This project, started in 2010, originally planned to investigate spatial trends in PFCs in southern Ontario by examining a municipal (Toronto), an industrial (Hamilton) and a rural (Binbrook) site, using the snapping turtle as an indicator species, as they are long-lived and sedentary, and it is possible to sample blood from these species using minimally invasive sampling techniques, without requiring sacrifice of the animal. However, unexpected detection of plasma concentrations of PFCs ten times higher at the rural reference site, forced the investigators to review their hypotheses. A closer examination of the various types of PFCs found at each site using multivariate analysis revealed differences in the classes of compounds found at each location. While the Toronto site was dominated by perfluorotridecanoate and perfluorononanoate, the Hamilton site mainly consisted of perfluorodecanoate, and the Binbrook site had high concentrations of perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorohexanesulfonate.

Upon reviewing the hydrology of the Welland river watershed in more detail, it was discovered that spring drainage from the southern part of Hamilton Airport (where, incidentally, firefighting training exercises took place) was likely the source of PFCs into the Welland River watershed. Further sampling then took place in various streams within the Welland River watershed in the spring of 2011, which included water, invertebrate, small fish and turtle plasma samples. These data confirmed the presence of PFCs at higher concentrations downstream of the airport in comparison with (new!) reference sites, with concentrations generally decreasing with distance. The highest concentrations were detected in the plasma of snapping turtles. Shane also showed that concentrations of perfluoroethylcyclohexane sulfonate, a cyclic PFC used in aircraft hydraulic fluid, decreased with distance from the airport, thus leading further strength to the hypothesis that the source of contamination was the southwest corner of the Hamilton Airport.

Although fish consumption guidelines for PFOS did not exist at the time (because there was no need for them), in part due to the levels of PFOS found in fish in this study, preliminary guidelines were developed and released in 2011 by the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, with initial restrictions on fish consumption guidelines at 0.08 ug/g, and complete fish consumption restrictions at 0.16 and 0.64 ug/g (for sensitive and general populations, respectively).

Shane gave a lively presentation, which was followed by a dynamic question/discussion period. With a change of pace from our usual pub nights, the food arrived as the question period ended. Hence, the attendees had the opportunity to catch-up and network over a delicious Persian meal.

Submitted by Ève Gilroy (with comments from Natalie Feisthauer)

Dr. Wilkie briefly described the life cycle of the sea lampreys, which spend most of their life buried in the sand of rivers and streams, as filter-feeders. Upon reaching an appropriate size, the lampreys undergo metamorphosis, preparing them for the parasitic life stage that follows. They subsequently migrate to the Great Lakes, where they feed by attaching themselves to the sides of larger, economically important fishes, such as brown trout and rainbow trout, usually leading to the eventual death of the host fish. Lamprey invasion of the Great Lakes, in addition to overfishing, has been correlated with a decrease in fish populations.

The Great Lakes Fisheries Commission was created as a partnership between Canada and the United States, one of its main goals being to attempt to eradicate, and later control, the sea lamprey populations. Therefore, TFM has been used for over 50 years as a lampricide, and, until recently, scientists have only been able to speculate on how it exerts its toxicity on the sea lamprey, with minimal effects on non-target fish species. Dr. Wilkie’s research has been able to shed light on this little-known fact. By using isolated mitochondria from fish livers, his group has demonstrated that TFM exerts its toxicity by uncoupling mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation in sea lamprey and rainbow trout, a fish representative of the non-target fish species. Dr. Wilkie’s group determined that, in vivo, the trout are more resistant than the lampreys to TFM because they have UDP-glucuronosyl transferases, which are enzymes capable of detoxifying chemicals such as TFM. Sea lampreys do not possess high concentrations of these enzymes and, therefore, are more sensitive to this chemical.

In addition to determining the mode of toxicity of TFM, Dr. Wilkie’s research also showed that sea lampreys recover after 6 hours of exposure to TFM, suggesting that if the regular 12-h TFM stream treatments are cut short due to weather conditions, they may not be as effective as it was initially believed. Lastly, Dr. Wilkie suggested that the increase in sensitivity of lamprey to TFM that has been reported by the Sea Lamprey Control personnel in early spring miay be related to the fishes’ low fuel reserves, as the animals emerge from their over-wintering period, when food is scarce in the streams. Overall, Dr. Wilkie’s presentation introduced us to a detailed in vitro approach to determining the mode of toxicity of chemicals, and particularly pesticides, that are extensively used in our daily lives, and it provided a more in-depth knowledge of how fish physiology is affected by chemicals.

