title: The Relationship between Organic Loading and Effects on Fish Reproduction for Pulp Mill Effluents across Canada.
abstract: This study builds upon the work of a multiagency consortium tasked with determining cost-effective solutions for the effects of pulp mill effluents on fish reproduction. A laboratory fathead minnow egg production test and chemical characterization tools were used to benchmark 81 effluents from 20 mills across Canada, representing the major pulping, bleaching, and effluent treatment technologies. For Kraft and mechanical pulp mills, effluents containing less than 20 mg/L BOD5were found to have the greatest probability of having no effects. Organic loading, expressed as the total detected solvent-extractable components by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS), also correlated with decreased egg laying. Exceptions were found for specific Kraft, mechanical, and sulfite mills, suggesting yet unidentified causative agents are involved. Recycled fiber mill effluents, tested for the first time, were found to have little potential for reproductive effects despite large variations in BOD5and GC/MS profiles. Effluent treatment systems across all production types were generally efficient, achieving a combined 82-98% BOD5removal. Further reductions of final effluent organic loadings toward the target of less than 20 mg/L are recommended and can be realized through biotreatment optimization, the reduction of organic losses associated with production upsets and selecting best available technologies that reduce organic loadings to biotreatment.
authors.affiliation: FPInnovations , 570 boul. Saint-Jean, Pointe-Claire, QC Canada , H9R 3J9.
authors.forename: Pierre H
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-8763-6559
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Martel
authors.affiliation: FPInnovations , 570 boul. Saint-Jean, Pointe-Claire, QC Canada , H9R 3J9.
authors.forename: Brian I
authors.initials: BI
authors.lastname: O'Connor
authors.affiliation: FPInnovations , 570 boul. Saint-Jean, Pointe-Claire, QC Canada , H9R 3J9.
authors.forename: Tibor G
authors.initials: TG
authors.lastname: Kovacs
authors.affiliation: Canadian Rivers Institute, Department of Biology, University of Prince Edward Island , 550 University Avenue, Charlottetown, PEI Canada , C1A 4P3.
authors.forename: Michael R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: van den Heuvel
authors.affiliation: Water Science and Technology Directorate, Environment and Climate Change Canada , 867 Lakeshore Road, Burlington, ON Canada , L7S 1A1.
authors.forename: Joanne L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Parrott
authors.affiliation: Water Science and Technology Directorate, Environment and Climate Change Canada , 867 Lakeshore Road, Burlington, ON Canada , L7S 1A1.
authors.forename: Mark E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: McMaster
authors.affiliation: Canadian Rivers Institute, Department of Biology, Wilfrid Laurier University , 75 University Avenue West, Waterloo, ON Canada , N2L 3C5.
authors.forename: Deborah L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: MacLatchy
authors.affiliation: Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph , 50 Stone Road East, Guelph, ON Canada , N1G 2W1.
authors.forename: Glen J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Van Der Kraak
authors.affiliation: Water Science and Technology Directorate, Environment and Climate Change Canada , 867 Lakeshore Road, Burlington, ON Canada , L7S 1A1.
authors.forename: L Mark
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Hewitt
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002170:Canada; D003530:Cyprinidae; D007220:Industrial Waste; D010209:Paper; D012098:Reproduction / Q000187:drug effects; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
chemical_list: D007220:Industrial Waste; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical