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Modern, ambient tritium concentrations in precipitation are lower and more temporally consistent now that they have recovered from the historic thermonuclear bomb peak of the mid-1960s. With the bomb peak no longer the overriding influence on atmospheric tritium concentrations, anthropogenic point sources, such as nuclear-generating stations (NGS), have the largest influence, though the extent and temporal variability of this influence remains uncharacterized. The lack of precipitation monitoring locations means that spatial trends in tritium concentrations in precipitation are unknown. To address this data gap, tritium concentrations in shallow modern groundwater are interpolated throughout southern Ontario (Canada), at the center of the Great Lakes Basin, and the interpolation is tested as a precipitation proxy with a statistical comparison that shows good agreement between the shallow groundwater and precipitation datasets. The shallow groundwater tritium interpolation is used to delineate the extent of NGS influence as representing 66% of the study area. Recharge timings in the subcropping bedrock aquifers of the study area are interpreted qualitatively in areas outside of NGS influence to be primarily a mix of pre-bomb and modern recharge, with no indication of peak recharge levels remaining. The influence of drift thickness on the proportion of tritium-dead versus tritium-live samples is observed spatially and confirmed by comparing data distributions. The oldest waters (pre-1953) tend to occur in subcropping bedrock aquifers underlying the thickest sediment packages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unique deposits that formed in the Precambrian oceans are the Banded Iron-Formations (BIFs) which are chemical sediments comprised of alternating layers of iron- and silica-dominated precipitates. The origin of this enigmatic banding is still debated, with most favoring a primary sedimentary and a few others arguing for a secondary diagenetic origin. We here use a high-resolution integrated multi-proxy approach and report on the Ge-Si-Fe and Th-U systematics and on the isotopic composition of Cr in exceptionally pure adjacent magnetite and metachert bands from the ∼2.7 billion years old Temagami BIF, Ontario, Canada. While each of the geochemical proxies alone may be controversial, our multi-proxy approach sheds new light on their applicability, as the two types of adjacent BIF bands are each characterised by a distinct geochemical signature. The magnetite bands show super-crustal (i.e. fractionated) Ge/Si ratios approaching those of modern marine high-temperature hydrothermal fluids, unfractionated Th/U ratios similar to those of crustal rocks, and unfractionated Cr isotope ratios similar to "Bulk Silicate Earth". Adjacent metachert bands, however, show lower (i.e. unfractionated) Ge/Si ratios close to those of modern seawater, sub-crustal (i.e. fractionated) Th/U ratios, and fractionated Cr isotope ratios above those of Bulk Silicate Earth. The composition of the magnetite bands suggests that the original iron-oxyhydroxide precipitated during periods when the dissolved Ge, Th, U, and Cr inventory of ambient seawater was dominated by input from mafic crust via anoxic high-temperature hydrothermal fluids. In contrast, the composition of the metachert bands indicates that these formed during times when ambient seawater was dominated by low-temperature riverine input from an evolved landmass that despite its Neoarchean age had provided environments for oxidative Cr and U mobilization during terrestrial weathering. This suggests that habitats with oxygenic photosynthesis existed on land at least 200 million years before the Great Oxidation Event. The systematic and internally consistent difference between the geochemical signatures shown by the two types of adjacent BIF bands also demonstrates that the prominent banding of BIFs is a primary depositional feature reflecting precipitation from different watermasses and is not the result of post-depositional separation of an initially homogeneous chemical sediment. • Metachert bands in Temagami BIF provide information about Neoarchean landmasses. • Temagami BIF's metacherts show unfractionated Ge/Si and fractionated δ 53 Cr and Th/U. • Fractionated δ 53 Cr and Th/U reveal oxidative weathering on land 200 my before the GOE. • Temagami magnetite bands show fractionated Ge/Si and unfractionated δ 53 Cr and Th/U. • Internally consistent signals from various proxies show primary origin of BIF banding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the measures undertaken by the government of Canada during the international shortage of medical isotopes, after it discovered the shutdown of the reactor in Chalk River, Ontario that included the termination of Linda Keen as chief executive officer and president of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission. The forced resignation of Keen provoked an international debate on the interference of the government in an independent agency. However, the Federal Court sided with the government as it dismissed the appeal made by Keen.

