PollutionTracker: A new partner-based initiative to monitoring coastal contamination
Presentation Abstract
Research and monitoring of contaminants in the marine environment have been important in prioritizing pollutants of concern, devising mitigation strategies and documenting environmental responses to regulations and source control. Despite site-specific monitoring efforts for some contaminants in some areas, there exists today a distinct lack of information on contaminant trends or concerns across coastal British Columbia. The PollutionTracker is a novel Vancouver Aquarium-led initiative that is bringing multiple partners together to create an open and harmonized environmental monitoring framework. PollutionTracker is implementing stringent site selection, sample collection, analytical and interpretative protocols in support of a coast-wide contaminant assessment in nearshore British Columbia. High resolution contaminant analyses performed every two years on samples of sediments and mussels will provide insight into the state of the coastal environment. These two matrices have been routinely used by managers and stakeholders in the US, Europe and Asia to, but has never been carried out in Canada. PollutionTracker plans to link with ongoing initiatives across the border while it aims to provide information on status and trends on a variety of priority pollutants that will in turn improve our understanding of source, transport, fate and effects of these substances, risks to biota, and the safety of traditional seafoods for coastal First Nations.
Session Title
Sediments as a sink: Tracking pollutants over space and time in the Salish Sea
Conference Track
Fate and Effects of Pollutants
Conference Name
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2016 : Vancouver, B.C.)
Document Type
Event
Start Date
2016 12:00 AM
End Date
2016 12:00 AM
Location
2016SSEC
Type of Presentation
Oral
Genre/Form
conference proceedings; presentations (communicative events)
Contributing Repository
Digital content made available by University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Subjects – Topical (LCSH)
Shorelines--Monitoring--British Columbia; Pollution--British Columbia--Measurement; Coasts--British Columbia--Management
Geographic Coverage
British Columbia; Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.)
Rights
This resource is displayed for educational purposes only and may be subject to U.S. and international copyright laws. For more information about rights or obtaining copies of this resource, please contact University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225-9103, USA (360-650-7534; heritage.resources@wwu.edu) and refer to the collection name and identifier. Any materials cited must be attributed to the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference Records, University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Type
Text
Language
English
Format
application/pdf
PollutionTracker: A new partner-based initiative to monitoring coastal contamination
2016SSEC
Research and monitoring of contaminants in the marine environment have been important in prioritizing pollutants of concern, devising mitigation strategies and documenting environmental responses to regulations and source control. Despite site-specific monitoring efforts for some contaminants in some areas, there exists today a distinct lack of information on contaminant trends or concerns across coastal British Columbia. The PollutionTracker is a novel Vancouver Aquarium-led initiative that is bringing multiple partners together to create an open and harmonized environmental monitoring framework. PollutionTracker is implementing stringent site selection, sample collection, analytical and interpretative protocols in support of a coast-wide contaminant assessment in nearshore British Columbia. High resolution contaminant analyses performed every two years on samples of sediments and mussels will provide insight into the state of the coastal environment. These two matrices have been routinely used by managers and stakeholders in the US, Europe and Asia to, but has never been carried out in Canada. PollutionTracker plans to link with ongoing initiatives across the border while it aims to provide information on status and trends on a variety of priority pollutants that will in turn improve our understanding of source, transport, fate and effects of these substances, risks to biota, and the safety of traditional seafoods for coastal First Nations.
