Chef de projet : Dr. Fari Goodarzi

This project is designed to characterize and monitor emissions of Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAPs) and particles from energy deposits, energy processing facilities, and smelters. The purpose is to assess these HAPs with respect to their dissemination and contribution to Canadian surface environments, and the risk associated with the input of toxic elements into said environment, as well as to establish potential mitigation options and scientifically based emissions control regulations.

The project consists of the following subprojects:

1. Assessment of HAPs emitted from energy deposits and energy processing facilities to provide data for emission control regulations such as Canada-Wide Standard for Mercury to client (Environment Canada and energy processing facilities) and to establish mitigation options such as selective mining (using natural char in coal for reduction of elements including mercury), biological traps, and transfer of technology to client (energy processing facilities and smelters)
2. Monitoring deposition of HAPs and particles into Canadian surface environment and provide data on the contaminated sites associated with energy processing facilities and smelters to clients responsible for policy development (Environment Canada and Health Canada) and industries for mitigation
3. Modeling of the geological partitioning of elements in soil in the vicinity of the energy processing facilities and smelters and background, and determining the possible risk assessment; Also, the North American soil monitoring program
4. Provision of elemental data to form a national coal quality database. Close cooperation and effective communication of the data and transfer of knowledge to partner Environment Canada and various industry) will provide a scientific foundation for the formation of regulations and for assessing the success of emissions reduction
5. Determination of the geogenic versus anthropogenic effects of metal loading to lakes has been confounded by potential redistribution of metals after their deposition regardless of source. Since metals are frequently more concentrated near the sediment-water interface than in deeper lake sediments, their distributions have been attributed to increased recent anthropogenic deposition and/or to vertical diagenetic remobilization. New geoscience knowledge about the potential redistribution of metals in lake sediments after their deposition will be communicated to the National Guidelines and Standards Office (NGSO), Environment Canada (EC), where the Canadian guidelines for sediment toxicity are about to be revisited
6. Speciation of mercury and its relation to organic and inorganic fraction of materials. Provides data on nature and species of mercury and its relation to other elements and to organic/inorganic fractions of energy deposits and by-products of energy facilities and deposited particles in their vicinity