Toxic Chemicals in Canadian Seabirds

These include the industrial wastes covered by the Canadian Environmental Protection Act and pesticides controlled by the Pest Control Products Act. Our strategy is to focus research and monitoring on the major sources of contaminants, particular environments of concern and special classes of chemical compounds.

Information is shared with regulatory agencies such as the Environmental Protection Branch of Environment Canada and the Pest Management Regulatory Agency, for development of control options and, if necessary, for enforcement. In addition to the more generally distributed toxic chemicals discussed above, tributyltin is a contaminant mainly of marine ecosystems. An antifouling paint used in marine paints since the 1960s, it inhibits the attachment of organisms to hulls of ships and was briefly used on salmon farm net pens.