the lake may remain the same, however, as populations of the surviving types expand to fill the gap left by those that have died out. The effect on fish is much the same. As lakes acidify, fewer and fewer species can tolerate the conditions (Fig- ure 6.5) and populations of sensitive species begin to dwindle. Lake trout are among the first to be affected. Yellow perch, on the other hand, have a much greater tolerance for acidity. Exactly how the fish are affected is unclear, but it is believed that the acidity may interfere with reproduction. If conditions become severe enough, lakes become much more limited in their ability to support life, and are commonly described as ‘dead’ The fish populations disappear completely, and only microscopic life and veg- etation survive. Figure 6.6 shows where many of the known extinc- tions of lake trout populations have occurred. Extinc- tions can be caused by overfishing, various forms of pol- lution and other factors besides acid rain. But there is clearly a close association between the extinctions shown in Figure 6.6 and high levels of lake acidity in the Sudbury area. Biological damage to a lake appears to occur at pH levels below six. On the basis of data collected in the 1980s, it has been estimated that 19,000 of Ontario’s 250,000 lakes have pH levels less than six because of acid deposition. The majority of the affected lakes are fairly small, but some larger lakes have been affected as well, particularly in the Sudbury area. FORESTS During the last 25 years, forests in Europe and North America have shown signs of environmental stress, such as yellowing and gradual loss of leaves, loss of twigs, and even death of the trees themselves. Ontario forests have shown these symptoms in birch, ash, oak and maple trees. Air pollution is a major stress to the forest ecosystem and it is suspected of contributing to these effects. It is known that acidic deposition can have a major effect on forests. Given the number of possible causes, it is difficult to make a direct link between the environ- mental stress observed in Ontario’s forests described above and acidic deposition. However, these effects are most obvious in central Ontario where acid deposition is higher and where the soils of the Canadian Shield are relatively more acid-sensitive than elsewhere in the province. acid rain cantinued ee afk PARA PERPEE ey 547 vr, +300: 1910 19200 4930 1940 4950 1980 1970 19580 1990 High = >35 kg/hs/yr wet SO4 + >5D ppb dayight GS D3 Mod = >25 kQ/ha/yr wet SO4 + >30: ppb daylight GS C3 Low =<20 ko/he/\r wet 504 + <20 ppb daylight GS 03 Mean-of al trees > 10cm: dbh Studies in Ontario forests showing signs of environ- mental stress revealed that extreme climate stress, defoli- ation by tent caterpillar, and infection by root diseases were the main causes of the decline. At some of these sites, where the soil was very acid-sensitive, high alu- minum concentrations were detected in the soil and roots of affected trees. Studies show that aluminum might block the plants’ intake of nutrients. This is consistent with what we know about the ef- fects of acid rain on forests. The impact of acid rain is not always obvious, as the trees appear to die of natural causes. But, acid deposition might affect a plant’s ability to absorb nutrients. As the soil acidifies, natural decom- position slows down, reducing nutrient recycling. Poten- tially toxic metals such as aluminum may change form, inhibiting root growth and interfering with a plant’s ab- sorption of nutrients. The trees become weaker and sub- sequently more susceptible to environmental stress and insects and diseases. Although the effects on forests in those acid-sensi- tive areas was mainly due to natural causes,the evidence suggested that acidic deposition, contributed to the decline. Figure 6.7 illustrates the trend in sugar maple growth rates across the province. In areas where acid de- position is greatest, the growth rate has declined about 27 per cent relative to the rate of tree growth in the early part of the century. Although it cannot be concluded with certainty that this growth reduction is caused by acidic deposition, research has shown that air pollution is a stress on the forest ecosystem. In 1986, Ontario began a seven-year survey of the health of hardwood forests, tracking tree decline across the province. Overall, tree condition was considered to be good to very good, although significant decline was observed in the Espanola, Parry Sound, and Minden ar- eas. Tree decline has persisted in these same three areas. Based on results from this province-wide survey, tree decline in the hardwood forest ecosystem of Ontario is not considered a significant problem, although isolated, persistent, pockets of decline exist. HUMAN AND ANIMAL HEALTH The direct effects on human health of sulphur diox- ide and nitrogen oxides in the air were noted in chapter 2, but the effects of acidified lakes and soils on human and animal health are less clear. One possibility is that birds and animals that feed on fish, crustaceans and oth- er endangered forms of aquatic life will find it more dif- ficult to survive because their food supply has decreased. Another is that some birds and animals, as well as humans, will be exposed to higher levels of toxic metal- lic compounds that may cause cancers, mutations, or re- productive failure. High acidity increases the rate at which toxic metals are leached from soils and rocks into the water and also encourages the formation of toxic compounds of these metals. These substances may then accumulate in the food chain, where they would be par- ticularly harmful to fish-eating predators, including hu- mans. Studies at a number of acid lakes in the province have shown that fish-eating waterfowl, such as the Com- mon Loon, produce fewer young as the supply of fish decreases. On the other hand, some insect-eating water- fowl, like Common Goldeneyes, which compete for the same food supply, actually prefer fishless lakes. EROSION OF BUILDINGS Acidic air pollution eats away at many kinds of building materials. Limestone and marble are particu- larly vulnerable to damage by sulphur dioxide and sul- phuric acid because of chemical reactions that cause these materials to expand and crack. Acid pollutants are at least partially responsible for an increase in the decay of historic buildings in Ontario. acid rain comtirued CHAPTER 7 ACID RAIN: ARE WE MAKING PROGRESS? Contraliing acid rain Efforts have been under way since 1970 to control emissions of acid gases, both to reduce local pollution from sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides and to mini- mize acid deposition. During the mid-1980s, Ontario set two important control targets. One was to reduce the rate of sulphate deposition in sensitive areas to less than 20 kg per hectare a year. The other - needed to achieve the first - was to cut sulphur dioxide emissions to one half of the 1980 level, by the end of 1994 (885,000 tonnes of sul- phur dioxide a year). Targets were set for Ontario’s largest emitters: Ontario Hydro’s thermoelectric power plants, the large smelters belonging to Inco and Falcon- bridge in the Sudbury area, and Algoma Steel’s sintering plant in Wawa. Inco expects to reduce its sulphur diox- ide emissions to 265,000 tonnes annually by 1994. In the late 1960s, before controls were implemented, Inco emitted nearly 2,000,000 tonnes of sulphur dioxide a year. Because acidic air pollutants are transported into Canada from the United States, American control mea- sures are also critical to our success in reducing acid de- position. Amendments to the U.S. Clean Air Act, adopt- ed in 1990, have set sulphur dioxide emission limits for specific electric power generating stations. These limits should reduce annual emissions in the United States by 4.5 million tonnes by 1995 and by an additional 4.5 mil- lion tonnes by the year 2000. Because nitrogen oxides have been the lesser con- tributor to acid deposition, efforts to control them have not been as vigorous. Over the past two decades the most important NOx controls have been the use of cat- alytic converters in motor vehicle exhaust systems and the trend towards more fuel-efficient cars. Ontario’s cur- rent position is that emissions of nitrogen oxides should be held to 1987 levels, although that target could change as more scientific information on the effects of nitrogen oxides becomes available. Vihat progress has been meade? As shown previously in chapter 2 (figure 2.1), annual emissions of sulphur dioxide in Ontario have fallen by more than 70 per cent since 1970. In 1992, they totalled about 900,000 tonnes. The province is therefore well on track towards meeting its emission target for 1994. Tighter emission controls and improved produc- tion technology in metal smelters account for the major portion of these reductions. Conversion to low-sulphur fuels has also brought about large reductions in emis- sions from thermal power generating stations. Emissions of nitrogen oxides have also decreased, though less dramatically. As shown in chapter 2 (figure 2.4), emissions remained fairly constant between 1983 acid rain continued and 1989, then declined by more than 10 per cent be- CUR! p D ACIDCNEUTRALIZING CAPACITY OF 38 LAKES IN tween 1989 and 1991. These reductions were primarily the result of lower emissions from vehicle exhaust and electricity production. As the number of motor vehicles on the road continues to rise, the level of nitrogen oxide emissions may change. The decline in emissions of sulphur dioxide has been accompanied by a definite improvement in the amount of acidic material deposited. This can be seen in Figure 7.1, which summarizes data from a network of monitoring stations that has been tracking acid deposi- tion since 1979. Very high levels of sulphate deposition are evident in the early 1980s, especially in southern and southwestern Ontario. By the late 1980s, the very high deposition areas had virtually disappeared and the areas of lower deposition had increased markedly. It remains to be seen, however, if affected systems will recover BEER ete eg REE EE ® ~ when the rate of sulphate deposition is within the con- trol target of 20 kg per hectare a year or if lower levels of sulphate deposition are required to protect sensitive ee a ee lakes. Ultimately, the response of the environment will ‘7S 76 77 ‘78 ‘79 ‘60 ‘81 62 "83 4 "BS “86 F7 BB ES ‘S091 tell. Reprmnag the carnage Can acidified lakes and their biological communi- ties be returned to their normal, healthy state? There is good evidence that they can. Figure 7.2 shows trends in pH and acid-neutralizing capacity for a set of 38 lakes in the Sudbury area. Acid-neutralizing capacity is a mea- sure of the amount of acid a lake can still neutralize. If a lake can no longer neutralize acid, its neutralizing ca- pacity is negative and it is an acid lake. As the graph shows, both the pH and the neutralizing capacity of these lakes have increased. Clearly, lakes in the Sudbury area are recovering from their severe acidification. acid rain continued A survey of 54 lakes in the Algoma region has also reported some rapid recoveries. Two lakes that had pH levels below 5.5 and were fishless in 1979 have recovered to the point where it has been possible to re-establish their fish populations. Farther south, in the Muskoka-Haliburton area, the trends are more ambiguous. Figure 7.3 shows data from two intensively studied lakes in that area. While it seems safe to say that the lakes are not getting worse, it is not clear that they are recovering significantly from their acidification. However, most of the acid deposition in this area originates in the United States and the full im- pact of American reductions in sulphur dioxide emis- sions has yet to be felt. Overall, the prospects for controlling acid emissions and recovering from their effects are very good. But this does not mean that the book on acid rain can now be closed. It still remains to be seen if most of the affected lakes and their ecosystems return to normal or whether further controls are required. Still, evidence suggests that a potentially large ecological disaster has been ar- tested. rio has a generous share of the world’s water re- t'has more than 250,000 freshwater lakes, un- ted rivers and streams and a 5,300-km shoreline on of the five Great Lakes. The Great Lakes alone, ting: both the Canadian and American portions 0 per cent of the world’s surface freshwater ‘Water i in oe useful as a means of trans- on, a industrial raw material, a source of energy, age disposal system and a medium of recreation. rtunately these uses often diminish its capacity to ort life and, i in some cases, may even make it dan- us to the life forms that depend on it Water quality varies from place to place and to exte: t depends on local geological conditions. But result of human activities, water is exposed to pollu- can! -m aquatic plants and animals and 1 recreation, drinking, irrigation, or oth- . Surfc 2 waters are exposed to pollution from sources. such as municipal and industrial waste varges, from non-point sources such as urban and icultural use, and from airborne pollutants that à iginated several hundreds or thousands of metres away. Groundwater, though less susceptible ntamination, may also pick up contaminants from | storage tanks, farm fields and other surface s. These pollutants may still be carried by the \dwater when it eventually returns to the surface to enish rivers and streams, tants, however, are not the only problem. Wa- ys V4 also be modified physically through the ding of dams and artificial ponds, dredging, modifi- n of channels and stream diversions. All these activ- can have a impact on habitat and » water quality and This section looks at the issues affecting the main water groupings in Ontario - inland waters, the Great Lakes and groundwater - and concludes with an assess- ment of water quality as it affects human health. CHAPTER 8 INLAND SURFACE WATERS Ontario’s inland waters flow through some of the world’s most pristine wilderness and some of its most intensively industrialized urban areas. The quality of these waters varies enormously from one part of the province to another. 34 Later continued The human impact on surface waters comes from a number of sources, including urbanization and residen- tial development, farming, recreational activities, dams, mining and smelting, pulp and paper operations and forestry. Figure 8.1 shows how these are distributed across the province. In southern Ontario, agriculture is a key cause of poor water quality in the area’s rivers and lakes. Valuable wildlife habitat can be destroyed through drainage of wetlands, the straightening or destruction of river banks and streamflow alterations. The use of tile drainage in fields lowers the water table, while the clearing of forest cover from stream and river banks increases exposure to sunlight and raises water temperatures. In addition, streams flowing through intensively farmed areas often pick up large quantities of soil particles, fertilizers, pesti- cides, cattle manure and other wastes, leading to prob- lems of turbidity, nutrient enrichment, toxic and bacter- ial contamination and oxygen depletion. Urbanization, is another significant cause of poor water quality in the heavily populated areas of the south. Cities and towns produce enormous quantities of indus- trial wastes and municipal sewage that are often high in nutrients, oxygen-depleting material, solids and bacte- ria. The paved streets and compact soils of urban areas also decrease the absorption of stormwater, lowering the water table and increasing surface runoff. As well as al- tering levels and flow rate of rivers and streams, runoff DPI washes substantial quantities of dirt, oil, garbage, road salts and other urban debris into adjacent water bodies. In addition, wetland drainage and the straightening or destruction of river banks destroy important aquatic habitats. Because farms and cities are spread throughout most of southern Ontario, water quality problems from agriculture and urbanization are widespread. In the north, on the other hand, problems tend to be more lo- calized and connected with point sources of pollution such as mines, smelters, and pulp and paper mills, al- though the effects of recreational activities and airborne pollutants such as mercury and acid gases are spread over a Wider area. Hydro dams also may have local im- pacts on some northern rivers, causing fluctuations in water levels that can destroy habitat for fish and other aquatic life. In addition, urban centres in the north, es- pecially the larger ones such as Sudbury, Thunder Bay and Sault Ste. Marie, can have much the same kind of impact on local watersheds as their counterparts in the south. The quality of Ontario’s inland waters is monitored at some 700 sampling stations. Samples collected at these sites are a useful source of information about an aesthetic nuisance that create unpleasant odours or many aspects of water quality and the stresses affecting destroy the charms of a favourite swimming spot. But to fish and other water life, they can be fatal. When the al- gae die off, their decay may use up much of the water’s it, particularly in southern Ontario. RRERES dissolved oxygen. If too much oxygen is depleted, fish and other aquatic animals may die. In Ontario, many rivers and lakes receive an over- supply of nutrients from agricultural fertilizers that have been washed off farmers’ fields by rainwater. Besides