Submitted by Oana Birceanu

NAME:

Contact email:        cristina.g.cassone@gmail.com

Degree:  M.Sc. in Biology with specialization in chemical and environmental toxicology

Title of Thesis: The effects of perfluoroalkyl acids on in ovo toxicity and gene expression in the domestic chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus)

Institution and Advisor:  Dr. Sean Kennedy, University of Ottawa

Graduation Date: Spring 2012

Career Goals:  To acquire a career in environmental and molecular toxicology research (laboratory- and/or field-driven), where my academic and employment background can be used to its full potential. My specific research interests include testing the chronic effects of synthetic chemicals in wildlife, developing new technologies to facilitate the study of their effects and creating new screening methods, which ensure the safety of the compounds being tested is adequate

Connection with Laurentian SETAC:  Member of the AGM Committee

Big cheese I would most like to have a drink with: Rosalind Franklin (if she were still alive) for her amazing contributions to understanding the molecular structure of DNA.

Most people won’t guess that I: play women’s rugby semi-competitively with the Barrhaven Scottish Rugby Football Club

I can brag that I have rubbed shoulders with: Jane Goodall after a lecture given in Ottawa

Best laugh I had during my degree: During a field season, two colleagues and I bonded while trading ghost stories about Bat Lake out at Algonquin Provincial Park.  The following morning, while it was still very dark, we set the boat out on the lake and prepared to collect water samples.  One of my colleagues was very spooked.  Upon hearing a mysterious sound from the surrounding forest, she completely panicked and capsized the boat.  Although at the time this story was not at all funny, we soon were able to laugh it off and enjoy telling it to others.

Most memorable conference I have been to during my degree was:  SETAC North America, where I met many great friends and colleagues both in Portland (2010) and Boston (2011).

* Click here for Cristina’s résumé

Do YOU want to be the next Very Employable Person, or you know someone who should be? Contact us at info@laurentiansetac.ca

Paul first argued that society often chooses to believe what it wants to believe, and compared denialism to the concept of weight-of-evidence. He then dove into the heart of the matter, and explained the scientific and social reasons behind the concerns associated with PPCPs. Essentially, concern over the pervasiveness of pharmaceuticals arose in the late 1990s due to the development of increasingly sensitive instruments, rather than the sudden appearance of these compounds in aquatic systems. With concise mathematical calculations, he showed that with the concentrations currently detected in drinking water, even the most prevalent pharmaceuticals would need to be consumed for 99 or more years in order to reach clinical exposure levels, with the exception of ibuprofen (0.3 year). His conclusion was that with the exception of endocrine-active substances and compounds which may lead to antibiotic resistance, pharmaceuticals in the aquatic environment pose relatively low risks to human health. Paul then presented several case studies from research performed at the University of Guelph.

- Submitted by Ève Gilroy and Natalie Feisthauer

After a few attempts to fix the problems we were encountering, and with little success (the problems were no longer visible to the user, but quite obvious to the webmasters), we decided that it was time for Laurentian SETAC’s website to get a face lift.

So just in time for Christmas, we are happy to welcome you to our new website! We hope you like it! Many thanks (again!) to our website wizard, Maryse Bézaire, for working her magic!

Wishing you all a very happy holiday season, and we hope to see you in the new year!

- Submitted by Ève Gilroy

Eleanor with proud big sister Mathilda

We would like to welcome Eleanor Mai Béchard, born on November 12, 2011, into the Laurentian SETAC community. Congratulations to Karen and Dan, and big sister Mathilda!

The evening began with the set-up and display of HealthCanada’s impressive promotional science booth.  Jason Rancourt, Manager of Science Promotion and Intellectual Property at HealthCanada, gave an introductory message promoting science at HealthCanada.  Throughout the course of the evening, Mr. Rancourt answered questions at the Health Canada booth.

Dr. Breznan’s talk explained that air pollution is a growing concern for the population, with deaths from acute and chronic exposure predicted to rise in the coming decades. One of the contributors to air pollution is urban particulate matter. After an informative introduction, the talk shifted into outlining the health effects of particulate matter on humans.  Air pollution has been linked to altered pulmonary reflexes and inflammation, cancer, lower birth weight in infants, as well as development and worsening of acute and chronic conditions such as cardiovascular diseases and stroke. This emphasised the importance of studying the health effects of particulate matter and of reducing particulate matter levels in the environment.

The research conducted by Dr. Breznan and the Inhalation Toxicology Lab at Health Canadacontributes to the knowledge of the effects of particulate matter. They developed a high-throughput in vitro cell bioassay test suite that is a good predictor of the in vivo response of animal cells to particulate matter. This high-throughput screening tool allows for quicker results to help model the results for some compounds, a necessary step due to the thousands of particulate matter chemicals whose effects are still unknown. They also determined during their in vitro testing that the toxicity profiles of particulate matter with different compositions are also dependent on the cell types assayed and cytotoxicity tests used, emphasizing the importance of conducting the testing using a panel of assays and different cell types, in order to obtain a more robust profile for the particle effects. As well, studying the cytotoxic responses to particulate matter of different cell types in a co-culture showed an increase in inflammation factors in comparison with exposures of individual cell types, demonstrating the importance of cellular interactions in modulating the effects of particulate matter. As a result of Dr. Breznan’s work, it is hoped that there will be a better understanding of the factors that influence the biological potency of air pollution particles, and of the effects the particles have on human health.

