Harbour divestiture in Canada: Implications of changing governance

Walker, Tony R.; Bernier, Meagan; Blotnicky, Brenden; Golden, Peter G.; Hoffman, Emma; Janes, Jeffrey; Kader, Allison; Costa, Rachel Kovacs-Da; Pettipas, Shauna; Vermeulen, Sarah

doi:10.1016/j.marpol.2015.08.018

Cited by 22 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 21 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Significant increases in total PAH concentrations compared to baseline were measured during Year 1 of remediation (Exhibit ), resulting in some government regulators (e.g., EC and DFO) calling for cessation of remediation (Walker, ). However, subsequent EEM monitoring of marine sediment quality in Sydney Harbor indicated gradually improving conditions that were not significantly different from baseline (preremediation) conditions (Walker et al., , ; Walker et al., , ). An additional year of sediment quality monitoring data were included (indicated as “Year 4”) using data collected postremediation as part of a separate study (e.g., Walker et al., ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Significant increases in total PAH concentrations compared to baseline were measured during Year 1 of remediation (Exhibit 2), resulting in some government regulators (e.g., EC and DFO) calling for cessation of remediation (Walker, 2014 Walker et al, 2013aWalker et al, , 2015b. Solid horizontal lines indicate effects range median (ER-m; 44.8 mg/kg) and dashed lines indicate effects range low (ER-L; 4.02 mg/kg) for measures of toxicity in sediment (Long, Field, & MacDonald, 1998;NOAA, 1999).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Temporal variation (5 years) of total PAH concentrations (adapted from Walker et al., , ). Solid horizontal lines indicate effects range median (ER‐m; 44.8 mg/kg) and dashed lines indicate effects range low (ER‐L; 4.02 mg/kg) for measures of toxicity in sediment (Long, Field, & MacDonald, ; NOAA, ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Contaminant mass flux and forensic assessment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons: Tools to inform remediation decision making at a contaminated site in Canada

et al. 2017

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and metal(loid) mass flux estimates and forensic assessment using PAH diagnostic ratios were used to inform remediation decision making at the Sydney Tar Ponds (STPs) and Coke Ovens cleanup project in eastern Canada. Environmental effects monitoring of surface marine sediments in Sydney Harbor indicated significantly higher PAH concentrations during the first year of remediation monitoring compared to baseline. This was equivalent to PAH loadings of ∼2,000 kg over a 15‐month period. Increases in sediment PAH concentrations raised serious concerns for regulators, who requested cessation of remediation activities early in the $400 M (CAD) project. Historically, the STPs were reported as the primary source of PAH contamination in Sydney Harbor with estimated discharges of 300 to 800 kg/year between 1989 and 2001. Mass flux estimates of PAHs and metal(loid)s and PAH diagnostic ratios were used to evaluate if increases in PAH concentrations in marine sediments were the result of the STPs remediation activities. PAH mass flux estimates approximated that 17 to 97 kg/year were discharged from the STPs during three years of remediation and were corroborated by an independent PAH flux estimate of 119 kg in year 1. PAH fluxes to the Sydney Harbor were mostly surface water derived, with groundwater contributing negligible quantities (0.002–0.005 kg/year). Fluxes of metal(loid)s to harbor sediments were stable or declining across all years and were mirrored in sediment metal(loid) concentrations, which lacked temporal variation, unlike total PAH concentrations. Flux results were also corroborated using PAH diagnostic ratios, which found a common source of PAHs. Coal combustion was likely the principal source of PAHs and not migration from the STPs during remediation. Although short‐term residual sediment PAH increases during onset of remediation raised concerns for regulators, calls for premature cessation of remediation early in the project were unwarranted based on only one year of monitoring data. Mass flux estimates and forensic assessments using PAH diagnostic ratios proved useful tools to inform remediation decision making that helped environmental protection and reduced costs associated with lost cleanup time.

show abstract

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Contaminant mass flux and forensic assessment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons: Tools to inform remediation decision making at a contaminated site in Canada

et al. 2017

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Another research interest related to port maintenance is the study of environmental management of port structures. Walker et al (2015) discussed the implications of divestiture on environmental management of port and harbour operations. They proposed that policies to implement education and training and adhering to established management protocols are essential for effective management of associated environmental liabilities (Zhang, 2015b).…”

Section: Mcintoshmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optimal sustainable life cycle maintenance strategies for port infrastructures

Zhang

Kim

Tee

et al. 2017

Journal of Cleaner Production

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…Many SCHs have been increasingly divested to new owners, but sediment contamination from historical activities may pose potential environmental and financial liabilities following change of governance (Walker, Bernier, et al, 2015). This study primarily focuses on the application of various diagnostic ratios as a source apportionment tool to aid in the estimation of PAH emission sources that may be contributing PAHs to Nova Scotia SCH sediments.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Estimating PAH sources in harbor sediments using diagnostic ratios

Davis

Walker

Adams

et al. 2019

Remediation Journal

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are ubiquitous in the global environment and are subsequently transported into aquatic sediments. As PAHs are formed by various processes, source identification using diagnostic ratios can provide insight to PAH emission sources to distinguish between pyrogenic and petrogenic PAH sources. PAH diagnostic ratios were applied as a forensic source apportionment technique to assess aggregate historical sediment data from 31 small craft harbors (SCHs) across Nova Scotia, Canada. Multiple diagnostic ratios suggest that PAHs present in Nova Scotia SCH sediments are pyrogenic (combustion) in origin, while consistently suggesting that coal‐related PAH sources are potential dominant specific sources. National Institute of Standards and Technology Standard Reference Materials (SRMs) were used as reference for coal tar, urban dust, and diesel exhaust particulates in ratio applications. The SRM for coal tar was most similar to Nova Scotia SCH sediments in multiple ratio applications. Diagnostic ratio results were corroborated by comparing the PAH profile of sediments to source profiles from the literature. Results indicate that Nova Scotia SCH sediments follow global trends by exhibiting a dominant pyrogenic PAH signature, and the specific coal‐related PAH signature of Nova Scotia SCH sediments may be influenced by contamination inputs related to historical industrial coal mining and combustion activities in the province.

show abstract

Harbour divestiture in Canada: Implications of changing governance

Cited by 22 publications

References 21 publications

Contaminant mass flux and forensic assessment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons: Tools to inform remediation decision making at a contaminated site in Canada

Contaminant mass flux and forensic assessment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons: Tools to inform remediation decision making at a contaminated site in Canada

Optimal sustainable life cycle maintenance strategies for port infrastructures

Estimating PAH sources in harbor sediments using diagnostic ratios

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About