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Potential Effects of Contaminants on Fraser River Sockeye Salmon

Potential Effects of Contaminants on Fraser River Sockeye Salmon

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• Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarb<strong>on</strong>s (i.e., parent PAHs, alkylated PAHs, totalPAHs);• Petroleum hydrocarb<strong>on</strong>s (e.g., oil and grease, diesel-range organics, alkanes);• Phthalate esters (e.g., BEHP); and,• Anti-microbial compounds (e.g., triclosan, triclocarban).3.1.1.10 C<strong>on</strong>taminated Sites and C<strong>on</strong>taminant SpillsIn British Columbia, a c<strong>on</strong>taminated site is defined as an area <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> land in which the soil,underlying groundwater, or sediment c<strong>on</strong>tains a hazardous material at levels that exceedthe provincial envir<strong>on</strong>mental quality standards (Macfarlane et al. 2004). In 1997,Envir<strong>on</strong>ment Canada (<strong>Fraser</strong> Polluti<strong>on</strong> Abatement Office) and the B.C. Ministry <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> theEnvir<strong>on</strong>ment (C<strong>on</strong>taminated Sites Remediati<strong>on</strong> and Assessment Secti<strong>on</strong>) collaborated <strong>on</strong>the development <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> a C<strong>on</strong>taminated Sites Registry (Site Informati<strong>on</strong> System; SITE). TheRegistry is designed to provide publically-available informati<strong>on</strong> <strong>on</strong> the investigati<strong>on</strong> andclean-up <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> c<strong>on</strong>taminated and potentially-c<strong>on</strong>taminated sites throughout the province.Based <strong>on</strong> the data compiled between 1988 and 1995, there were a total <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> 2866 n<strong>on</strong>federalc<strong>on</strong>taminated sites registered in the SITE database and an estimated 342 federalc<strong>on</strong>taminated sites (Envir<strong>on</strong>ment Canada 1997). Of the 2866 n<strong>on</strong>-federal sites listed in theRegistry, 2699 were located in the <strong>Fraser</strong> <strong>River</strong> Basin. More recent data <strong>on</strong> the numberand locati<strong>on</strong> <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> federal and n<strong>on</strong>-federal c<strong>on</strong>taminated sites in the <strong>Fraser</strong> <strong>River</strong> Basin werenot located during this investigati<strong>on</strong>. However, informati<strong>on</strong> provided informally by theC<strong>on</strong>taminated Sites Remediati<strong>on</strong> and Assessment Secti<strong>on</strong> (V. Manemeyer, B.C.Envir<strong>on</strong>ment. Pers<strong>on</strong>al communicati<strong>on</strong>) suggests that the Registry may currently list atleast 5,000 c<strong>on</strong>taminated sites that are located within the study area. The Treasury Board<str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> Canada maintains a c<strong>on</strong>taminated sites database, separate from the registry, whichprovides informati<strong>on</strong> <strong>on</strong> the locati<strong>on</strong>, media types <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> c<strong>on</strong>cern, and the identity <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g>c<strong>on</strong>taminants at each <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> these sites. Table 3.13 provides a summary <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> the data c<strong>on</strong>tainedin the Treasury Board <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> Canada database for c<strong>on</strong>taminated sites within the study area.Figure 3.10 shows the locati<strong>on</strong>s <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> these c<strong>on</strong>taminated sites.Accidental spills can also result in releases <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> c<strong>on</strong>taminants to the <strong>Fraser</strong> <strong>River</strong> and/or itstributaries. According to records maintained by the Canadian Coast Guard and the B.C.Ministry <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> the Envir<strong>on</strong>ment, spills <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> raw sewage, partly treated sewage, gasoline, oil,diesel, other fuels, and other substances are comm<strong>on</strong> within the study area. However, theinformati<strong>on</strong> needed to specifically characterize the substances or volumes released is <strong>on</strong>lyinfrequently available. Therefore, it is difficult to identify the c<strong>on</strong>taminants that are28

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