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News Release Communique FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Friday, April 2th 2004 Synchrotron Recognized as a Powerful Tool to Track Environmental ArsenicThe Canadian Light Source at the University of Saskatchewan has been awarded a federal Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) certificate which recognizes the first-in-Canada synchrotron’s value in testing arsenic quickly and with unprecedented accuracy, an advance that will help protect the environment. Federal Environment Minister David Anderson made the announcement at the Globe 2004 Environmental Conference in Vancouver today. “The Government of Canada is proud to recognize Canadian Light Source as a recipient of the ETV Awards,” Anderson said. “The technology developed by Canadian Light Source demonstrates how the innovation of industry can make a difference to protect the environment and improve the health and quality of life for all Canadians.” The certificate recognizes synchrotron-based X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) as a valid method for determining the various oxidation states of arsenic within a sample. Some arsenic states are stable, while others are more toxic and can move through groundwater supplies. “Saskatchewan is proud to be recognized as an innovator using synchrotron science to benefit the environment,” said Industry and Resources Minister Eric Cline. “As it prepares to come on stream, more and more researchers are discovering applications for the Canadian Light Source. It is an incredibly versatile tool that will have a profound effect on environmental research and Canadian global competitiveness.” “We are delighted to receive recognition of this superior method of tracking the bioavailability of arsenic,” said Bill Thomlinson, executive director of Canadian Light Source Inc. (CLSI). “This is a powerful tool to help industry and regulators preserve our environment.” Arsenic is often found together with valuable minerals like gold, cobalt, nickel and uranium. This creates a challenge for mining companies, who must ensure arsenic exposed by their operations is managed in a way that will ensure protection of the environment. For example, COGEMA Resources Inc. is using synchrotron analytical techniques to prove arsenic in their tailings treatment facility in northern Saskatchewan is properly bound in mineral form. John Rowson, director of McClean Regulatory Affairs for the uranium mining company, says the synchrotron provided the data they needed to demonstrate that the company’s process was working as planned. “The requirements of our tailings preparation process are driven by satisfactory long-term performance,” he says. “I’m talking about thousands of years in the future. There was really no other technique available in the world that would determine the structure of the arsenic precipitates.” Jeff Cutler, CLSI senior industry liaison scientist and acting co-director of research, explains that traditional testing techniques demand sample preparation which can alter the chemistry of the sample. Synchrotron analysis extracts data with little preparation or change to the sample. “You can literally take a scoopful of muck out of your back yard or a mine site, pick the twigs and leaves out of it, run the sample and get the arsenic speciation states,” Cutler says. “You can look at it unaltered, then send it away for more testing. You don’t have to destroy the sample every time you test it.” The technique is also much faster than traditional wet-lab methods, yielding results in minutes rather than hours. This means hundreds of samples can be run in a day. The certificates are issued through the federal government’s ETV program (www.etvcanada.ca). Established by Environment Canada and Industry Canada in 1997, the ETV program supports innovative technologies by assuring users that the product or service will perform as promised. Globe 2004 (www.globe2004.com) is the eighth in a series of biennial conferences on business and the environment. The event brings together corporate and government leaders, as well as environmental technology innovators from around the world to discuss trends, challenges and solutions to the world’s environmental problems. The CLS is one of the country’s largest science projects of the last 30 years. Due to open for business this fall, the U of S-owned national research facility will be used by researchers in industry, government and academia. Synchrotron light – millions of times brighter than sunlight – is used to view chemical reactions and the molecular structure of materials, paving the way for new drugs, more powerful computer chips, better engine lubricants, more effective medical imaging, environmental monitoring and a host of other applications for science and industry. More information on the Canadian Light Source is available at www.lightsource.ca. For more information, contact: Dr. Bill Thomlinson Jeff Cutler John Rowson Michael Robin Backgrounder Environmental Technology Verification Certificate for Canadian Light Source Inc.April 2, 2004 Synchrotron Analysis of Arsenic in the EnvironmentWhat claim is being made to support the ETV certificate? The specific wording of the performance claim is: “A synchrotron produces light millions of times brighter than sunlight and supports high spatial resolution X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) for the speciation of chemical elements in environmental samples. Output from data analysis performed by Canadian Light Source Inc. is used to determine the reactivity, toxicity or bioavailability of heavy metals, for applications in modeling assessments, remediation compliance, or quality assurance. The ease of sample preparation enables synchrotron-based X-ray spectroscopy to achieve accurate and complete arsenic (As) oxidation state and speciation analyses. This technique has been optimized to determine the presence of individual oxidation states of As, for in-situ soils and mine tailings, including valences As-III, As-I, As0, AsIII, AsV, down to 2 ppm, and for As concentrations of >200 ppm, the composition for each oxidation state to within 5 per cent.” Who issues Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) Certificates? Certificates are issued by ETV Canada Inc., a private sector company licensed by Environment Canada to deliver the ETV program. Recipients are allowed to use the recognition and logo in their national and international marketing and communications. The program, established in 1997 by Environment Canada and Industry Canada, fosters the country’s environmental technology industry by providing independent verification of performance claims. More information is available at the ETV Inc. website: http://www.etvcanada.com. For a profile on how synchrotron-based arsenic testing relates to the mining industry, see “Returning to Green: Bio-friendly Mines” at www.lightsource.ca/brochures/. Last modified: 2008-07-29 14:07:34 |
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