be- ing used in fertilizers, phosphorus and nitrogen com- pounds are found in industrial chemicals and in a large Phosphorus and nitrogen are important nutrients. Too rich a supply of these substances, though, can over- stimulate the growth of phytoplankton (algae) and other aquatic plants, to the detriment of fish and other water life. Large blooms of algae are the most visible evidence that rivers and lakes are receiving an overabundance of nutrients. From a human point of view, algal blooms are 83 rater continued assortment of everyday products, including detergents, household cleaners, motor lubricants and food. Conse- quently, phosphorus and nitrogen show up in substan- tial amounts in effluent from municipal sewage systems, rainwater runoff from city lawns and streets, and dis- charges from pulp and paper mills, food processing plants, chemical factories and other industrial sources. Figures 8.2 and 8.3 show median concentrations of phosphorus and nitrates (a form of nitrogen) in surface waters in various parts of Ontario. (The median or mid- range value is the value halfway between the highest and lowest readings obtained.) These maps are based on measurements taken between 1986 and 1993. According to ministry guidelines, excessive plant growth in rivers and streams is unlikely to occur if the total phosphorus concentration is below 0.03 milligrams per litre. In lakes, the guideline value for nuisance growths of algae is slightly lower. A similar guideline is not yet available for nitrate, but natural concentrations in surface waters are rarely greater than 0.5 milligrams per litre. As the maps in Figures 8.2 and 8.3 show, both phos- phorus and nitrate concentrations are exceptionally high in the farming counties of the southwest. Many of the water bodies in this area are now degraded by excessive algae growth. The Fanshawe and Gordon Pittock reser- voirs on the Thames River provide good illustrations of the impacts. Both of these popular recreational areas have been closed to the public at times and have had fish die because of nutrient enrichment and algae growth. Phosphorus levels are also high in other farming ar- eas - particularly around the eastern end of Lake On- tario and in the southeast between the Ottawa and St. Lawrence rivers. In addition, phosphorus concentrations above the guideline value are found in scattered loca- tions in northern Ontario, where they may be a result of industrial discharges, municipal sewage, or local geolog- ical conditions. Also, oxygen in the water can be used up by the de- cay of organic matter in waste water or the oxidation of chemicals such as ammonia. These substances are known as biochemical or chemical oxygen-demanding materials (BOD and COD, for short). Municipal sewage treatment plants and industries that produce large amounts of organic or chemical waste - pulp and paper manufacturing, food processing, iron and steel produc- tion and petroleum refining, for example - are common sources of oxygen-depleting materials. water cortirruect Secteria recreational uses that involve bodily contact with the A century ago, bacteria in drinking water caused water. As Figure 8.4 shows, levels in excess of this guide- large numbers of deaths from diseases such as typhoid line are reached in many parts of southern Ontario, es- and cholera. Thanks to improved sewage disposal prac- pecially in and downstream of farming areas. In some tices and routine treatment of drinking water, municipal urban areas, temporary increases in bacterial levels often water supplies are now safe. Bacterial contamination re- follow heavy rainstorms, because the sewage system can- mains a common water quality problem and causes the not handle the extra flow and raw sewage is discharged closure of many swimming areas every year. Rural water- courses are com- monly polluted by wastes from cattle that are watered in streams, by the dumping of milk- house wastes, by leakage from septic tanks and by ma- nure spread on fields. In urban ar- eas, sewage treat- ment plants and sewer overflows directly to the receiving waters to avoid backups and overflows in the sys- tem. Furbidity Turbidity is a measure of the scattering of light in water. Essentially, it is a measure of water clarity (or, more precisely, the lack of it), and it is a good indication of the amount of suspended solids that water contains. Many of these solids, such as mi- cro-organisms, minerals and fine particles of clay, during heavy rains are of natural origin, but are common a number of human ac- sources, as are tivities add large quanti- some industrial fa- ties of suspended solids cilities such as food processing plants and pulp and pa- to nearby water bodies. The effluent from pulp and pa- per mills. The most common indicator of bacterial cont- per mills, for example, contains large amounts of wood amination in water is the presence of elevated densities fibre. But apart from industrial effluent, much of the ex- of faecal coliforms or E. coli bacteria. tra loading of suspended solids comes from urban and Water with an average faecal coliform density of agricultural runoff, from forestry activities such as clear- more than 100 counts per 100 mL in a series of water cutting, and from damage to river banks by construction samples is considered unsafe for swimming or other and cattle. cn mn, ee..." water cantinued Too high a concentration of suspended solids may make water unsuitable for recreational and other uses and can have devastating effects on the aquatic environ- ment, smothering bottom-dwelling organisms, ruining spawning grounds, reducing the amount of sunlight reaching plants and phytoplankton and even plugging the gills of fish. Suspended particles also provide a bonding surface for toxic metals and chemicals. In agricultural areas, turbidity problems have been common for years. To a considerable extent, they are the result of the clearing of forests and drainage of wetlands by the first few generations of agricultural settlers in the nineteenth century. Still, new problems con- tinue to arise. In the early 1980s, for example, the clear blue waters of Little Lake at Barrow Bay on the Bruce Peninsula were turned brown and murky by sediments released from the clearing of agri- cultural drainage ditches. This work also resulted in the loss of a brook trout stream, while cattle access to the ditches and runoff from fields continued to contribute bacteria, chemicals and additional sediments to water flowing into the lake. Some remedial action has been undertaken since then, but a number of water quality problems remain. Figure 8.5 shows that the highest levels of turbidity are found in the highly urbanized watersheds around Lake Ontario and in the farming country of the south- west. Turbidity levels on the Shield are much lower, al- though forestry, mining, and pulp and paper manufac- turing can have local effects. Phyxise} HYEDGOLE Many of Ontario’s rivers have been dammed to control flooding or to pro- vide water for power generation. Hundreds of streams were also dammed in the nineteenth century to provide water for grist mills and many of these dams still survive. Dams and the ponds behind them have a num- ber of disruptive effects on aquatic ecosystems. Among other things, they may destroy habitat, isolate fish from their spawning grounds, deplete oxygen, alter water temperatures and increase evaporation from the watershed. They also contribute to the release of toxic metals from newly flooded areas, particularly mercury, which can accumulate to high levels in fish from reser- voirs. Water level fluctuations caused by the operation of a hydroelectric dam on northern Ontario’s Nipigon Riv- er, for example, have contributed to the decline of the river's brook trout population, mainly because of dam- age to the fish’s spawning grounds. In other parts of the province, flow alterations have been caused by a variety of factors, including stormwater systems, field drainage, the elimination of wetlands and the increased impervi- ousness of the ground in many watersheds (as a result of paving, for example, or the compacting of soils by heavy machinery). Other common physical stresses on waterways in- clude dredging, deforestation, boat wakes, and shoreline alterations such as the straightening of river banks. These can be very destructive of aquatic habitat and can greatly increase turbidity. Flow alterations and habitat destruction are major causes of water quality impair- ment in many of the province’s aquatic systems. Persprtent box subsinsnocs Toxic substances interfere with important biochem- ical processes in living organisms. There are many dif- ferent types of toxic substances, but of particular envi- ronmental concern are those (such as mercury, lead and other heavy metals) that cannot be broken down into less harmful substances, or those (organochlorine com- pounds such as PCBs and dioxins) that do so very slow- ly. Many of these substances also accumulate readily in living tissue. These are known as persistent bioaccumu- lative substances and organisms can eventually build up harmful concentrations of them in their systems, even when levels in the surrounding environment are barely detectable. While the individual effects of each substance vary, long term exposure to these substances has been linked ny water cortinuec to cancer, reproductive failure, birth defects, genetic mutations, organ damage and/or damage to the nervous system in both humans and wildlife. The most common persistent toxic substance found in inland lakes is mer- cury. Several persistent toxic substances exist in nature, but a number of them are also widely used in manufac- turing and found in an extensive variety of ordinary, everyday products. As a result, many of these substances enter rivers and lakes from municipal sewage systems, industrial discharges, rainwater runoff and the air. In farming areas, pesticides and herbicides are the most common source of these contaminants. In northern On- tario, pulp and paper mills, mines and smelters are the most conspicuous sources. Because persistent toxics can be passed up the food chain from prey to predator, concentrations can become extremely high in fish. Thus, for humans and other top predators such as mammals and waterfowl, the most im- portant pathway of exposure to these substances is not water but fish. Because of the potential health risk from eating contaminated fish, sport fish in Ontario’s lakes and rivers have been regularly sampled and tested for toxic substances for a number of years. Consumption advisories are issued for those lakes and rivers where contaminated fish have been found. Consumption advisories depend not only on loca- tion but also on the species and size of the fish. The larg- er and older the fish, the higher the toxic concentrations are likely to be. Figure 8.6 shows where consumption advisories have been issued for 45-55 cm walleye, a warm-water species that is well distributed throughout the province. Figure 8.7 shows where advisories have been issued for 35-45 cm lake trout, a representative cold-water species. RE 47 water continued For both species, total consumption restrictions are relatively few, but partial restrictions are widespread. Mercury is by far the most common contaminant for which these restrictions have been issued. Because the industrial use of mercury has declined considerably since the 1970s, a consumption advisory does not neces- sarily indicate that there is a current human source of mercury contamination in the area. The mercury in the fish may also have come from natural sources, residues of past episodes of contamination, disturbance of the watershed (e.g., flooding), or airborne deposits from other areas. According to ministry studies, most of the mercury entering remote Shield lakes comes from the air and about half of this amount comes from human sources. One of the worst cases of mercury pollution in On- tario occurred during the 1960s and early 1970s when discharges from a chlor-alkali plant at Dryden severely contaminated the English-Wabigoon river system. With mercury levels in fish running as high as 12.0 mg/kg, sport and commercial fishing on the river had to be closed. Mercury levels in the English-Wabigoon system de- clined considerably during the 1970s and early 1980s as a result of discharge controls and the eventual closing of the plant. Levels have remained relatively stable since 1983, but some mercury still remains in the system. Four lakes in the area have been monitored regularly since 1970, and mercury levels in walleye from one of them (Clay Lake) still average more than 2.0 mg/kg. Mercury levels in uncontaminated fish are generally less than 0.5 mg/kg. Elevated mercury levels have also been found in Lake Abitibi, the Mattagami River, the Ottawa River and lakes in the Huntsville area. High levels of chlorinated organic compounds are relatively uncommon in sport fish from Ontario’s inland waters. Significant levels of PCBs, for example, have been detected in sport fish at only two inland locations - in Lake Clear near Renfrew and in the Otonabee River and Rice Lake near Peterborough. The PCBs in Lake Clear have been traced to the use of contaminated mate- rials for oiling nearby roads in the mid-1970s. Cleanup of the lake has now been completed and monitoring is under way to determine if more work is needed. PCBs in the Otonabee River and Rice Lake have been found only in bottom-feeding fish such as carp and levels have been below the federal guideline of 2.0 ppm for the sale of commercial fish. The source has been traced to contaminated wastes that were discharged into Peterborough’s sewer system over a number of years by two local industries. The industries have co-operated in cleanup efforts, but the sewer system still appears to be saturated with PCBs, which are discharged into the lake and river after heavy rains. A committee is now looking into further ways of dealing with the problem. Protactiig island waters To improve inland water quality, both point and area sources of impairment must be tackled. Controls on point sources have been evolving since the mid- 1960s when the Ontario Water Resources Commission began setting objectives for the discharge of a number of industrial water pollutants. These and other initiatives have already significantly reduced loadings of some pol- lutants in a number of areas. Figure 8.8, for example, shows how phosphorus concentrations in the Credit River declined in the 1970s as a result of legislation re- ducing the phosphate content of laundry detergents and again in the 1980s as a result of the introduction of phosphorus treatment at an upstream sewage plant. Regulations being developed under Ontario’s Mu- nicipal Industrial Strategy for Abatement (MISA) are ex- pected to bring further reductions in pollution dis- charges from both industrial sources and municipal sewage treatment plants. Regulations for the pulp and paper industry, released in November 1993, for example, will reduce the discharge limit for chlorinated com- pounds by 68 per cent by the end of 1999. Reductions of point-source pollution will benefit a number of water systems, particularly in the north where most water quality problems are related to point- source impacts. In the south, however, agricultural activ- ities have a much greater and more widespread effect on water quality than either municipal or industrial sources. Reducing the impact of agriculture is a difficult task that will require some significant changes in farming practices. For example, changes to tillage practices, such as leaving stubble on the fields in the fall instead of ploughing it under, can reduce soil erosion, which is a major cause of water turbidity. Discouraging cattle form watering in streams can reduce turbidity and bacterial contamination. Using fertilizers more judiciously can re- duce nutrient loadings. Leaving, or replanting, strips of forest along river banks can provide a protective buffer between fields and waterways. Many Ontario farmers are taking steps to make their farm operations more environmentally sensitive. In 1992, twenty-seven farm associations joined forces to form the Ontario Farm Environmental Coalition (OFEC). In partnership with the federal and Ontario governments, OFEC has launched the Ontario Farm Environmental Agenda Initiative. The Initiative provides workshops to assist farmers in assessing the environ- mental risk on their property and in developing appro- priate environmental farm plans. In urban areas, the ministry is involved in preparing Pollution Control Plans (PCPs) for a number of munici- palities. These are intended to reduce pollution resulting from the overloading or bypass of sewage treatment sys- tems during storms. bx inland ter quatity improving? In some areas, surface water quality has improved as a result of pollution prevention programs or changes in economic activity. In others, though, it is deteriorat- ing because of urban expansion, rural residential devel- opment, or other such stresses. Detailed analyses of longer-term trends in water quality are unavailable. However, it is possible to make fairly simple statistical comparisons between monitor- ing data for 1973-76 and corresponding data from the same sites for 1990-93 to see if changes have occurred. This method does not measure the degree of change, but simply indicates whether levels of a particular pollutant at a particular place are higher, lower, or about the same as they were 20 years ago. The accompanying maps (Figures 