Dredged Material Ocean Disposal Site Monitoring Program

In 1975, Canada joined more than 50 other countries in ratifying the
Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other
Matter. This convention, referred to as the London Convention, is a powerful
weapon in the battle to protect the sea and its vital living resources
including food resources from lethal forms of pollution.

The Parliament of Canada passed the Ocean Dumping Control Act in 1975 to
fulfill in part Canada's international obligations under this convention. The
act governed the use of Canadian seas and Canadian ships and aircraft - in
disposing of waste material. In 1988 the Ocean Dumping Control Act was
incorporated, as Part VI, into the Canadian Environmental Protection Act
(CEPA).

Activities carried out in a given year are based on available resources and can
involve an assessment of the physical, chemical and biological features. The
impact hypotheses generated by permit reviews form the basis of subsequent
monitoring.

Physical monitoring relates to the collection of relevant geological
information for determining the area of deposition, delineating the disposal
site boundaries, studying the accumulation of dredged material within the area
of deposition, and documenting evidence of sediment transport from the disposal
site.

Biological and chemical assessments are undertaken concurrently and the
monitoring design for these parameters takes into account the size and
dispersal characteristics of the site. Chemical monitoring is aimed at
measuring the levels of chemicals in sediments and comparing them to lower
action levels (Table 1) set out by the Disposal at Sea Regulations or other
national screening levels for additional parameters of concern.

Sponsor: Environment Canada

Additional Information OR Comments: Contact Dr. Tay for data.