Abstract: Elevated nitrate concentrations in streams and groundwater are frequently observed following forest harvest. In addition to depleting nutrients available for forest regeneration, elevated nitrate export following harvest can have deleterious effects on downstream aquatic ecosystems. As part of a forest harvest experiment conducted at the Turkey Lakes Watershed, Ontario, Canada, stable isotope techniques were employed to investigate nitrate attenuation in a natural wetland receiving high concentrations of nitrate as a result of clear-cutting in the catchment. Isotopic analysis of nitrate (δ18O, δ15N) and vegetation (δ15N) demonstrated that both denitrification and plant uptake of nitrate resulted in significantly lower nitrate concentrations in wetland outflow compared to incoming stream water. Although the 0.2-ha forested swamp (4% of catchment by area) was too small to be featured on standard topographic maps, the wetland remove 65–100% of surface water nitrate inputs, thereby protecting downstream aquatic habitats from the full effect of N release from forest harvest. The δ15N enrichment factor associated with nitrate attenuation in wetland surface water was lower than typically observed during denitrification in groundwaters, suggesting that nitrate removal is complete in some areas of the wetland. Plant assimilation of nitrate was also partially responsible for the low observed enrichment factor. Wetland plants recorded the high δ15N associated with denitrification activity in portions of the wetland. Apportionment of nitrate sources using δ18O–NO3 − at the outlet weir was unaffected by the wetland nitrate attenuation under pre- and post-harvest conditions due to the mid-catchment position of the wetland. Future forest management practices designed to recognize and preserve small wetlands could reduce the potentially detrimental effects of forest harvest on aquatic systems. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

To determine the sources and sinks of atmospherically deposited Pb at a forested watershed (Plastic Lake) in central Ontario, Canada, Pb pools and fluxes through upland, wetland and lake compartments were measured during 2002/2003 and compared with previous measurements taken between 1989 and 1991. In 2002/2003, annual bulk deposition of Pb was 0.49 mg m−2 compared with 1.90–1.30 mg m−2 in 1989–1991. Annual Pb concentrations in stream water draining the upland part of the catchment were very low (0.04 μg l−1) and were approximately half those measured in 1989–1991 (0.11–0.08 μg l−1). Leaching losses in stream water were small and mass balance estimates indicate almost complete retention (>95%) of atmospherically deposited Pb in upland soils. In contrast, annual Pb concentrations in stream water draining a wetland were between 0.38 and 0.77 μg l−1, with the highest concentration occurring in 2002/2003 and mass balance calculations indicate that the wetland is a net source of Pb in all measured years. Lead concentrations in the lake outflow were low and the average Pb concentration measured in 2002/2003 (0.09 μg l−1) was approximately half the value recorded in 1989–1991 (0.19 μg l−1 both years). Annual mass balance estimates indicate that the lake retained between 2.47 mg m−2 (1989/1990) and 1.42 mg m−2 (2002/2003) and that in 2002/2003 68% of the Pb input to the lake is derived from the terrestrial catchment. These estimates are higher than sediment core records, which indicate around 18 mg m−2 Pb was retained in sediment during the 1990s. Nevertheless, Pb concentrations decrease with sediment depth and 206Pb/207Pb concentrations increase with depth, a pattern also observed in mineral soils that reflects the substantial contribution of anthropogenic Pb to the watershed. Lead isotope data from soil and sediment indicate a recent anthropogenic Pb signal (206Pb/207Pb ∼ 1.185) in upper soils and sediments and an older anthropogenic signal (206Pb/207Pb ∼ 1.20) in deeper soil and sediment. Lead isotope data in sediment and vegetation indicate that practically all the Pb cycled in the forest at Plastic Lake is anthropogenic in origin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lead concentrations and Pb isotope ratios were measured in the forest floor, mineral soil and vegetation at a white pine and a sugar maple stand in a woodland in south central Ontario. Lead concentrations decreased and 206Pb/207Pb ratios increased with mineral soil depth reflecting the mixing of pollution and natural Pb sources. Lead concentrations and 206Pb/207Pb ratios at 20–30 cm depth were ∼6–7 mg/kg and 1.31–1.32, respectively. Assuming an integrated 206Pb/207Pb ratio in deposition over time of 1.18, estimated from lichen measurements and published data for the region, approximately 65% of Pb in the surface (0–1 cm) mineral soil is from anthropogenic sources. Approximately 90% of pollution Pb is found in the 0–10 cm soil layer (Ah) and less than 3% of the pollution Pb is present in the forest biomass and mull-type forest floor combined. Despite low Pb concentrations in vegetation (<2.5 mg/kg), we estimate that between 65 and 100% of the Pb in vegetation and ∼75% of the Pb in the forest floor is from pollution sources. In total, the pollution Pb burdens at the pine and maple stands are estimated to be 860 and 750 mg/m2, respectively. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Fifty new Nd isotope analyses are presented from the North Bay area of the Grenville Province in Ontario. These data are used to map the extent of an allochthonous Grenvillian terrane which is an outlier of the Allochthonous Polycyclic Belt of the Grenville Province. Amphibolite facies orthogneisses from the allochthonous terrane have depleted mantle Nd model ages (T[subDM]) below 1.8 Ga, whereas the gneisses of the structurally underlying parautochthon, almost invariably have model ages above 1.8 Ga. The distribution of model ages is consistent with the distribution of distinct types of metabasic rock, used by other researchers as the criterion for recognizing rocks of the allochthonous and parautochthonous belts of the Grenville Province. The agreement between these different types of evidence demonstrates that Nd isotope mapping is a reliable and powerful tool for mapping terrane boundaries in high-grade metamorphic belts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents information on a study on a temporal monitoring of environmental isotopes and geochemistry in ground water within the Raisin River basin, an agricultural watershed in eastern Ontario, Canada. Field sampling and analytical methods; Precipitation and runoff during study period; Seasonal variations in Carbonated geochemistry.