8.9 to 8.12) show the pattern of change for phosphorus, nitrate, faecal col- iforms and turbidity. Phosphorus levels have shown the greatest im- provement over the past 20 years, having declined at 43 per cent of the sites and risen at only two per cent of them. This improvement reflects the very considerable efforts that have been made during this time to reduce phosphorus loadings in waste water, particularly through reductions in the phosphate content of deter- gents and improvements to sewage treatment plants. In contrast, levels of nitrates, faecal coliforms and turbidity have either increased or remained unchanged in most areas since the 1970s. Nitrate levels in particular have been on the rise, increasing at 45 per cent of the sites and decreasing at only four per cent (Figure 8.10). Most of the increases have been registered at sites in the southwest and can be attributed mainly to fertilizers and other agricultural sources. In most areas, faecal coliform and turbidity levels have changed little since the 1970s, although where changes have occurred they have been more often for water continued the worse than for the better. Several increases in faecal coliform densities have occurred in the greater Toronto area, mainly as a result of urban development (Figure 8.11). Increases in the Muskoka, Haliburton, and Kawartha Lakes regions probably result from more in- tensive cottage development and recreational activity. Increases in turbidity are most noticeable in the Grand River watershed and in cottage country (Figure 8.12). Once again, residential development is the most likely cause. In general, then, these measures of surface water quality, except for phosphorus, have improved little since the 1970s and in some areas there is evidence of continuing deterioration. Surface waters throughout 5 À southern Ontario are generally less than satisfactory in terms of their suitability for recreation, aesthetic quali- ties and ability to support all the fish and plant popula- tions that they once did. The poorest water quality is found in the southwest, in the Golden Horseshoe around the western end of Lake Ontario, and along the Rideau and lower Ottawa rivers. On the other hand, water quality impairment in northern Ontario is generally much less widespread. Ex- cept for localized impacts from resource industries and urbanization and for those areas affected by acid rain and recreational activity, water quality in many northern lakes and rivers remains close to its natural state. Most of the initiatives for improving surface water quality are fairly recent in origin and although some of them have begun to produce results, for the most part little improvement has been seen yet. It may take some time before significant results are achieved. CHAPTER 9 THE GREAT LAKES The Great Lakes are one of the world’s most important freshwater resources but, set within the economic heart- land of North America, they also are subject to intensive pressure from human activities. More than 35 million people live in the Great Lakes basin and more than nine million of those live in Ontario. About 17 per cent of the United States’ manufacturing capacity is located here, along with about 45 per cent of Canada’s. Some 2.5 tril- lion litres per day of water are withdrawn for industrial, domestic and agricultural uses as well as for power gen- eration and sanitation. In addition, the lakes serve as a highway for ships from around the world and as a playground for recre- ational purposes. They also provide habitat for aquatic life and support a large commercial and sport fishery. In 1990 the commercial fishery alone landed 24.5 million kilograms of fish, with a dockside value of $42 million. In such an environment, the lakes are exposed to pollution from many sources, including discharges from industries and municipal sewage systems, spills from ships and runoff from adjacent fields and city streets. In addition, groundwater and rivers flowing into the lakes bring contaminants from the larger drainage basin, while air currents deposit pollutants from even farther afield. Because it takes up to 100 years for the waters to en- ter and leave the Great Lakes system, pollutants tend to remain within the system for a long period of time. In addition, as Table 9.1 shows, loadings of contaminants tend to accumulate as they move through the lakes and their connecting waters. Consequently, the lower lakes and the St. Lawrence River are exposed not only to local sources of pollution but also to accumulated pollutants from upstream. Lake Superior, with half the water in the Great Lakes system, is the largest of the lakes and the second eecececesecreescvesescscecccscrecescessstscseeres water continued largest freshwater body in the world. It also has the best water quality, thanks to low population density, little agricultural activity and a heavily forested drainage basin. Thunder Bay and Duluth are the only large urban industrial centres on the lake, although pulp and paper mills have caused local pollution hot spots in some smaller communities. For the lake as a whole, air cur- rents are the largest single source of many contaminants. 53 ES water continued Lake Michigan, situated entirely within the United States, lies outside the scope of this report. However, more than eight million people, or about one-fifth of the population of the entire Great Lakes basin, are set- tled along its shores. A number of inshore localities are heavily contaminated. Many of them are found within the densely urbanized and industrialized strip that runs from Gary to Chicago in the south, up to Milwaukee, halfway up the western shore. Although the northern part of the lake is less developed, some areas, especially Green Bay, are affected by wastes from the large number of pulp and paper mills in the area. Water quality in the open waters of Lake Huron and Georgian Bay is good and remains close to what it was in the nineteenth century. There are no large con- centrations of industry or population on the Canadian side, although pollutants from municipal and industrial sources in Sault Ste. Marie enter the lake via the St Mary’s River. Similarly, the Spanish River is a source of pollutants from upstream mining activities and pulp and paper operations. The lands bordering the southern part of Georgian Bay and the lake are mostly an area of small towns and farms with rapidly expanding recre- ational uses. Consequently, most of the pollution enter- ing the lake comes from municipal sewage or agricultur- al runoff, with some localized pollution coming from past or present industrial activities and marina shoreline developments. The industrial and urban impact on the Great Lakes system intensifies considerably, however, at the mouth of the St. Clair River. The St. Clair itself is home to a large segment of Canada’s petrochemical industry, while far- ther downstream the Detroit River is flanked by two cities, Detroit and Windsor, and their many manufactur- ing industries. ee The pollutant load from these sources is substantial and most of it flows into Lake Erie, the warmest, shal- lowest and most biologically productive of all the lakes. The lake is also exposed to pollution from several large industrial centres on the American shore and from in- tensive agricultural activity on the Canadian side. In ad- dition, Lake Erie supports a considerable amount of commercial fishing and recreational activity and this in- creases the stress on the lake as a whole and on its many small harbours in particular. Of all the Great Lakes, Erie is arguably the one that has been most affected by hu- man activities. \ Lake Ontario is the smallest of the Great Lakes but the second deepest (next to Superior). With the combi- nation of Toronto and Hamilton - the largest urban and industrial area in Canada - at its western end and inten- sive farming in most other areas along its shores, it is ex- posed to a wide variety of urban, industrial, and agricul- tural pollutants. However, the most important single source of contamination for Lake Ontario is the Niagara River, which has been heavily contaminated by toxic chemicals leaking from old hazardous waste sites on the American side. The final link in the system is the St. Lawrence Riv- er, its exit to the sea. The Ontario portion of the river re- ceives not only the accumulated load of pollutants from Lake Ontario but also municipal and industrial contam- inants from towns along both shores and runoff from farms and other sources in the adjoining watershed. The river is heavily used, as well, by shipping and small boats. The most serious pollution sources affecting the Ontario stretch of the river, however, are chemical plants in Cornwall and hazardous waste sites on the New York side of the river. continued FIGURE 9.1A: TOTAL PHOSPHORUS LOADINGS IN THE GREAT LAKES The Great Lakes are affected by a great range of pol- lutants. They include not only conventional water pollu- tants - oxygen-depleting materials, suspended solids, nutrients, bacteria, oil and grease and common chemical pollutants like ammonia - but also persistent toxic cont- aminants such as heavy metals and a number of persis- tent organic compounds. Of these, the two that have caused the greatest and most widespread concern are nutrients and persistent toxic contaminants. 55 rater continued Nutrients Nutrient enrichment, or eutrophication, was first recognized as a major problem in the Great Lakes when large blooms of algae began to appear in the lower lakes in the 1960s. This sudden explosion of plant life was un- welcome for many reasons. The algae clogged sand filter beds at water treatment plants, added unpleasant tastes and odours to drinking water and fouled swimming beaches. As the algae decomposed, they also used up much of the dissolved oxygen in the water and made it difficult for many aquatic animals to survive. Lake Erie was so badly affected that it was com- monly described as ‘dead’, meaning that a number of species could no longer survive in some parts of the lake. micrograms /litre {ppb} micrograms/ltre (ppb) By the late 1960s, the problem was traced to very high amounts of phosphorus entering the lakes from municipal sewage systems, industrial discharges and farmers’ fields. Sewage treatment plants were the most important source and about 50 per cent of the phospho- tus they discharged came from laundry detergents. In 1972, Canada and the United States signed the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. One of its main aims was to reduce the amount of phosphorus going into the lakes by half and legislation limiting the phos- phorus content of laundry detergents was introduced in both countries. Since then, facilities for removing phos- phorus from waste water have also been added to many sewage treatment plants. FIGURE 9.1B: TOTAL PHOSPHORUS CONCENTRATIONS IN THE GREAT LAKES 40 EE Bg ee ge Ea ey ee FS” 74 7S ‘BO “8S. 30° $2 Asa result of these controls, phosphorus loadings and concentrations in lakes Erie and Ontario - the lakes most affected - have declined significantly (Figure 9.1). Loadings are an estimate of the total amount of a sub- stance discharged into water from all sources over a specified period of time and concentrations are the ac- tual amounts of the substance measured in water at a certain place and certain time. In the western basin of Lake Erie, for example, total phosphorus loadings have decreased from about 20,000 tonnes per year in the 1960s to between 5,000 and 6,000 tonnes per year dur- ing the late 1980s. As phosphorus levels have declined, concentrations of nitrates in lake water - largely from agricultural fertil- water continued izers - have continued to increase. Nitrates also have the potential to stimulate algal growth and concentrations of these chemicals have been increasing since the early years of this century. During the 1980s, concentrations of nitrates in Lake Superior decreased slightly, but fur- ther increases were reported in the other lakes (Figure 9.2). So far, however, no adverse impacts from nitrates have been reported in the Great Lakes, but the increas- ing concentrations do raise concerns about the possibili- ty of future nutrient enrichment problems. With the decline in phosphorus loadings, problems of algal growth are now much less widespread. At the Union water intake near Kingsville in Lake Erie’s west- ern basin, for example, algal densities are presently 20 FIGURE 9.2: NITRATE-PLUS-NITRITE CONCENTRATIONS IN THE GREAT LAKES water continued FIGURE 9.3A: LAKE ERIE PHOSPHORUS LOADS x10 Metric tons/year per cent of what they were two decades ago (Figure 9.3). However, in other locations, such as the Blenheim, Elgin and Dunnville water intakes, algal growth has not always diminished in step with decreases in phosphorus levels. This seems to be true in areas where phosphorus load- ings have been moderate or have come from agricultural sources rather than municipal discharges. In the Bay of Quinte on Lake Ontario, for example, the amount of al- gae appears to be influenced more by interactions in the food web than by phosphorus loadings alone. Ironically, the recent arrival of the zebra mussel, a non-native species that is now causing a number of problems in the Great Lakes, has also greatly decreased FIGURE 9.3B: LAKE ERIE PHYTOPLANKTON DENSITY the amount of algae in some parts of Lake Erie (Figure 9.3). The fingernail-sized mussels feed by filtering water through their gills and removing phytoplankton. Large colonies of zebra mussels greatly improve the clarity of the water, but they also diminish the food supply for other aquatic organisms, create conditions that over- stimulate the growth of bottom plants, clog water intake pipes and foul beaches and shorelines. It is estimated that keeping the mussels in check and repairing the damage they cause already costs $500 million a year for the Great Lakes basin as a whole. FIGURE 9.3B: LAKE ERIE PHYTOPLANKTON DENSITY CONT D Since their arrival from Europe - probably in the ballast water of a freighter sometime in 1986 - the mus- sels have spread to all of the Great Lakes, although they have become most widely established in Lake Erie (Fig- ure 9.4). Although they are now altering ecological bal- ances within the system, their long-term effects on the food web and other ecological relationships remain to be seen. water conbinued Persistent toxic suketances The International Joint Commission (IJC), the bi- national body that reviews progress under the Canada- U.S. Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, has identi- fied more than 360 chemical contaminants in the Great Lakes. Of these, 11 have been classified as critical pollu- tants because of their persistence, their tendency to ac- cumulate and magnify in the food chain and their wide distribution throughout the region. In April 1992, On- tario released a similar list containing 21 substances that were primary candidates for bans, phase-outs, or reduc- tions. The dominant items on both lists are organochlo- Tine pesticides, heavy metals, polychlorinated dioxins and furans and polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The heavily populated and industrialized lower lakes area has been most widely affected, with contami- nants coming from municipal sewage, industrial dis- charges and surface runoff from fields and roads. For both Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, however, the most sig- nificant sources of persistent toxic contaminants are the Niagara and Detroit rivers respectively. In the upper lakes, toxic pollution problems tend to be more localized and associated with large industrial or municipal dis- charges. With their large surface areas, the lakes also receive a substantial amount of pollution from the air. Airborne deposits are a particularly significant source in the up- per lakes, where local sources of contaminants are fewer. An IJC study has estimated that atmospheric deposits account for as much as 90 per cent of the PCBs and 97 per cent of the lead entering Lake Superior. water continued FIGURE 9.3C: ZEBRA MUSSEL EFFECTS ON PHYTOPLANKTON AT FOUR WATER INTAKE STATIONS ON LAKE ERIE Phytoplankton {AS U./ml) As part of a joint Canada-U.S. program to monitor atmospheric deposition to the lakes, MOEE has been measuring atmospheric concentrations of PCBs and three organochlorine pesticides (HCB, alpha-HCH, and gamma-HCH) at half a dozen sites in the Great Lakes Basin. Atmospheric levels of these chemicals are very low, with little difference between northern rural and southern urban sites, but the total amount deposited in each of the lakes ranges from as low as 15 kilograms a year to as high as 550 kilograms a year. The quantity de- pends on the surface area of the lake, the atmospheric concentration of the chemical and the amount of pre- cipitation. Since the substances in the study have either been banned or restricted for several years, their continuing presence is a powerful illustration of how difficult it is to eliminate persistent contaminants from the environ- ment. After being deposited in the lakes, these chemicals may re-evaporate and return to the atmosphere to be deposited again somewhere else. In this way, they can be transported very long distances. Because evaporation is less likely as temperature decreases, it is believed that most of these chemicals will eventually work their way towards the poles. In the open waters of the lakes, concentrations of toxic chemicals are in the low parts per trillion range - well within the objectives of the Canada-U.S Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA), which have been set to protect aquatic animals, the most sensitive users of the lakes. The highest levels of contaminants are found in nearshore areas, such as harbours, connecting chan- nels and bays. Overall, lakes Ontario and Michigan are the most chemically contaminated of the Great Lakes; Lake Superior is the least. Studies of sediments show that levels of persistent toxic substances peaked during the 1960s and 1970s. In 1970, mercury concentrations in fish in Lake St. Clair became so high that commercial fishing had to be halted and people fishing for sport had to be warned not to eat their catches. At about the same time, chlorinated or- ganic substances were implicated as a major or con- tributing factor in a number of other environmental problems around the lake, notably population declines and higher death rates among bald eagles and some species of waterfowl. water continued FIGURE 9.54: AVERAGE CONCENTRATIONS OF PCBs, IN YOUNG-OF-THE-YEAR SPOTTAIL SHINERS, 1975-1991 —— — hace EC Oren ‘77 ‘78 79 ‘80 ‘81 82 83 ‘84 ‘ES “BE 87 ‘88 ‘89 "SO ‘91 N° Nox Detected T Trace (micrograms/grams) . 