Jackfish Bay
Monitoring Update

Kay Kim
Environment and Climate Change Canada
October 2016

 

 

Canad'a' Ontario

Photo credits ?GaryandJoanieMcGuf?n.com, Ontario Tourism Marketing Partnership Corporation (OTMPC), Government of Canada.

Outline

 

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Disda'mer. This map is intended for illustrative purposes only,
'tal Mappingches: Basemappingfeatures-
Ministry of Natural Resources and NPCA.
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Lake Superior  Central Igendlan -87.0 4
tres
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@9qu Mill Railway A AOC Hydrology Areas of Concern
- Major  Ef?uent Canal - wetlands Jack?sh Bay Area of Concern
Roads [3 Airport Forest Cover gm" gm? I 1: 

 

 

 

Mill Effluent Plume Study – EEM (2007)

•  Shape of effluent plume is highly
variable and influenced by wind and
wave action.
•  Effluent is generally diluted to 5:1 within
500m from the mouth of BB Creek.
•  20:1 dilution encompasses a narrow
band along the western shoreline for a
distance of approx. 3.5 km.
•  1% plume limited to JB, along the
westerly shoreline extending as far as
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Cape Victoria.

 Ecological Risk Assessment (ERA)

•  ERAs are intended to predict what the effects of contaminants would
be to species that could come into contact with them.
•  ERAs are used where direct measurements of effects cannot be
made, or where potential effects in the future need to be assessed.
•  ERAs are not definitive predictions, but are educated guesses that
are based on a number of assumptions. The predictions are only as
good as the data available.
•  If these assumptions are very conservative, risks may be predicted
where none would actually be likely.

 Data used in ERA – EC’s Sampling
Locations
•  All sampling years included
sediment analysis, benthic
community assessment, and
sediment toxicity studies.
•  Not all stations were sampled
in every year. Sampling was
focused in Moberly Bay.
•  Three benthic species were
collected for tissue analysis of
dioxins and furans in 2008 and
2013.

 Key Findings from ERA

•  Potential risks to fish eating birds and mammals from dioxins/furans
•  Potential risks to insect eating birds and mammals from dioxins/
furans:

  

Benthic Tiue PCDDI TEQ vs Site by Year

 

 

60

 

 

1M1-amp
1M1-ch'r
1M1-olig
A 1M3-amp
- 1M3-ch'r
1M3-olig
EEM4-chir
EEM4-olig
AG - 2M1-amp
 - 2M1-ch'r
2M1-olig
2M6-arnp
--O- - 2M6-ch'r
2M6-olig
4M3-arrp
4M3-ch'r
4M3-olig
3M2-amp
 3M2-ch'r
- 3M2-olig
M701-chir
M701-oig

 

 
   
    

 

 
   
      
 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
 
    

Sediment Trap Study

•  Objective – to assess contaminant levels in suspended
sediment
•  Deployed sediment traps at two depths (8 m and 13 m from
surface)
•  traps were deployed Sept 22, 2013 and sample collected June
2014.
•  The second set of data are from the refurbishment (June 2014)
to October 2014. ‎
•  D/F detected in the trapped sediments.
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 Sedimentation Rate

•  Approx. 2 mm/year (Dahmer et al 2015)
•  Used top 2 cm of sediment and the results shows clean material is
accumulating (Dahmer et al 2015)
–  The Dahmer data show that dioxin/furan concentrations are decreasing,
and that monitored natural recovery is occurring through accumulation
of newer, cleaner material.

 Overall Conclusions

•  Sediment concentrations of dioxins and furans are decreasing with
time. Recent sediment data show much lower concentrations of
these substances at the top 2 cm.
•  Benthic communities show signs of organic enrichment.
•  D/F levels in benthic invertebrate tissue are decreasing but levels
are above avian Reference Concentration and the maximum TEQ
for Lake Superior reference sites indicating potential risk.

 Next Steps

•  D/F detected in suspended sediment – assess the amount of D/F
coming in from BB Creek if any
•  Assess D/F in sediment at 2 cm interval to assess the quality of new
sediment deposition.
•  Assess how long it is going to take to recover to acceptable levels.

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 Need more information?

•  Please contact:
•  Kay Kim @ 416-739-4787
•  Email: kay.kim@canada.ca

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