Overall, the night was entertaining and informative and the audience was enlightened and well-fed.

- Submitted by Stacey Saucier

Since this program has been implemented, fish and wildlife habitat has increased in Hamilton Harbour and Cootes Paradise, allowing fish and wildlife populations to slowly recover. The Hamilton-Halton Watershed Stewardship Program has reached over 3,000 landowners, covering 2,900 hectares of wetland and upland habitat in the watershed. Approximately 25 years later, the RAP is still in place. Its main goal is to delist Hamilton Harbour as an Area of Concern by increasing public awareness on the importance of the harbour watershed and public access to the harbour, by improving wildlife habitat, and by containing and reducing the contaminants that are released in the Hamilton waters. These efforts are still ongoing through the BARC, which is
responsible for public outreach through community involvement in RAP and events aimed at educating people about the importance of the harbour and its watershed. Currently, there are two major projects underway that aim to move forward in delisting Hamilton Harbour as an Area of Concern. One such project involves upgrades to the Woodward Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) to improve water quality, and the second project involves the development of a secure containment facility at Randle Reef to prevent the spread of contaminated sediment in the harbour. The current achievements of the program would not have been possible without the help, commitment and partnership among all levels of government, industry, private land owners, scientists and researchers who have provided the much needed research and monitoring of the Hamilton Harbour and its watershed.

Submitted by Oana Birceanu

Stephanie Douma

NAME: Stephanie L. Douma

Contact email: stdouma@gmail.com

Degree: PHRAM(Cert.) Population Health Risk Assessment and Management Graduate Certification.

Institution and Advisor:Institute ofPopulation Health, Department of Epidemiology,University of Ottawa.  Practicum supervisor: Dr Daniel Krewski, Director of the McLaughlin Centre for Population Risk Assessment at theUniversity of Ottawa

Title of Thesis: Geoscience modelling of relative variation in arsenic hazard potential inNew Brunswick.

Graduation Date: 18 May, 2010

Career Goals: To inform policy and regulators of the importance of understanding natural background (geology) as an integral part of any risk assessment in environmental studies.

Connection with Laurentian SETAC: Laurentian SETAC member since Spring 2011. Actively involved with the Ottawa Pub Night Committee. This committee aims to introduce the membership to a variety of speakers and topics in Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry on a monthly basis in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere.

Accomplishment I am most proud of: Publishing in the medical journal Advances in Nursing Science. Douma et al. 2005. Estrogen Related Mood Disorders: Reproductive Life Cycle Factors. Advances in Nursing Science 28: 364-375.

Big cheese I would most like to have a drink with: The Director of Health Canada. I would like to share with the Director of Health my assessment of the cost to the Canadian Health Care System relating specifically to exposure (and subsequent predictable disease) to natural toxicants. For example, as fundamental as the knowledge that smoking cessation saves lives, I believe that preventing exposure to natural toxicants will reduce cancers and disease even more so than anthropogenic contaminants, since not all toxicants are man-made.

Most people won’t guess that I: am a watercolour portrait artist. I am a member of the Napean Fine Arts League and I have won various prizes for my watercolour portraits.

I can brag that I have rubbed shoulders with: Dr Daniel Krewski

Best laugh I had during my degree: When my supervisor told me that he had made a mistake in one of the research projects he was working on. I say I laughed, but I was really humbled by his honesty. I thought that this is a guy I can really respect, because he is someone who realized and admitted that no one has all the answers all the time.

Best weird science moment: Listening to a lecture on evaluating relative risk to exposure to radon using picture frames found in homes.  Approximately $30 million dollars later, their answers were not as accurate as taking a geological map and showing where all the late phase felsic granitoid rocks were located inCanada. As a side note, I learned from that lecture thatWinnipeg wins for the highest radon potential in homes inCanada.

Most memorable conference I have been to during my degree was: Attending the National Assessment Protocol for Aquatic Sites, May 2010. I was amazed by how much impact the knowledge of Geology can have on Risk Assessment Development. In my opinion, Geology affects the interpretation of contamination load and source, and any Risk Assessment Development for that matter. Not using Geology in Risk Assessment is something I equate with asking an ecotoxicologist to assess a property but denying them information on the Ecology.

Most memorable philosophical moment I had during my degree: Most researchers are afraid of multidisciplinary work preferring to work solely into their field of expertise.

My graduate experience was more than just a degree because: It gave me the knowledge and confidence to encourage collaborations between health, environment and geology departments and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

Click here for Stephanie’s CV.