6% rater corntinved FIGURE 9.5A: AVERAGE CONCENTRATIONS OF PCBs, IN YOUNG-OF-THE-YEAR SPOTTAIL SHINERS, 1975-1991 CONT’D Neo {micrograms/gram) Ts tree — {micrograms/gram) ‘75 767778 “7980 81 82°83 84 ‘BS ‘86 ‘B7 ‘BB 89 "90 91 Since then, loadings of persistent toxics have de- clined significantly, mainly because of efforts by govern- ment and industry to reduce or eliminate the manufac- ture and use of mercury, PCBs, organochlorine pesti- cides and some other toxic substances, and to reduce or eliminate discharges of toxic byproducts such as dioxins and furans. The reduction in loadings has been matched bya corresponding decline in concentrations of toxic sub- stances in fish tissues during the 1970s and 1980s. Be- cause of their tendency to accumulate many of these substances, fish are a particularly useful indicator of the presence of toxic contaminants. Not only are the higher concentrations in fish tissue easier to detect than the lower levels in the surrounding water, but the presence of a contaminant in fish also indicates that the substance is biologically available and making its way through the food web. Ontario has monitored the concentrations of more than 25 toxic substances in young-of-the-year minnows (spottail shiners) since 1975. Specimens have been col- lected and tested from more than 150 sites on the Great Lakes and their connecting rivers. As the graphs in Fig- ure 9.5 show, levels of PCBs have for the most part dropped substantially since 1975, although the rate of decrease has levelled off in recent years. Levels of mer- cury and of DDT, chlordane and other organochlorine pesticides have shown a similar decline. In spite of a general improvement in levels of per- sistent toxic contaminants in the lakes, excessive levels of some contaminants are still found in a number of areas. In the most recent sampling of spottail shiners (1990- 91), for example, PCB levels exceeded the IJC’s aquatic life guideline of 100 parts per billion (which is intended to protect fish-eating wildlife) in 14 of the 38 locations surveyed. The highest concentrations in Ontario waters were found in fish from Etobicoke Creek on the west side of Toronto (Figure 9.6). Mirex (an organochlorine pesticide) was also above the guideline at five locations (two in the lower Niagara River, two in Lake Ontario and one in the St. Lawrence River). Mercury levels above the consumption guidelines continue to be found in sport fish in parts of Georgian Bay, Lake Erie and the St. Lawrence River. Instances of exceeding the guidelines for dioxins and furans in sport fish have also been reported from Peninsula Harbour nn een ann anses nn esos: nl water contnuecd FIGURE 9.5B: AVERAGE CONCENTRATIONS OF DDT IN YOUNG-OF-THE-YEAR SPOTTAIL SHINERS, 1975-1991 water continued FIGURE 9.5C: AVERAGE CONCENTRATIONS OF CHLORDANE IN YOUNG-OF-THE-YEAR SPOTTAIL SHINERS, 1975-1991 water continuec FIGURE 9.6: TOTAL CONCENTRATIONS OF PCBs IN YOUNG-OF-THE-YEAR SPOTTAIL SHINERS, 1990-1991 and Jackfish Bay in Lake Superior, from the southern part of Lake Huron and from Lake Ontario, especially the western end, where organic contaminant loadings oe Nevins are higher than anywhere else in the Canadian Great SESE ee Lakes. —— Sreas of concern ae acte ne Ze inshore areas, where they enter the lakes, but decrease i NNNENE NT rapidly offshore as the pollutants are diluted or settle to “9 SE Ps EE Ps Se SESESSEESESEPS ESS the bottom. Consequently, water quality in the open wa- =z 5 z Se De = zeee2 3 8 2 5 = 3 é a = æ <=) = oO a £ D ters of the lakes is generally good. The serious problems 5 = a5 3 & : B22 = 3 = a 25 = $ = £ g e 2 3 Ss = DE E tend to be found inshore, in the harbours and bays ex- $ = s ge EF es $5 ¢ posed to high levels of human activity and along the 2 = z & cg connecting waterways that jointhelakestoeachother = dis For In 1985, the International Joint Commission identi- N° for Demec fied 43 areas of concern where pollution was serious enough to impair the water for human use or to cause 2... © serious ecosystem damage. Of the 43 areas, 12 are on the Ontario side of the lakes and five are located along wa- terways shared with the United States. These are not the only areas in the Great Lakes where environmental N problems exist, but they are the ones in which the most ——~ EE AURRRRBENS Rs. Sy i ee 3 < serious and extensive problems have been identified so 8 é 22 É 2 £ = 2 E Ë & = E as : Qe Ze os Gert ece far. ZBPepPF sl ox Pret sass ge scaceeisetitais Typical problems, as shown in Table 9.2, include SZ grb 2° 3: Es ee eee ee water that is unsatisfactory for recreational, agricultural, industrial, or domestic use, and sediments that are so contaminated that dredging and the disposal of dredged tom-dwelling (benthic) organisms. Loss of habitat due materials must be restricted. In addition, there is a wide variety of effects on wildlife and natural communities. Some of these effects have shown up in dramatic fashion as tumours in fish or as deformities in fish-eating birds and mammals. Others have appeared more subtly as shifts in the proportions or populations of various bot- to shoreline development is also a common concern. Most of these problems are related to continuing long-term sources of conventional and toxic pollutants. In a few areas, however, the problems are mainly the re- sult of historical causes, as in the case of Collingwood where debris from former logging and shipbuilding activities had contaminated the harbour bottom. = 65 po water continued Undoing the damage Since 1970 there has been a good deal of progress in reducing human stresses on the lakes. In addition to the reductions in phosphorus loadings and phase-outs or restrictions on the use of persistent toxic contaminants such as PCBs, organochlorine pesticides and mercury, substantial reductions have been made in discharges of many common pollutants. The pulp and paper industry, for example, reduced discharges of biochemical oxygen demanding materials from Ontario mills by more than 60 per cent between 1971 and 1990 (Figure 9.7). Simi- larly, since 1975, Ontario steel mills have reduced dis- charges of ammonia by 65 per cent per tonne of produc- tion and cyanide by 90 per cent, although they have not made the same progress in reducing discharges of oil and grease (Figure 9.8). In the past, efforts at reducing pollutant loadings to the lakes have focused mainly on municipal and indus- trial point sources, and they continue to do so now. That is because they are usually easier sources to identify and control. Even with the gains that have been made so far, there is still room for improvement in controlling mu- nicipal and industrial discharges. Not all municipal sewage systems provide adequate treatment for chemi- cals like phosphorus and many of them cannot prevent the discharge of raw sewage during storms. And while many companies in the industrial sector have made enormous progress in pollution reduction, others have been less effective or consistent in their efforts. A major effort to further reduce pollution from these sources is now being made through the province’s Municipal Industrial Strategy for Abatement (MISA). Initiated in 1985, MISA has been developing ‘Clean Wa- ter effluent quality regulations and guidelines and a monitoring program for municipal sewage treatment plants and major industries that discharge wastes direct- ly into Ontario waterways. About 170 industries and nearly 400 municipal sewage treatment plants are in- volved in the MISA program and most of them dis- charge directly into the Great Lakes or waters flowing into them. Although final Clean Water regulations are still un- der development for some industries, the program al- ready appears to have had some effect on reducing pol- lution discharges. In 1985, two-thirds of the industrial dischargers failed to comply with their pollution limits at least once during the year. By 1991, nearly half of the companies had no compliance failures. Overall, compa- nies meet their monthly discharge limits for individual pollutants about 90 per cent of the time. Total dis- charges of pollutants from these companies have fallen from more than 1,600 tonnes per day in 1985 to about 1,400 tonnes per day in 1991. Municipal sewage treatment plants also are improv- ing their operating procedures and the quality of their effluent. The performance of these plants is critical be- cause they handle sanitary sewage from approximately 4,000,000 households in the province as well as liquid wastes from more than 12,000 industrial establishments. water continued 6S? faber corbinued In 1986, 42 per cent of the plants involved in the pro- gram exceeded their effluent guidelines. By 1990, the proportion had dropped to 24 per cent. The greatest im- provement has come in meeting guidelines for total phosphorus (TP). Instances of exceeding the guidelines in this category dropped from 35 per cent in 1986 to 14 per cent in 1990 (Figure 9.9 ). Another line of attack in cleaning up the lakes is di- rected at the areas of concern. Remedial Action Plan teams (RAPs) have been set up in each of these to devel- op and implement plans for restoring water quality and habitat. The plans are being developed by federal and provincial agencies in close consultation with the local municipalities, industries, residents and others who have an interest in the area. In the case of sites on waterways shared with the U.S., the process also involves co-ordi- nation and liaison with governments on the American side. The effort required to clean up a particular area of concern depends on the complexity of the problems af- fecting it and the objectives the community wants to achieve. Complete remediation of an area could involve not only reducing polluting discharges from major point sources such as local industries and sewage treat- ment facilities but also reducing pollution from non- point sources such as farms and urban areas in the surrounding watershed. In addition, contaminated sedi- ments might have to be removed to prevent the resus- pension or recycling of pollutants, and measures taken to restore fish and wildlife habitat. Before any of this can be done though, a detailed assessment of environmental conditions and possible solutions has to be carried out. Hamilton Harbour is an example of what can be accomplished. For most of the present century it has been one of the most heavily stressed and degraded water bodies on the Canadian side of the Great Lakes. 58 With the second largest cargo tonnage of any Canadian port on the lakes, the largest concentration of heavy in- dustry in the country, and a population of more than 600,000 people, the harbour receives very large dis- charges of industrial and municipal wastes, large vol- umes of urban runoff and spillage from the loading and unloading of ships. Development along the shoreline has also been destructive, eliminating about 75 per cent of the bay’s original wetlands and destroying the nursery for what, at the turn of the century, had been the largest fishery on Lake Ontario. Remediation efforts have been underway since 1970 and have been part of the RAP process since 1986. These have focused largely on point sources. Hamilton’s two large steel companies, for example, have installed treat- ment facilities for removing contaminants such as chromium, ammonia, cyanide, oil, phenols, and solids, while the Regional Municipality of Hamilton-Went- worth has installed holding tanks to prevent the dis- charge of raw sewage during storms from its sewer sys- tem. As a result of these and other efforts, provincial wa- ter quality objectives are now being met in most areas of the harbour. Populations of gulls, herons and cor- morants, seriously threatened by reproduction problems in the 1970s, have rebounded dramatically. In 1993, for the first time since the 1940s, swimming was permitted (at two locations) in the harbour. Yet, in spite of these improvements, there is still a distance to go before the harbour is fully restored to health. Eutrophication remains a problem and nuisance growths of algae are still abundant. Contamination of sediments, mostly from past industrial discharges, is a major problem. The fish population is stable but still carries large accumulations of toxic substances and is dominated by species, such as carp, that can tolerate low Bioaccumulation and Biomagnification _ DDE, a byproduct of the pesticide ODT, is present in Great Lakes "water in such small amounts that it can be detacted only by the most sophisticated analytical equipment. Yet it has been strangly dinkad to eggshell thinning, embryo death, club feet. crossed bills lation refers ta the tendency of substences ke ‘DDE, PCBs. diaxins and furans, and other chlorinated organic chemicals to accumulate in living tissue. These substances tend to ba much more soluble in fat than water and are not easily “broken down by metabolic processes. As a result, much of an organism's intake of these substances is neither destroyed nor —simmated but is stored in its body fet instead. Heavy metals {ke = mercury do not bioaccumulate in their metallic form, but must first be converted to an organometallic compound. in the casa of mercury, this is done by micro-organisms in the water and bottom ‘sediments that canvert it to methylmercury, a form that is readily absorbed by fish and other organisms and storad in muscle tissue. - Bigaccumulative substances are initially taken up from the water: by plankton and bottormmdwelling organisms. They provide food for tiny animals which, in tum, are eaten by smell fish, which are preyed upon by larger fish, and so on up the food chain. Each predator consumes all the substances that all its prey have bio- accumulated in their lifetimes. Thus, at each link in the food chan. concentrations of these substances may increase hundreds of mes. depanding on how much pach organism retains of its intake. This procass is known as biomagnification and because of it. ncentrations of persistent toxic contaminants in an animal at the top of the food chain, such as a herring gull, may be 10 milion 3 _ ioaccumula catia Biomagnific F0 water cantinved oxygen and turbid water conditions. Zebra mussels are also well established in the harbour. Dealing with these problems will require further reductions of pollution loadings, especially from municipal sewage systems, re- moval and/or stabilization of contaminated sediments and restoration of fish and waterfowl habitat. Improving Hamilton Harbour to its present condi- tion has already cost close to half billion dollars. About 80 per cent of this has been spent by industry, and most of the rest by local municipalities. It is estimated that re- maining improvements will cost a similar amount, most of which will be required for further improvements to the sewage systems that discharge into the harbour. Important progress has also been made in a num- ber of other RAP areas, such as Collingwood and Severn Sound. By the end of 1993, Hamilton, Collingwood, Severn Sound and the Bay of Quinte had submitted de- tailed remediation plans to the provincial and federal governments and the remaining sites are expected to fol- low suit before the end of 1996. In many areas, however, it will take several years before all of the recommended actions can be completed and the aquatic environment restored to a reasonably healthy state. In looking at the condition of the Great Lakes sys- tem as a whole, it is important to recognize how much progress has been made. The lakes are in substantially better condition than they were 25 years ago and further improvements can be expected. But it is also important to recognize that the gains that have been made so far are only partial solutions to some very large and com- plex problems. The challenges that remain - particularly the problem of persistent toxic contaminants - are very daunting. Restoring and protecting water quality in the Great Lakes will remain an environmental priority well into the next century. CHAPTER 10 GROUNDWATER When Ontario’s freshwater resources are considered, its abundant rivers and lakes come first to mind. But, in fact, much more of the province’s water is to be found beneath the surface, as groundwater. About 2.8 million Ontarians - more than a quarter of the province’s population - get their water from the ground. Many of them live in the country and draw their water