MMER Regulations

• Metal Mining Effluent Regulations fully in force December 6th, 2002.
  
• Applies to all metal mines in Canada, including pre-1977 mines.
  
• Must monitor the effluent released by mines for parameters that have a potential negative environmental impact.
  
• Must establish an Environmental Effects Monitoring (EEM) program as set out by Environment Canada.
  
• Must test for individual parameters at specified intervals:
  • Radioactive isotope Radium-226
    
  • PH and TSS
    
  • Acute lethality testing
    
  • The deleterious substances arsenic, copper, lead, zinc, and nickel.
    
• Detailed information on MMER can be found at:
  http://www.ec.gc.ca/nopp/docs/regs/mmer/en/index.cfm
  
  

Radium-226 Requirements

• Radioactivity in effluent is found in the form of Radium-226, a daughter of uranium
  
• Radium-226 authorized limits:
  
• 0.37 Bq/L for the maximum monthly mean concentration
  
• 0.74 Bq/L for the maximum concentration in a composite sample
  
• 1.11 Bq/L for the maximum concentration in a grab sample.
  
• Sampling:
  
• Must occur weekly on unfiltered and undiluted effluent
  
  • "…may reduce the frequency of testing for Radium-226…to not less than once in each calendar quarter if that substance’s concentration in the effluent is less than 0.037 Bq/L in 10 consecutive tests."
    
• Must sample all final discharge points
  
• Methods:
  
  • Laboratories must be ISO 17025 accredited by the Standards Council of Canada (SCC) for the determination of Radium-226 in liquid samples
    
  • Co-precipitation with barium sulfate followed by alpha-spectrometry provides required sensitivity and throughput
    
• Environment Canada’s Sampling and Analysis of Effluents document:
  http://www.ec.gc.ca/nopp/docs/regs/mmer/en/index.cfm
  

Why Becquerel Laboratories?

• Accredited with SCC for approved Radium-226 procedure
  
• 20 years experience
  
• Experience in processing hundreds of thousands of samples per year
  
• Increasing peak capacity
  

The Economical Approach

• Reduce Radium-226 sampling to quarterly
  
  • Complete the mandatory ten consecutive weeks screening period
    
  • Get approval from the governing agencies
    
• Establish a monitoring program with Becquerel as early as possible.
  
  

NOTE: If mines wait until December to sample, this could cause an analysis logjam resulting in delays. Start early and establish a monitoring program with Becquerel to avoid additional weekly testing while waiting for approval.

Contact:
Blake Barber, Becquerel Laboratories
Toll Free: 1-877-726-3080
Email: mmer@becquerellabs.com

For information about costs and turnaround, contact us or fill in this questionnaire and we will provide a prompt response