The article focuses on the controversy regarding the nuclear reactor in Chalk River in Ontario, Canada, which produces the raw materials for medical isotopes. It notes that the controversy has become an international embarrassment for Canada while some European isotope producers has refused to participate in the efforts to coordinate with the international isotope supply. On the other hand, it also reveals that the conflict between the U.S. and the company MDS Nordion is prompting calls for the creation of a domestic supplier which would get the company of its greatest customer. INSET: Securing Canada's isotope supply.

The article reports on the closure of the National Research Universal (NRU) in Ontario, Canada due to its scheduled maintenance resulting to the cancellation of tests for cancer and heart disease because of shortage of medical isotopes. The maintenance includes the installation of safety-related equipment, including upgrades to the reactor cooling pumps. These reactor supplies 60% of the molybdenum isotopes used in medical applications worldwide. MDS Nordion company, a life-sciences firm and molybdenum supplier stated that it expects shortages of the radioisotope until mid-January in 2008.

Although lead isotope ratios have been used to identify lead ammunition (lead shotshell pellets and bullets) as a source of exposure for First Nations people of Canada, the actual source of lead exposure needs to be further clarified. Whole blood samples for First Nations people of Ontario, Canada, were collected from participants prior to the traditional spring harvest of water birds, as well as post-harvest. Blood-lead levels and stable lead isotope ratios prior to, and after the harvest were determined by ICP-MS. Data were analyzed by paired t-tests and Wilcoxon Signed-Ranks tests. All participants consumed water birds harvested with lead shotshell during the period of study. For the group excluding six males who were potentially exposed to other sources of lead (as revealed through a questionnaire), paired t-tests and Wilcoxon Signed-Ranks tests showed consistent results: significant (p<0.05) increases in blood-lead concentrations and blood levels of (206)Pb/(204)Pb and (206)Pb/(207)Pb towards the mean values we previously reported for lead shotshell pellets; and a significant decrease in (208)Pb/(206)Pb values towards the mean for lead shotshell pellets. However, when we categorized the group further into a group that did not use firearms and did not eat any other traditional foods harvested with lead ammunition other than waterfowl, our predictions for (206)Pb/(204)Pb, (206)Pb/(207)Pb and (208)Pb/(206)Pb hold true, but there was not a significant increase in blood-lead level after the hunt. It appears that the activity of hunting (i.e., use of a shotgun) was also an important route of lead exposure. The banning of lead shotshell for all game hunting would eliminate a source of environmental lead for all people who use firearms and/or eat wild game.