from private wells, but more than half live in towns and cities, including larger centres such as Kitch- | ener, Waterloo, Guelph and Woodstock, where water comes from municipal wells . Altogether, it is estimated that there are more than 500,000 wells in Ontario, and between 14,000 and 22,000 new ones are being added every year. Apart from being used for drinking and household purposes, this water is used for irrigation, livestock wa- tering, fish hatcheries, swimming pools and a variety of commercial and industrial purposes. In addition, groundwater is an important source for replenishing surface waters. On average, about 20 per cent of annual streamflow comes from groundwater. In some areas, this may be as high as 60 per cent and in summer and early fall, when surface flow diminishes, some streams may be fed entirely by groundwater. Groundwater occurrence Groundwater is found in geological formations that were created thousands, even millions of years ago. It is replenished mainly by precipitation and snowmelt that percolate down through the soil. It occurs in two layers. The upper layer, the unsaturated zone, contains liquid water as well as water vapour and air. The lower layer is the saturated zone, or the groundwater zone, and here ‘empty spaces in the soil and bedrock | d with water. The top of the satur- all empty spaces in the soil and bedrock are filled with water. The top of the groundwater zone is the water table and may lie anywhere from a metre to more than 50 metres below the ground, depending on the geology of the area, the season and local precipitation condi- tions. Groundwater eventually returns to a stream, lake, or ocean, but it flows slowly and it may take hundreds to thousands of years before some of this water returns to the surface and enters the next phase of the water cycle (Figure 10.1) Percotation Geological formations that can store and transmit a large amount of water are known as aquifers. These may be small formations limited to an area of a few hectares or they may be quite extensive, covering several hun- dreds or thousands of square kilometres. Coarse gravel and sand make a particularly good aquifer that can yield a plentiful supply of pure water. Silts give up their water more slowly and clay acts as a barrier to the movement of water. aber continued The natural quality of groundwater is very much influenced by geology. Frequently, minerals in the aquifer or in surrounding formations may affect the colour, flavour, smell, or hardness of the water, though without necessarily affecting its suitability for drinking. In some cases, though, the water may be of naturally poor quality and unfit for human consumption. Exces- sive levels of metals such as arsenic, cadmium, nickel, lead, copper, zinc, and uranium sometimes occur in groundwater in parts of northern Ontario. In parts of southwestern Ontario, groundwater can be contaminat- ed by hydrocarbons from oil and gas deposits, while in the south and southeast salt and saltwater deposits occur naturally. Époternietion by human activities: Compared to surface water, groundwater is less sus- ceptible to contamination. Nevertheless, it can become contaminated by human sources. Once this has hap- pened, the aquifer may remain contaminated for cen- turies. With present technology, cleanup is difficult and sometimes impossible Frequently the best that can be done once groundwater has been polluted is to prevent the contamination from spreading. In farming areas, there is potential for groundwater contamination from fertilizers, pesticides, manure, pe- troleum products and milkhouse wastes, which can re- sult in high levels of nitrate, bacteria and toxic chemicals in the water supply. Septic sewage systems are another potential source of nitrate and bacterial contamination. There are ap- proximately one million private septic systems in On- tario and many of these are now 20 to 30 years old and reaching an age when they will be more likely to mal- function. Groundwater in some communities has been dam- aged by leakage from underground fuel storage tanks at gas stations and other sites. In most of these cases, the contaminated aquifers have been small and fewer than a dozen homes have been affected, but cleanup costs have still ranged from tens of thousands to hundreds of thou- sands of dollars. In the mining country of the north, hundreds of deep boreholes are drilled every year in search of miner- als. These are left open when they are finished and pro- vide a route by which contaminants can penetrate deep underground. In the southwest, old, improperly aban- doned oil wells provide pathways by which briny, petro- leum-contaminated water can enter freshwater aquifers. Road salt is a problem in many parts of the province. Approximately 1.4 million tonnes of it are spread on Ontario’s roads and highways every year Some of this eventually seeps into the groundwater and raises its chloride content to unacceptable levels. The Ministry of Environment and Energy investigates about 200 cases of road salt contamination a year. Both municipal and industrial landfills are a possi- ble source of groundwater pollution, but those currently in use are subject to strict controls and the risk from them is slight. Spills and leaks from industrial storage tanks and production facilities, however, are still occa- sionally the cause of major incidents of groundwater contamination. One such case came to light in 1989, when it was discovered that the groundwater supply for the town of Elmira had been contaminated with N-nitroso dimethy- lamine (NDMA) that had leaked from a local chemical plant. seaeereerererscrreceeeeess SS Other incidents of contamination by toxic chemi- cals have occurred at Smithville, where the groundwater has been contaminated with PCBs, and, more recently, in Manotick, where 74 wells serving 200 to 300 homes and businesses were found to contain perchloroethylene, a dry cleaning solvent that had leaked from a storage tank ata dry cleaner’s shop. Dealing with such incidents is expensive. The pollu- tion source must be identified and the contaminants tracked, contained and, if possible, cleaned up. In addi- tion, bottled water and filtration units must be supplied until the original water supply can be cleaned up or an alternative supply established. An interim water supply for Manotick is expected to cost in the vicinity of $5 million. To date, $15 million has been spent in Smithville and costs in Elmira could go as high as $50 million. Groundwater gudity Groundwater is not monitored systematically throughout the province. Consequently, much of the in- formation that we have about groundwater quality comes from complaints that MOEE has been asked to investigate. The ministry deals with about 2,000 of these cases every year. The problems vary from region to re- gion, but the most important involve contamination by agricultural chemicals and wastes, road salt, toxic chem- icals, and industrial wastes (Figure 10.2). The number of complaints is relatively small - about one for every 250 wells in the province - but, un- fortunately, complaints only serve as an indicator of problems that have already been recognized or suspect- ed. Obviously, there are other cases in which water qual- ity has been impaired but has gone undetected. water continued Some valuable information about the effect of agri- cultural practices on groundwater quality comes from a recent survey of well water from 1,300 Ontario farms. Carried out between October 1991 and March 1992, the survey sampled each of the wells for common agricul- tural contaminants: nitrate nitrogen, total and faecal co- liform bacteria, and pesticide and herbicide residues. Tests for petroleum contaminants were also carried out at 160 of the sites. The results showed that 37 per cent of the wells contained one or more of these contaminants at concen- trations above the provincial drinking water objectives. Thirty-one per cent exceeded the maximum acceptable level for coliform bacteria and 20 per cent had faecal co- liform bacteria. More than 13 per cent exceeded the maximum acceptable concentration for nitrate. Eight per cent of the wells had detectable levels of pesticides and one well exceeded the interim maximum acceptable concentration. No petroleum-based contaminants were detected in any of the 160 wells tested. A follow-up study in the summer of 1992 produced a similar pattern of results but showed a slightly higher percentage of contaminated wells in most categories. The surveys indicate that unsuitable well location, improper well construction, or poor well maintenance were the causes of well contamination, in the majority of cases. The surveys, however, do not provide evidence of widespread aquifer contamination in rural Ontario. sseeeveeserers CORRE water continued FIGURE 10.2: GROUNDWATER COMPLAINT INVESTIGATIONS BY REGION Fa Groundwater: is there enough te ce around? Although Ontario has plenty of groundwater, from the point of view of the user, not all of it is in the right place or of the right quality. Consequently, some aquifers must meet very heavy demands for usage. In some cases, water is drawn off faster than it can be re- plenished, the water table drops and some wells may go dry. This situation is known as aquifer mining. Water quantity problems are fewest in northeastern Ontario but make up 15 to 20 per cent of the complaints investi- gated in most other parts of the province. In southwest- ern Ontario, water quantity problems account for 34 per cent - the largest single category - of the complaints in- vestigated (Figure 10.2). Apart from natural causes such as decreased precip- itation, water quantity problems may arise because of increased demand, improved surface drainage and paving and house construction. Heavy pumping may temporarily dewater the area around the well. Less com- monly, the supply may be diminished because of mining of the aquifer by large users or disruption of the groundwater flow by quarrying operations. To prevent supply interference due to high-volume pumping and aquifer mining, the province requires any- one taking more than 50,000 litres of water a day to ob- tain a Permit to Take Water (PTTW), except where the water is for private domestic and livestock use. The PTTW program promotes the efficient development and fair sharing of water in Ontario. Before a permit is issued, the applicant has to submit to MOEE all the nec- essary information and supporting documents. Vari- ables of water availability and water use are considered by the ministry as factors which would place limits on water continued the terms and conditions of the permit. Failure to comply with the terms and conditions can result in the cancellation of the permit. Protecting groundwater As Ontario’s population expands, so will the de- mand for its groundwater and so too will the risks of contaminating it. Improved ability to manage this in- creasingly vulnerable resource will be needed to protect it. Municipalities have a role in protecting groundwa- ter through their planning procedures. Individual well owners also have a particular role in the management of this fragile resource, through the proper application of construction, maintenance and abandonment proce- dures. One of the most pressing needs at the moment is for more information about the state of the resource. To provide this, the ministry is now taking preliminary steps towards establishing a provincial Groundwater Quality Monitoring Network. Further information about water quality will become available as a result of improvements to the ministry’s Water Well Information System. This computerized database, which has been in operation since 1972, describes the location and physical characteristics of approximately 400,000 water wells in the province. With better monitoring and data collection, the ability to observe changes in water quality over time and to detect contamination problems at earlier stages should gradually improve. Better information also will increase the ability to identify those aquifers that are most vulnerable to pollution, so that they can be pro- tected against inappropriate land uses. 75 j i rater continued In addition to preventing contamination, further research, particularly into methods of decontamination, will add to the capability to deal with contamination when it does happen. Ultimately, protection of groundwater depends on the actions and support of an informed public. CHAPTER 11 W/ATER AND THE INDIVIDUAL Whether people drink it, swim in it, or eat the fish that live in it, water has the potential to transmit disease and harmful chemicals. In the more populated parts of the province, lakes and rivers are exposed to pollution from many sources - industries, farms, roads and highways, sewage systems and the air. Even in remote areas, surface waters may contain bacteria or parasites from wildlife. oe Dinan Ware Suavey” * OUWO = Ontario Drinking Water Objectives * Total Results « 468202 : Groundwater is less susceptible to pollution but, as has been already seen, it is by no means invulnerable. Orinking water There are almost 500 municipal water supplies in the province. Of these, about 200 use surface water and the rest use groundwater as a supply source. Surface wa- ter generally has to be treated before it can be considered safe for drinking. In municipal water supplies, this is commonly done through the use of chlorine to disinfect the water and aluminum sulphate to clarify it. The water may also be treated to improve its taste or appearance and to control other characteristics such as corrosiveness and hardness that might limit its use or interfere with the distribution system. Municipal tap water is tested regularly for bacteria to ensure that it is microbiologically safe to drink. In ad- dition, the quality of municipal water supplies has been closely monitored by the Drinking Water Surveillance Program (DWSP) since 1985. The DWSP monitors as many as 180 substances and has produced more than two million analysis results since its inception. As of 1992, 109 municipal water systems serving about 80 per cent of the population are involved in the program, which will eventually include all municipal water sup- plies in the province. Water quality is judged by comparing the program’s monitoring results with the limits set out in the Ontario Drinking Water Objectives (ODWOs). The ODWOs specify acceptable levels for more than 100 substances or characteristics, including bacteria, chemicals, metals, and radioactive materials. Test results are passed on to local authorities, who can take remedial action if any of the levels exceed a health-related limit. So far, testing has shown the treated water supplies of the participating municipalities to be very safe, both bacteriologically and chemically. Between 1985 and 1992, for example, more than 165,000 analyses of health-related criteria were carried out, but only 66 in- stances of exceeding the drinking water objectives were reported (Figure 11.1). During the same period, close to 350,000 tests were carried out for an additional set of more than 90 potentially harmful chemicals, including pesticides, polyaromatic hydrocarbons, volatile organic compounds and chlorinated organic compounds. The test results showed the presence of 36 of these chemicals 1 A trece result is 6 value so low thet £ cannot be confidently measured 2 es : ; A positive resuk shows that 8 substance is present above trace in about three per cent of the samples, but all at very low ged can ba No mures concentrations (Figure 11.2). Recreatiogal use of water Swimming in bacterially contaminated waters in- creases the risk of contracting ear and eye infections and gastro-intestinal diseases. According to provincial guide- lines, water is unsafe for swimming if the average faecal coliform density is greater than 100 organisms per 100 millilitres (mL) or if the total coliform density exceeds 1,000 per 100 mL. In the more populated areas of southern Ontario, these levels are often exceeded in many localities and commonly result in the closing of beaches by health au- thorities (Figure 11.3). In many cases the problem is a consequence of sewage systems being overloaded during heavy rainstorms and conditions generally improve within a few days. Ÿ y 7 2 ei ae De" an Noah rene ve Ms fa: ee i + + ARMES ID ON te me at ha a 227 y RL nr nr Ge A "? bacs = ? i L D A 2 i] LÉ ee “ ® wo cuet ple & + Le eyes is * LT: os CS, inching 7 ~o} mio And * = Wed Ass Fran, wis air rbnets eccmalh © trent) edged Te Le à ad * * 4 “8 à 2) be Sigs fm 8 ot ie ba 65° . bte ri ris aly RRM fh RAMs,’ woud. gett aioe GE he Ae aeey hari ee aA i’. . bas 2504 mnt Niang Yo oer) nts (XO eer wont ai 7 PR ALE DT, DS TTC de NE PA eli * yn mote eS jp Dito ptm og rss ANRT ON MT CAE AT. she CURT ren a Ad a rae pean sd ‘ ' oyu «+! rave ha La bod titi El: ’ LE: | +c jas wh den tré ue? ' are Ty dalam ‘À pera wh Wg 7 A | et ae ee ae (rer ae SO oy _ ; Las Le 3 CCAD Gy ; Les Se ae Cae the 1970s, new regulations and improved waste t practices have been devised to control the output of wane and its impact on the environ- ‘These practices are based on a hierarchy of dis- options, with the highest priority going to the ion, reuse and recycling of waste that minimize sal requirements. As a relatively prosperous, mass production, mass ption society, Ontario is a large producer of During the last 30 to 40 years, its potential for generation has been augmented by the prolifera- of a wide array of disposable convenience products, fice cups