Publication information ___________________ Geological Survey of Canada Open File 6645 Presentations and Recommendations from the Workshop on the Role of Geochemical Data in Environmental and Human Health Risk Assessment, Halifax, 2010 Rencz, A.N. and Kettles, I.M. (Eds.) © Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada 2011 Open files are products that have not gone through the GSC formal publication process. Recommended citation ____________________ For Open File: Rencz, A.N. and Kettles, I.M. (Eds.), 2011. Presentations and recommendations from the workshop on the role of geochemical data in environmental and human health risk assessment, Halifax, 2010; Geological Survey of Canada, Open File 6645, CD-ROM. For individual presentations or other documents within Open File (example): McNeil, R.J. and Garrett, R.G., 2011. Soil sample preparation, analytical techniques and QA/QC; in Presentations and recommendations from the workshop on the role of geochemical data in environmental and human health risk assessment, Halifax, 2010, A.N. Rencz and I.M. Kettles (ed.); Geological Survey of Canada, Open File 6645, CD-ROM. Contents ________ It is recognized that knowledge of geochemistry is an important component of environmental and human health risk assessments. Although much geochemical information needed to better inform risk assessments exits already, these data are not well represented in many of these assessments. As a step towards improving practice in this area, Health Canada and Environment Canada sponsored a workshop on the role of geochemical data in ecological and human health risk assessments. The Workshop was presented by scientists from the Geological Survey of Canada with recognized expertise in bedrock and surficial sediment geochemistry. The Workshop was by invitation and included federal and provincial representatives and members of the environmental consulting community. The Workshop covered the following topics: • Use of geochemical data in risk assessments – a consultant’s view • Causes of variation in geochemical data – natural spatial (horizontal and vertical) and analytical controls • Field sampling and analytical protocols • Estimating background geochemical composition • Case studies involving geochemical data • Discussion of priorities for improving practice and identifying gaps in existing data. One aim of the Workshop was to develop a strategy for improving the guidelines for risk assessments by promoting more rigorous use of geochemical information. More specifically, the focus was on the application of existing geochemical data and on the needs for new types of data and developing tools for their application. Information and ideas from the presentations and discussions are gathered here in a final document. The document includes the Workshop proceedings and also contains lists of recommendations for making updates to existing guidelines, where appropriate. For the purposes of this Workshop, geochemical information was restricted to the chemical elements associated with inorganic substances. The focus was on As, Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn, in particular. Issues related to organic substances were not considered. There were presentations on a series of topics relevant to risk assessment, followed by discussions and recommendations for improving practice. The discussions were guided to ensure that Workshop participants were familiar with the concern and also the guideline. Case studies were used to reinforce the concepts. There was also a session dedicated to identifying knowledge gaps and making plans for moving forward. The Workshop was held in the Radisson Hotel in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on March 17th and 18th, 2010. Additional introductory information on the Workshop is provided in the file entitled "Start Here_Executive Summary" and also in the 01_INTRODUCTION directory. This Open File provides a record of the presentations and other documents associated with the Workshop. The contents of Geological Survey of Canada Open File 6645 are organized into 10 directories, representing introductory materials (e.g. agenda and abstracts) and the 9 sessions and areas of subject matter covered at the Workshop. The directories related to the 9 sessions contain pdf files of the presentations. There is a complete listing and more explanation of the directories in the file entitled "Start Here_Executive Summary". Directory structure: 1. Directory Name 01_INTRODUCTION File Names: 01_1_Introduction_Agenda_Other.pdf 01_2_Introduction_Notes.pdf 01_3_Introduction_Content.pdf 2. Directory Name 02_Recommendations File Name: 02_1_Recommendations.pdf 3. Directory Name 03_Perspectives File Name: 03_1_Mroz_Perspective.pdf 03_2_Longpre_Perspective.pdf 03_3_Bonvalot_Perspective.pdf 03_4_Rae_Perspective.pdf 4. Directory Name 04_Geochemical Landscapes File Names: 04_1_Klassen_Landscapes.pdf 04_2_Goodwin_Landscapes.pdf 04_3_Grunsky_Landscapes.pdf 5. Directory Name 05_Biogeochemical Variation File Names: 05_1_Rencz_Biogeochemical.pdf 05_2_Kettles_Biogeochemical.pdf 6. Directory Name 06_Soil Sampling File Name: 06_1_McNeil_Sampling.pdf 7. Directory Name 07_Soil Sample Analysis File Names: 07_1_McNeil_Analysis.pdf 07_2_Parsons_Analysis.pdf 8. Directory Name 08_Geochemical Background File Name: 08_1_Garrett_Background.pdf 9. Directory Name 09_Data Availability File Names: 09_1_Kettles_Data.pdf 10. Directory Name 10_Case Studies File Names: 10_1_Woodruff_Case.pdf 10_2_Goodwin_Case.pdf 10_3_Parsons_Case.pdf 10_4_Garrett_Case.pdf 10_5_Dodd_Case.pdf 10_6_Grunsky_Case.pdf System requirements ___________________ PC with 486 or greater processor, or Mac® with OS® X v. 10.2.2 or later; Adobe® Reader® v. 6.0 or later; video resolution of 1280 x 1024. Author contact information __________________________ Andrew N. Rencz Andy.Rencz@nrcan.gc.ca Geological Survey of Canada 601 Booth Street Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Availability information ________________________ This publication is available from the Geological Survey of Canada Bookstore (locations listed below). It can also be downloaded free of charge from GeoPub (http://geopub.nrcan.gc.ca/). 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