and diapers to printer ribbons. Packag- which has become increasingly attractive both as ing tool and a labour-saving device, has also in this section examine each of these major streams. D. aS. i CHAPTER 12 SOLID NON-HAZARDOUS WASTE Solid, non-hazardous waste is what we usually think of as garbage. It includes not only kitchen waste and other household refuse but also wastes from industries such as manufacturing and construction, businesses such as stores and restaurants and institutions such as schools and hospitals. In 1987, all these sources in Ontario dis- posed of an estimated 8.9 million tonnes of garbage, or about one tonne a year for each person in the province. po f~aste management continued Disposing of that amount of material without harming the environment or endangering human health adds up to an enormous challenge and meeting it is demanding new and innovative approaches to waste management. Larnibiting Traditionally, most waste materials have been dis- posed of in landfills; most still are today. This method has the short-term advantages of cheapness and conve- nience. However, as old landfills reach capacity, new landfill space is becoming harder and more expensive to obtain. Many communities are reluctant to have landfills within their boundaries and the costs of geological, en- gineering and other studies are increasing as the assess- ment of environmental impacts becomes more detailed. Landfills also use up increasingly scarce land that could be used for other purposes, such as farming, building, recreation, or as a wildlife habitat. As well, there are the nuisances of odours, dust, unsightliness and scavenging birds and animals. Landfills produce a certain amount of leachate, or polluted water, that forms as rainwater trickles down through the decomposing garbage and absorbs contami- nants from it If the soil surrounding the landfill is per- meable, the leachate may drain into nearby ground and surface waters, making them unfit for drinking or per- haps contaminating the food chains they support. Landfills also produce methane gas as buried organic matter decomposes in the absence of oxygen. Other gases may be produced as well, including carbon dioxide and small amounts of toxic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as benzene and toluene. Apart from the danger of a methane explosion, these gases also contribute to atmospheric pollution and global warm- ing. Landfill sites account for about 35 per cent of all methane emissions in Ontario. To control these problems, the provincial govern- ment began regulating landfill sites in 1971. These regu- lations require close attention to local geological details in choosing a site so that the chance of groundwater pollution and other potential environmental effects will be minimized. The site must also incorporate features for the control of leachate and gases and steps must be taken when the site is finally closed to ensure that it re- mains harmless. Gers Incineration has been the most common alternative to landfilling. It reduces waste to a fraction of its former volume and also produces heat that can be used to warm buildings or produce electricity. But incineration is also a source of common air pollutants, such as carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, and acid gases, such as sulphur dioxide, hydrogen chloride and nitrogen oxides. In addition, it may release a variety of toxic substances into the atmosphere, such as heavy metals, dioxins and furans, benzene and other dangerous organic com- pounds. Modern incinerator technology can reduce these toxic emissions to very low levels, but it cannot eliminate them entirely. A further difficulty is that incineration still leaves a residue, in the form of ash, that must be landfilled. In- cinerator ash can amount to as much as 30 per cent by weight of the original waste and it is usually contami- nated with heavy metals and other toxic residues. These come either from toxic materials already in the waste stream or are produced by chemical reactions during combustion. In many cases, incinerator ash must be treated as toxic waste. Incineration is no longer widely used as a disposal option in the province. Apartment building incinerators were phased out in 1989 and the province banned the construction of new municipal solid waste incinerators in September 1992. Incineration is still preferred for the disposal of some biomedical and hazardous wastes, however, because it is the safest and most effective way of dealing with them. As the use of incineration decreases, landfilling is the local disposal option for most communities. version - the three fs To lessen the need for landfilling or incineration, modern waste management practices are placing more and more emphasis on diverting waste from disposal A quick look at what typically goes into the waste stream (see Who Throws Out What) shows just how much po- tential there is for reducing the amount of waste that must finally be disposed of. Much of what we discard consists of things that either did not have to be used at all (like some forms of packaging) or that can be used again - for their original purpose, another purpose, or as raw material for making something else. The principal methods of diverting waste from dis- posal - familiarly known as the three Rs - are reduction, reuse and recycling. As well as saving valuable disposal space, these methods also offer significant savings in the use of energy and natural resources. In some cases they can provide important financial benefits by treating waste as a resource. Reduction is the first choice because it promotes ef- ficiency in the use of resources, and eliminates the need for any additional handling of materials. It can be ac- complished through means such as eliminating unnec- essary packaging or redesigning products so that they use fewer raw materials and offer greater durability. Reuse extends the life of a product or materials be- yond a single use. Refillable pop bottles are a familiar waste management continued example, as are rebuilt toner cartridges for photocopiers and printers. Many people also reuse their shopping bags. While providing savings in raw materials and ener- gy for manufacturing, reuse can involve some additional costs if the product has to be cleaned or refurbished be- fore being used again. Recycling involves treating waste as a resource from which new products can be made. Many of the most common materials in the municipal waste stream, such as paper, plastic and glass, can be handled in this way. For all its merits, though, recycling is not as efficient as either reduction or reuse. It involves additional collec- tion and handling costs, requires some consumption of energy (though usually not as much as manufacturing the same product from primary materials), and may it- self generate some wastes (as in the case of de-inking sludges from the recycling of printed paper). However, it is a practical way of keeping some items, such as news- papers, out of landfills. Recycling also depends on a demand for products made from recycled materials and on the ability of man- ufacturers to make them at competitive prices. Recogni- tion of the benefits of recycling has gradually created widespread public acceptance and strong demand for many different types of recycled papers, for example, but until the opening of two new de-inking plants in 1990, the supply of waste paper in Ontario often exceed- ed the capacity to process it As a result, paper intended for recycling occasionally ended up in landfills or was exported. Markets for waste paper, glass and plastic are now maturing and at the moment the demand for these ma- terials exceeds the supply. However, the market for waste glass is potentially fragile, as there is only one glass recy- cler in the province. pressesees: 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 Source: Ontario MuttMatenal Recycling {nc Residential recycling is carried out primarily through the Blue Box program, although central recy- cling depots are also available in some communities. The system provides for the collection of such common waste items as newspaper, magazines, glass containers, metal cans, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) soft drink containers and rigid plastic (HDPE or high density polyethylene) bottles (Figure 12.1). Since its introduction in Kitchener in 1983, the Blue Box program has spread to more than 500 municipali- ties and now serves more than 3.2 million householders and apartment dwellers (Figure 12.2). The system is used regularly by 90 per cent of the people it serves. Only about three to five per cent of the waste collected is unmarketable and has to be sent for disposal. Composting is another variety of waste reduction, suitable for organic wastes such as vegetable scraps and garden waste. So far, more than 800,000 home com- posters have been distributed by municipalities, with fi- nancial assistance from the Ministry of Environment and Energy’s Municipal Reduction/Reuse Program. A recent study estimates the cost of managing wet waste by home composting at between $30 and $40 per tonne, which is considerably cheaper than today’s landfill fees. Collection and central composting of leaves and yard waste were offered as well in more than 100 com- munities in 1992. Some are also looking into more ex- tensive programs, with curbside pickup and central composting of both kitchen and yard wastes. The city of Guelph plans to have such a program operational by the end of 1994 while the county of Northumberland has a similar program under consideration. In the industrial sector, recycling has been a com- mon practice in some industries for years. Printers, for example, have traditionally resold their waste paper to mills for pulping and wreckers’ yards have turned dis- carded motor vehicles into scrap metal and parts since the earliest days of the automotive industry. Many other businesses, though, saw little value in such practices. This attitude changed in the 1980s, however, in re- sponse to growing public awareness of the problems of waste disposal. Many companies, and public institutions as well, came to see waste reduction and recycling as a mark of good corporate citizenship. Many of them also found they could save money by using resources more efficiently and reducing their waste disposal costs or by using their waste as a resource. In addition, initiatives such as the establishment of the Ontario Waste Ex- change in 1978 have played a critical role by greatly expanding the market for industrial and commercial wastes. Another initiative that is expected to make an im- portant difference is the National Packaging Protocol (NAPP). Packaging such as bottles, cans, boxboard, plas- tic wrap and pallets makes up about a fifth of Ontario's waste stream. By the year 2000, NAPP aims to have re- duced these wastes to 50 per cent of their 1988 levels. Interim targets of 20 per cent and 35 per cent have been set for 1992 and 1996. In the early 1990s, a number of municipalities also took further steps to encourage recycling by closing their landfills to some of the more common types of com- mercial and construction waste, such as wood, drywall, construction rubble, corrugated cardboard and office paper. Several municipalities also greatly increased tip- ping fees for companies and institutions using their landfills. These measures have not always had the desired ef- fect, however. Taking advantage of the removal of Amer- ican regulations forbidding the importation of waste, a number of companies are now exporting their waste to cheaper and less restrictive landfills in the United States. Approximately 1.3 million tonnes of waste were shipped to American landfills in 1992. Progress in wate roanagernent Through its Waste Reduction Action Plan, Ontario is attempting to cut the amount of garbage disposed of per person to 50 per cent of the 1987 level by the year 2000. So far, the per capita disposal rate has been cut by 25 per cent, from one tonne per person in 1987 to 0.75 tonnes in 1992. 3627 1992 {75%} rdustmal. commercial and instibutianal VASTE As Figure 12.3 shows, the biggest reduction has been in industrial, commercial and institutional wastes. In the mid-1980s, this category made up nearly 60 per cent of the total volume of solid, non-hazardous wastes. By 1992 it accounted for only 49 per cent of the total A significant part of these reductions has come from a de- crease in packaging. In addition, voluntary waste reduc- tion initiatives in the private sector have been very effective and are estimated to have diverted at least 600,000 tonnes of waste in 1992 alone. However, the economic slowdown of the early 1990s has undoubtedly also made a contribution to waste reduction. Residential 33 waste management continued Resiiential westes With the expansion of Blue Box services, the amount of residential waste diverted from landfills has increased considerably. Since 1987, the amount collected through the program has risen from 29,000 tonnes to more than 431,000 tonnes, and the program now handles more than 10 per cent of all residential waste (Figure 12.4). Composting is also beginning to show appreciable results in the diversion of wet or compostable wastes. A 1989 study estimated that about 1.88 million tonnes of wet waste were produced in the province, with house- holds accounting for about two-thirds of the total. In 1992, it was estimated that composting diverted at least 300,000 tonnes of wet waste, or about 16 per cent of the 1989 amount. Tires Vehicle tires remain one of the most difficult wastes to deal with. They take up too much space and are too durable to be acceptable for landfilling and, although they are recyclable, recycling capacity has been slow to develop. As a result, tires have been stockpiled or export- ed to the United States for disposal. 3 Anne ep nm a rr decececececececscececevecscscecececsscerersceteceresecececsrereveceseserecersssersesesereresesesseereeeenseeeees eee eeeee sees ® Approximately 10 million tires are discarded every year in Ontario. In 1990, after the Hagersville tire fire, there were some four million tires in storage in the province. By 1993, this number had been cut in half, largely because of concerted efforts by government and industry to build an infrastructure for tire recycling. Tires can be retreaded for further use or converted to crumb rubber, which can be used to make a variety of products like matting, patio blocks, running tracks and car parts. Scrap tires also provide high-energy fuel for cement kilns, where they are burned under controlled conditions to minimize air pollution. In 1992, about 40 per cent of scrapped tires were diverted from disposal to reuse, retreading, or recycling. That number is expected to rise to 60 per cent by 1994. Lesrettiiss Diversion can greatly reduce the amount of waste going to landfills, but it cannot eliminate all of it On- tario will therefore continue to need a substantial amount of landfill capacity, but in some areas much of what it now has is being rapidly used up and new land- fill space is becoming harder to find. Approximately 10 per cent of Ontario’s 1,365 active landfill sites will have reached the limits of their capacity within the next five years. This is a normal and manageable rate of attrition, but in central and southern Ontario the proportion is closer to 20 per cent. The problem of disposal capacity is most acute in the Greater Toronto Area, where the two major landfills are nearing the end of their useful lives. The recent upsurge in waste exports to the United States, however, has taken some of the pressure off these sites. Apart from the problem of capacity, there is also some concern about groundwater contamination or gas leakage from landfills, especially from abandoned sites that were not subject to environmental controls when they were in use. There are currently 2,334 closed land- fill sites in the province and MOEE has conducted a number of studies to determine whether any of them pose an environmental or health hazard. So far, no significant problems have been identified, although the investigation program is continuing. The most intensive studies have focused on sites lo- cated near houses, wells, or streams used for domestic water or recreation. Investigators carried out detailed hydrogeological studies at 21 of these sites, where there appeared to be some potential for the escape of gas or leachate. A gas evacuation system was installed at one site, eight were given a clean bill of health and the re- mainder were considered safe but recommended for further monitoring as a precautionary measure. Major active sites are subject to regular monitoring, and prob- lems are dealt with as they arise. 36 Moving away fre throwaway By the end of the century, Ontario hopes to have a more environmentally acceptable system of waste man- agement in place, one that relies much less on landfilling and disposal and more on the elimination or diversion | of waste through the three Rs. Good progress has been made towards this goal, but getting the rest of the way requires a further intensification of waste reduction efforts. How can this be done? Some small additional gains in waste diversion can be made by extending residential Blue Box and composting programs to more communi- ties. More may come from increasing the amount and variety of material collected through Blue Box pro- grams. In 1992, the average household diverted more than 131 kg of recyclables, but it is estimated that an improved program could raise that amount to more than 200 kg. More substantial gains can also come from the industrial, commercial and institutional sector through the extension of waste reduction activities to more companies and the improvement of programs already in place. With these objectives in mind, MOEE plans to re- quire all municipalities with more than 5,000 people to provide Blue Box recycling, yard waste composting and backyard composting programs. In addition, more than 7,000 large industrial, commercial and institutional sites will be required to initiate waste audits, waste reduction workplans and recycling programs. These efforts are ex- pected to divert another two million tonnes of garbage from landfills. Although these programs will place greater de- mands on Ontario citizens and companies, they will ul- timately pay back important dividends - reducing water and air pollution, improving resource and energy con- servation, and lessening the aesthetic impact of waste disposal on the landscape. CHAPTER 13 HAZARDOUS AND LIQUID INDUSTRIAL WASTES More than two million tonnes of hazardous and liquid industrial wastes are generated in Ontario every year. They include an amazing variety of materials - every- thing from acids, contaminated sludges and PCBs to motor oil and discarded batteries - and all require spe- cial handling and disposal (Figure 13.1). Wastes are considered hazardous if they are corro- sive, toxic, chemically reactive, ignitable or, like biomed- ical wastes, likely to spread disease. Non-hazardous liquid wastes do not present the kind of obvious threat to health and safety that hazardous substances do, but they may still have the potential to cause environmental problems such as turbidity or depletion of oxygen in watercourses or salinization of soils. ee Many wastes present a special problem because they are both hazardous and liquid. Liquids are more difficult to contain and are, therefore, more prone to spills and seepage and more difficult to clean up. Major generators of hazardous and liquid industrial waste are required to register their sites and the types of waste they produce with the ministry. Figure 13.2 shows these waste generators by industry type. Although most of these wastes are produced by large industrial facilities, significant amounts also come from farms, mines, insti- tutions such as hospitals, universities and schools and small businesses such as service stations and dry clean- ers. Many common household items, such as solvents, cleaning compounds, paints and batteries, are also haz- ardous. Wastes can be managed on-site or off-site. The choice is largely determined by economies of scale, the type of waste and the availability of off-site treatment On-site management tends to be preferred by larger companies that generate substantial volumes of waste and can operate the necessary disposal procedures cost- effectively. Off-site disposal is more suitable for smaller companies or for small volumes of wastes that require expensive handling facilities. Approximately 40 per cent of the hazardous and industrial liquid waste produced in Ontario is disposed of on site. All disposal facilities, whether on-site or off-site, must be certified by the Ministry of Environment and Energy. However, only transfers of off-site wastes are tracked by the ministry. This is to ensure that these wastes are handled safely, since they must be transported to the disposal facilities on public roads and may require special precautions. * agnoukursl forestry. muming, heaith and socal semuces, Carriers of these wastes must be certified by the ministry. Manifest forms describing the types and quan- tities of wastes being shipped must be completed by the generator, the carrier and the receiver of the wastes. A computerized system at the ministry verifies that gener- ator, carrier, and receiver are properly registered or certi- fied for the type of waste being handled and tracks the shipment from source to destination. This system en- sures that every load of waste that is generated is proper- ly managed and received at approved facilities. Disposal - whet are the choices? Most non-hazardous liquids can be discharged di- rectly into the sewer if the municipal sewage system has adequate treatment capacity to handle the wastes. If not, or if the generator is not connected to a sewer system, they must be trucked to a water pollution control plant for treatment. About 50 per cent of the wastes treated off-site are non-hazardous liquids that are processed in this way. A substantial proportion of these are leachates - liquids that collect in landfill sites - that must be trucked to the water pollution control plants because of the lack of a direct sewer connection. 87 waste management continued Hazardous wastes, on the other hand, usually re- quire more complex and specialized treatment. Some substances can be made harmless and then disposed of by conventional means. Strong acids and caustic liquids, for example, can be neutralized. Some others can be broken down through chemical or biological processes. Other materials, however, must be disposed of in one of the following ways: Landfilling. Sludges from petroleum refining and other industrial processes are often disposed of in this way. However, care must be taken to prevent contaminated liquids from leaching into the sur- rounding soil and groundwater. In landfills for haz- ardous wastes, this is accomplished by the use of natural or synthetic liners to contain the leachate and a leachate collection system to pump it out. Some wastes may also be pretreated or solidified to make them easier to handle or less susceptible to leaching. + Incineration. High-temperature incineration is the only effective way of destroying some hazardous substances, such as high-level PCBs. Specially de- signed incinerators can achieve 99.9999 per cent destruction of these wastes, but careful controls are needed to prevent the release of dangerous gases or particles, and any ash that is left over must be buried in a secure landfill Export. Hazardous and liquid industrial wastes are also shipped out of the province for disposal else- where, usually in New York or Michigan. In some cases, this is done because adequate disposal facili- ties for certain wastes (e.g., organic sludges and chlorin-ated organic chemicals like CFCs and some pesticides) are unavailable in Ontario. In other cas- es, it may be safer and more economical to use a treatment facility closer to the generator, even though it is in another jurisdiction. For the same reasons, wastes from other jurisdictions are also shipped into Ontario for disposal. Both Canada and the United States, however, prohibit the impor- tation of PCBs. + Storage. Hazardous wastes awaiting destruction or for which there is no satisfactory disposal method must be kept in secure storage. Secure storage, how- ever, involves some risk of fire or spillage and is therefore an unacceptable method for long-term disposal. Thousands of tonnes of PCB wastes are now in storage in Ontario because of uncertainty over the best method of destroying them. Wastes contaminated with low levels of PCBs are now be- ing destroyed using mobile incinerators. * Recycling and reusing. This is one of the most de- sirable ways of handling wastes because it reduces the need for disposal, causes less environmental contamination and reduces the demand on natural resources. Waste oils, solvents, antifreeze and metal finishing sludges are commonly recycled materials. + Dust suppression. Some non-hazardous industrial liquid wastes have also been approved by the min- istry for use as dust suppressants. A liquid waste from the pulp and paper industry, for example, is suitable for use on roads, while waste oil from steel mills and thermal-electric power stations is some- times used on coal storage piles. All of these sup- pressants must be used in a controlled fashion, however, since improper application can harm veg- etation and pollute surface and ground waters. Figure 13.3 shows the quantity of wastes receiving final disposal by these methods in 1992. Because landfill leachates make up about half of the hazardous and liq- uid industrial wastes sent for off-site disposal, treatment at water pollution control plants is the largest disposal waste management continuad category. For other hazardous wastes, export and land- filling are the most used disposal options and incinera- tion the least. Storage is not shown here because it is not a final disposal option. Can aif the waste prodecad be handed? In 1986, when MOEE began tracking hazardous and liquid industrial wastes, some 840,000 tonnes were shipped off site for disposal. By 1990 that amount had grown to nearly 1.5 million tonnes (Figure 13.4). In part, this growth reflects an increase in compliance with the regulations as the program became established, but waste generation also tends to follow the fortunes of the economy. Thus, after growing by an average of more than 10 per cent a year from 1987 to 1990, the output of waste declined moderately in 1991 as the economy went into recession. However, as economic conditions im- prove, we can expect the output of hazardous and liquid industrial wastes to increase once again. More waste, however, means a greater demand on disposal facilities. At the moment, Ontario has only one commercial landfill for hazardous and solidified liquid industrial waste. At the present rate of use, this capacity will be exhausted by 1996 or 1997, at which point addi- 4988 tional facilities will be required. Biomedical wastes are another problem. Currently, Most of the incineration of hazardous and liquid about 60 per cent of these wastes are sent either to Que- industrial wastes in Ontario is carried out at a liquid bec or the United States for disposal The remainder are waste incinerator near Sarnia. However, this facility can- destroyed locally in small hospital incinerators. How- not handle solids, sludges, or chlorinated organic chemi- ever, as these lack modern air pollution control equip- cals, which are making up an increasing portion of the ment, they are being phased out of operation. The hazardous waste stream. Destruction of these materials Ministry of Environment and Energy and the Ministry requires the use of a rotary kiln incinerator. At the mo- of Health, in cooperation with the Ontario Hospital ment, this equipment is not available in Ontario and Association, have developed plans to replace these incin- these wastes must be sent out of province for disposal. erators with regional biomedical waste disposal facilities. 88 waste Se ete — BE Bi ee nn g1 B2 63 B4 BS 86 87 BB Bo SO M1 SB Penne ES; import. SE Epore 4990 1991 22020220 PALETTE PATES? In 1987, only about five per cent of Ontario’s haz- ardous and liquid industrial wastes were shipped out of province for disposal. By 1991 these exports had grown to 17 per cent, or about 166,000 tonnes (Figure 13.5). The largest component, about a third of the total, was waste oil exported to processors and reclaimers in the United States. In part, the increase in exports may be driven by economic factors or convenience. But it also reflects the fact that Ontario does not have facilities for treating chlorinated organic wastes, organic sludges and certain other hazardous wastes that are making up a growing proportion of the hazardous waste stream. a a eee 4992 Imports, on the other hand, have declined slightly. In 1992, they totalled approximately 95,000 tonnes, with about half coming from the United States and half from other provinces. About 54 per cent of the import total was waste oil destined for recycling. Exports and imports are of concern if they increase the amount of transportation and handling of haz- ardous wastes. However, transborder shipment can also involve the shortest travelling distances and increase the safety of handling. In the longer term, an excessive re- liance on exports for disposal could be a problem if au- thorities in other provinces or states decide to close their borders to incoming wastes. Although such a ban is unlikely for most of the ma- terials now shipped out of Ontario, the United States has forbidden the importation of PCBs since 1982. Because Ontario does not have adequate destruction facilities for most PCB wastes, Ontario has been left with the unsatis- factory option of placing these in storage until it is pos- sible to dispose of them. Over the past decade the number of storage sites has increased dramatically, from a mere handful in 1981 to 1751 sites at the end of 1992 (Figure 13.6). All these wastes are stored on the proper- ties of their owners, since there are no approved com- mercial PCB storage sites in the province. Mobile incinerators have been used to destroy some of these wastes, and more than 15,000,000 litres of cont- aminated mineral oil have been disposed of in this way. However, Ontario has not yet approved these facilities for the destruction of more concentrated PCB wastes. At the end of 1992, there were still about 113,000 tonnes of these wastes in storage in Ontario, and until more de- struction facilities are set up that quantity will continue to increase as old transformers and other equipment and materials containing PCBs are taken out of service. New environmental regulations are expected to fur- ther increase the gap between waste management capa- bilities and requirements. The phasing out of CFCs, for example, will eventually require the treatment of 40 000 tonnes of these chemicals. Tighter controls on munici- pal sewage and industrial effluent and on landfilling will also divert more materials to the hazardous waste stream. Ontario currently does not have facilities to deal with hazardous wastes that must now be exported or stored, nor to meet future disposal requirements. One option would be to build a single integrated hazardous waste disposal facility which would serve the whole province. A proposal for such a facility, to be built and operated by the Ontario Waste Management Corpora- tion, is now in the environmental assessment process Household hazardous wastes The average household also generates a small but significant amount of hazardous waste - about 2.5 kg per person, according to one estimate. This includes items such as solvents, cleaners, pesticides, paint, batter- ies, pool chemicals, propane tanks and many other com- mon household articles. Because many of these items are not recognized as hazardous, they often end up in ordinary household garbage or are poured down the sewer. About 250,000,000 litres of used lubricating oil, for example, are improperly disposed of every year in Canada. Many municipalities are now beginning to inform the public about household hazardous wastes and to provide a disposal system for them. Some municipalities have established centres where household hazardous wastes can be dropped off. Others have set up special collection days or pickup services. Since the first of these ‘86-87 87-88 “S8"BS ‘6950 ‘S031 Fiscal year programs was established in the mid-1980s, their use has grown considerably. The dramatic increase in the amount collected in 1989-90 was due to the establish- ment of 10 permanent depots in the Metropolitan Toronto area and several others elsewhere (Figure 13.7). During the 1992-93 fiscal year, more than 1600 tonnes of household hazardous wastes were collected for proper disposal. However, estimates suggest that Ontario generates more than 20 000 tonnes of these wastes every year. A good start has been made, but obvi- ously there is some way to go before most household hazardous wastes are managed properly. Probiems from the past Until the late 1970s, the disposal of hazardous and liquid industrial wastes generally was not adequately controlled. In the United States, toxic substances from abandoned chemical dumps have caused serious water and soil contamination. In 1978, in one of the most no- torious of these incidents, more than 1,000 homes near Niagara Falls, New York, had to be evacuated because of contamination from the nearby Love Canal disposal site. "1-32 "92"93 {est} 94 waste management continued In Ontario, hazardous wastes have been found in some of the province's 2,400 closed landfills, but moni- toring of these sites has not shown any spread of conta- mination. A potentially more serious problem is the presence of buried coal tar wastes on sites formerly oc- cupied by coal gasification plants. Until the 1950s, when the use of natural gas became widespread in Ontario, these plants produced gas from coal for both residential and industrial purposes. Buried coal tar wastes may be harmless if left undis- turbed, but in some cases they may contaminate groundwater supplies. If disturbed by construction, they can contaminate surface waters and they may pose a short-term health risk to workers. Long-term exposure may increase the risk of skin and respiratory cancers. Altogether, the ministry has identified 41 municipal and 44 industrial coal gasification sites. Where a hazard exists, the owners of the site are required to remove the wastes and contaminated soil to an approved disposal facility. The ministry must also be advised before any work can be undertaken that might disturb the site. Car Ontario do better? REDUCING, RECYCLING, REUSING The more hazardous waste that is produced, the more need there is to expand disposal capabilities. That means an increasing demand for secure landfills, spe- cialized incinerators and other treatment facilities. How- ever, setting up these facilities takes time and money and many communities are reluctant to have them nearby. To reduce the need for such facilities and still maintain the capacity to manage these wastes, as much as possible must be done to reduce the amounts sent for disposal. werveverey} One way of handling this problem is to reduce the amount of waste that is produced in the first place. This can sometimes be done through changes in production materials and technologies, although the amount of waste produced by industry as a whole is already very small - less than one per cent of total production - and only about 10 per cent of that amount is hazardous. There may be more scope, though, for recycling and reuse. A study by Environment Canada in 1986 estimat- ed that about half the hazardous wastes produced in Canada had a high potential for recycling. However, off- site recycling accounted for only about 6.5 per cent of Ontario’s hazardous and liquid industrial wastes in 1992 and there has been no increase in this proportion over the past decade. Of course, many companies build recy- cling and reuse into their production processes, but be- cause MOEE does not track wastes that are managed on site there is no way of knowing how much on-site recy- cling takes place or whether the proportion is increasing or decreasing. In order to increase opportunities for off-site recy- cling, the Ontario Waste Exchange was established in 1978. Based on the premise that waste from one compa- ny may be usable as a raw material by another, it pro- vides a means for waste generators and potential users to make contact. During the 1991-92 fiscal year, the ex- change diverted almost 82,000 tonnes of hazardous and non-hazardous waste from disposal. Makers of items that eventually end up as haz- ardous waste are also being urged to assist in the dispos- al of their products. The Canadian Petroleum Products Institute, for example, recently set up a network of de- pots for the collection of used oil from consumers. MOEE is now discussing similar arrangements with oth- er industry groups for the disposal of paints, batteries, and pharmaceuticals. waste management cantinuad At the present time, Ontario is able to cope satisfac- torily with most of the hazardous and liquid industrial wastes it now produces. But some important capacity problems must still be resolved, particularly: * the need for a new secure landfill to replace the Sar- nia site when it is exhausted; * the need for additional treatment, destruction and disposal capacity to handle PCBs now in storage and future requirements, such as the destruction of CFCs, that will arise out of new regulatory require- ments; Over the longer term, however, maximizing the re- duction, reuse and recycling of hazardous and liquid industrial wastes not only will reduce the demand for disposal capacity but is the most environmentally benign way of dealing with these materials. rea gy | | ae i] ‘ es | : | = af ee ~ ‘open eae Bi a RARE pe Vial ata 0 AS “rises 4 a de 7 L'het" Kurt sa gt da Sup ae Steen ed te tary rs bre dee Thy fn iredité a =o =e iy am vhs liner © sta tie à À vu À 0 ae FAR his dus ne hat ve ae dm à a. bat Tee rela. de le bts ve es te + tire, RE doe séifiée 7 We would like your evaluation of this report and your comments and suggestions on what you would like to see in Ontario’s next State of the Environment report. You can fill out and return the survey on the next page, or send your own written comments to: Communications Branch Ministry of Environment and Energy 135 St Clair Avenue West Toronto, Ontario MAV 1P5 $5 eacnancncenanancnnsasanansnaaseasnnsasansanansesssansasenanaaananananasoscesseee Jorn, K.C. and Yap, D. A Synoptic Chmatology For e Ozone Concentrations in Southern Ontario, 6-1981. Atmospheric Environment: Vol. 20 No. 4, 5-703. 1984. of the Environment, Scientific Criteria Docu- Standard Development No. 4-84; Polychlorinated -p-dioxins (PCDDs) and Polychlorinated Diben- n s (PCDFS). 1985. ation Respecting Control of Exposure to Biological or al Agents - made under the Occupational Health cs - Ontario Regulation 654/86. S Consultants for MOEE. Ontario Hardoood = e urvey 1989 and 1990. 1992. = PE, RA Reid and E de 1987. The rate dification of aquatic ecosystems in Ontario, Canada. re, 329:45-48. IMR, and DS Jeffries. Response of headwater varying atmospheric deposition in north-central io, 1979 to 1983. Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic vol 45, p. 4905. 1988. Matuszek, J.E., and G.L Beggs. Fish Species in Relation to Lake Area, pH, and Other Abiotic Factors in Ontario Lakes. Canadian Journal of Fish and Aquatic Science: vol 45, pp. 1931-1941. 1988. McLaughlin, D.L, MOEE. Etiology of Sugar Maple Decline at Selected Sites in Ontario (1984-1990). 1992. Neary, B.P, PJ. Dillon, J.R. Munro, BJ. Clark, MOEE. The acidification of Ontario lakes: An assessment of their sensitivity and current status with respect to biological damage. 1990. Neary, B.P. and PJ. Dillon. Effects of sulphur deposition on lake-water chemistry in Ontario, Canada. Nature 333: 340. 1988. Federal/Provincial Research and Monitoring Coordinating Committee, Environment Canada. The 1990 Canadian long-range transport of air pollutants and acid deposition study. 1990. 20000000000000000000000000000000000606000000000000060000000 000600000000 W/ATER QUALITY General Canadian Council of Resource and Environment Ministers. Canadian Water Quality Guidelines. 1987. Government of Ontario. Water quantity resources of Ontario. 1984. Griffiths, R., MOEE. BioMap: concepts, protocols and sampling procedures for the southwestern region of Ontario. 1993. Ministry of Environment and Energy. Our shared resource: Towards a provincial water policy framework for Ontario. Revised Draft May 1993. Ministry of the Environment. Water management - goals, policies, objectives and implementation procedures of the Ministry of the Environment. Revised 1984. 97 further readings continued Royal Commission on the Future of Toronto’s Water- front. Pathways: Towards an ecosystem approach. VoL 11. 1991. robert Lakes Dillon, PJ., W.A. Scheider, R.A. Reid and D.S. Jeffries, MOEE. The Lakeshore Capacity Study. Part I: A test of the effects of shoreline development on the trophic status of lakes. 1992. Ministry of Environment and Energy. Cottagers’ self-help program enrichment status of lakes in the southeastern region of Ontario 1992. August 1993. Ministry of Environment and Ministry of Natural Resources. 1993 Guide to eating Ontario sport fish. 1993. Ministry of Environment and Energy and Ministry of Natural Resources. Inland lake trout management in southeastern Ontario. January 1993. Neary, B.P. and B.J. Clark, MOEE. The chemical water quality of Lake Nipissing 1988-1990. 1992. Reid, RA. and S.M. David, MOEE. Crayfish distribution and species composition in Muskoka and Haliburton lakes. 1990. Yan, N.D. and P.M. Welbourn. 1990. The impoverishment of aquatic communities by smelter activities near Sudbury, Canada. In Woodwell, G.M. (ed.). The Earth in Transi- tion: Patterns and processes of biotic impoverishment. Cambridge University Press, pp. 477-494. Great Lakes Government of Ontario. Restoring and protecting the Great Lakes: 1991 Progress report. 1993. Great Lakes Water Quality Board. 1989 report on Great Lakes water quality. Report to the International Joint Commission. October 1989. Howell, E.T., MOEE. Great Lakes long-term sensing sites: Preliminary results for the Niagara River corridor stations. February 1993 International Joint Commission. Cleaning up our Great Lakes: A report from the Water Quality Board to the Inter- national Joint Commission on Toxic Substances in the Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem. 1991. International Joint Commission. Review and evaluation of the Great Lakes remedial action plan program. Great Lakes Water Quality Board report to the International Joint Commission. 1991. Krantzberg, G., MOEE. The influence of the oxygen regime in the water column on the toxicity of Hamilton Harbour sediment. 1992. Krantzberg, G. and Boyd, D. The biological significance of contaminants in sediment from Hamilton Harbour, Lake Ontario. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry: vol. 11, pp. 1525-1538. 1992. Nicholls, Kenneth H. and Gordon G. Hopkins. Recent changes in Lake Erie phytoplankton: Cumulative impacts of phosphorus loading reductions and the zebra mussel introduction. Journal of Great Lakes Resources: vol. 19, pp. 637-647. 1993. 1993 Report of the Great Lakes Water Quality Board to the International Joint Commission. International Joint Commission. September 1993. Richman, LA., MOEE. Niagara River biomonitoring study, 1989. Summary Report submitted to the Niagara River Toxics Management Plan Secretariat for inclusion in its 50% Loading Reduction Report. March 1992. Richman, LA., MOEE. The Niagara River mussel and leech biomonitoring. 1992. Richman, L-A., MOEE. Preliminary technical report: Summary of the 1991 Niagara River mussel biomonitoring survey. 1993. Smith, LR, MOEE. 1991 Peninsula Harbour sediment study. March 1993. Smith, IR. State of the Lake Superior basin reporting series volume II: Draft stage 1 lakewide management plan. Ontario Ministry of Environment and Energy, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, October 1993. Smith, J. and Smith, I., MOEE and Environment Canada. Yardsticks for assessing the water quality of Lake Superior. March 1993. Snodgrass, W.J. and D’Andrea, M. Dry weather dis- charges to the Metropolitan Toronto waterfront. Remedial Action Plan Report, Environment Canada and the Ontario Ministry of Environment and Energy. April 1993. Suns, KR, MOEE. Organochlorine Contaminant Trends in Niagara River Spottail Shiners. Report prepared for the Niagara River Toxics Management Plan Secretariat. September 1992. Suns, K. R., G. G. Hitchin, and D. Toner. Spatial and temporal trends of organochlorine contaminants in spot- tail shiner from selected sites in the Great Lakes (1975- 1990). Journal of Great Lakes Resources. 19:703-714. 1993. Tarandus Associates Limited. 1993. Great Lakes Long- Term Sensing Sites: The Evaluation of Water, Sediment and Benthic Invertebrates from Stations in Lake Ontario and Niagara River Corridor in 1990. Prepared for the Ontario Ministry of Environment and Energy, October 1993 (awaiting publication approval). Tarandus Associates Limited. 1993. Great Lakes embay- ments and harbours investigation program, phase I: The Lake Erie harbours synoptic surveys. Prepared for the Ontario Ministry of Environment and Energy, March 1993 (awaiting publication approval). further readings continued Rernediai Action Plans Thunder Bay Remedial Action Plan Stage 1 Report: Envi- ronmental Conditions and Problem Definition. October 1991. Nipigon Bay Remedial Action Plan Stage 1 Report Envi- ronmental Conditions and Problem Definition. October 1991. Jackfish Bay Remedial Action Plan Stage 1 Report: Envi- ronmental Conditions and Problem Definition. October 1991. Peninsula Harbour Remedial Action Plan Stage 1 Report: Environmental Conditions and Problem Definition. October 1991. St. Marys River Stage 1 RAP - Environmental Conditions and Problem Definitions, May 1992. Spanish Harbour Stage 1: Environmental Conditions and Problem Definition. November 1993. Severn Sound Remedial Action Plan Stage 2 Report. April 1993. Severn Sound Remedial Action Plan Stage 1 - Environ- mental Conditions and Problem Definition. February 1989. Collingwood Harbour Remedial Action Plan, Stage 1: En- vironmental Conditions and Problem Definition. March 1989. The Collingwood Harbour Stage 2 Document: a delisting strategy. August 1992. St Clair River RAP Stage 1 Update (1st. Draft) - March 1993 Detroit River Remedial Action Plan - Stage 1 - June 1991. Niagara River Stage 1 Report: Environmental Conditions and Problem Definitions, October 1993 A further readings conmbinued Chemicals of Concern in Niagara River Tributaries 1988- 89, Niagara River Improvement Project, Ontario Ministry of Environment and Energy, July 1993. Stage 1 Report: Remedial Action Plan for Hamilton Har- bour Environmental Conditions and Problem Definition. March 1989. The Remedial Action Plan (RAP) for Hamilton Harbour - Stage 2A. July 1991. Hamilton Harbour Final Stage 2 Report (to COA RAP Steering Committee). November 1992. Stage 1:Metropolitan Toronto Environmental Conditions and Problem Definition. May 1989. Metropolitan Toronto Remedial Action Plan: Strategies for Restoring Our Waters. December 1991. Port Hope Harbour Remedial Action Plan Stage 1: Envi- ronmental Conditions and Problem Definition. January 1990. Stage 1, Bay of Quinte: Environmental Setting and Prob- lem Definition. July 1990. Bay of Quinte RAP Stage 2 Report. September 1993. St. Lawrence River Area of Concern Remedial Action Plan for the Cornwall-Lake St. Francis Area Stage 1 Report: Environmental Conditions and Problem Definition. August 1992. Groundwater Environment Ontario. 1987. Water wells and ground wa- ter supplies in Ontario. ISBN 0-7729- 1010-3. Revised 1987. aceceeeereececseeceeesensacecerescecesorssscecorececrsoeserenseeeserseoenoerwoeseseeeseresenssoerneeseeaseenesesseesesenenenerneenenes! Brinking Water Drinking Water Surveillance Program, Annual Report 1991/92, Ontario Ministry of the Environment. 1994 Ontario Drinking Water Objectives Information Sheet. Summer 1992, Ontario Ministry of Environment and Energy Parameters Listing System (PALIS).Revised, October 1992. Ontario Ministry of the Environment. Queen’s Printer for Ontario, 1992 Pesticides in Ontario Municipal Drinking Water - 1988. September 1990. Ontario Ministry of the Environment. Queen’s Printer for Ontario, 1990 Drinking Water Information Sheet. Summer 1990. Ministry of the Environment About Water Treatment Plant Operation Fact Sheet (WFS8). Ministry of the Environment Ontario’s Drinking Water Surveillance Program Informa- tion Sheet, Winter 1992. Ministry of the Environment. Waste MANAGEMENT Municipal Sold Vaste Greater Toronto Area 3Rs Analysis, EA Input Document M.M. Dillon Ltd for the Ontario Ministry of Environ- ment and Energy. Draft November 1993. Queen’s Print- er for Ontario, 1993. Interim Guidelines for the Production and Use of Aerobic Compost in Ontario. Ontario Ministry of the Environ- ment. Toronto: Queen’s Printer, November 1991. Market Assessment of 3R’s Activities in Ontario. Re- sources Integration Systems Ltd. for the Ontario Min- istry of the Environment. Queen’s Printer for Ontario, 1992. Meeting the Challenge: Reduction and Recycling Activities in the Greater Toronto Area. Ontario Ministry of the Environment. Toronto: Queen’s Printer, 1992. Municipal Waste Management Powers in Ontario. On- tario Ministry of Municipal Affairs. Toronto: Queen’s Printer, March 1992. National Packaging Protocol: Results of the 1990 National Packaging Survey. National Task Force on Packaging, December 1992. OMMRI — Corporations in Support of Recycling: Overview. Ontario Multi-Material Recycling Incorporat- ed. Toronto: OMMRI, August, 1992. Ontario Waste Composition Study. Gore and Storrie Ltd. December 1991. The Physical and Economic Dimensions of Municipal Sol- id Waste Management in Ontario. CH2M Hill Engineer- ing Ltd. and MacLaren Engineers for the Ontario Min- istry of the Environment, November 1991. Queen’s Printer for Ontario. Regulatory Measures to Achieve Ontario’s Waste Reduc- tion Targets: Initiatives Paper No. 1. Ontario Ministry of the Environment. Toronto: Queen’s Printer, October 1991. A Socio-Economic Assessment of Ontario Waste Manage- ment Initiatives. VHB Research and Consulting Inc. for the Ontario Ministry of the Environment. Queen’s Printer for Ontario, January 1993. further readings cortirued g True Cost of Municipal Waste Management. VHB Research & Consulting Inc. for the Ontario Ministry of the Environment. Queen’s Printer for Ontario, 1993. The Waste Crisis in the Greater Toronto Area: A Provincial Strategy for Action. Ministry of the Environment and the Office of the Greater Toronto Area. June 1991, Toronto. Waste Management Planning in Ontario: Initiatives Paper No. 2. Ontario Ministry of the Environment. Toronto: Queen’s Printer, March 1992. Hazardous arnt Liquif iecrentiriad faste 1991 Ontario Waste Exchange Directory. Ontario Re- search and Technology Foundation (ORTECH). Toron- to: ORTECH International, 1991. Ministry of Environment and Energy Annual Hazardous Waste Public Information Data Set, June 1992. Practical Guide for Sampling Waste and Industrial Processes. Ontario Waste Management Corporation, Toronto, 1993. Ontario Waste Management Corporation Waste Reduc- tion Bulletin - Profiles of industrial 3Rs success stories and pollution prevention technologies. (published 3/year). Pollution Prevention for the Great Lakes: Tips for Small Quantity Hazardous Waste Generators, LURA Group for Environment Canada. Toronto, 1991. Canada’s Present Day and Future Hazardous Waste Management Facilities. Man-West Environmental Group Ltd., Winnipeg, June 1993. ai i = is Pert uetieyy) mr 1 “gear rast 7 ‘ 1 à, ARE par, 7 2 (A { pa al el ars LA wy" ani, 5e ‘i D me 2 ee MURS ENT one seth, dec ll », ae LA oder] gr a jn a" ull pdt ut ra. pe nih a rey ry + “4 Lea v 7 ? Le ml, CA am) Chard Sorts | i Pp yo eee AS LIL wep, gochey We) Le ps ‘sr: ae ard we ) UT ee) k a = "4 ve 1081 tb ptit sees) . ” « 7 4 d : er si Len Le Reg TL ‘ an aa ag wt > mt ©) pesca) msi crvnnet) TO DIT EU ee su auteur «gia atx bra 4 were fade yoda [FLA & LE + cme ah wank el neue re SA nier «-+ ear Sect Vas Neel pag ie eg ons leur à ieee.) 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