Data

The CFIA holds data on chemical residues in the normal Canadian food supply, in their Chemical Residue Annual Reports.

This national database provides information on where golf courses are located in Canada.

This survey, undertaken by the Canadian Golf Superintendents' Association, contains information pertaining to pesticide practices on Canadian golf courses. The survey was completed in 2003 and 2008.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency reports on levels of contaminants found in major food groups, including the following CAREX Environmental Group A carcinogens:

• Arsenic, cadmium, chromium, nickel, lead, dioxins and dioxin-like compounds, PCBs, and some pesticides

DMTI Spatial provides topographic and built features similar to CanVec. Some of these data have restricted spatial coverage, but may be more up to date than CanVec. These data were downloaded.

The Dun and Bradstreet database is a comprehensive listing of all operating businesses in Canada, including North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes, geographic locations of each business, and number of employees. This database also includes locations of schools, senior care homes, etc.

First Nations population counts are available on request from Indian and Northern Affairs, socioeconomic and Demographic Statistics Section (INSTAT@inac.gc.ca). A geographic file of reserve boundaries is available from GeoGratis.

A spatial estimate of annual average PM_2.5 for all of Canada at a 10km x 10km resolution was produced by researchers at the University of Dalhousie to support exposure assessment for researchers at Health Canada¹. This estimate was made available for use by CAREX Canada.

The Municipal Water and Wastewater Survey contains extensive data on many drinking water treatment facilities in Canada, but not all.

The National Air Pollution Surveillance (NAPS) monitoring network routinely measures and reports on air quality across Canada. The following CAREX Environmental Group A carcinogens were measured in outdoor air in 2006:

• Benzene, ethylbenzene, 1-3,butadiene, styrene, dichloromethane, tetrachloroethylene, formaldehyde and chloroform), particulates, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (including benz[a]anthracene, benzo[b]fluoranthene, benzo[k]fluoranthene, benzo[a]pyrene, ideno[1,2,3-cd]pyrene, chrysense, and dibenz[a,h]anthracene plus dibenz[az]anthracene (measured in combination), arsenic, lead, cadmium, chromium, nickel, and elemental carbon (indicating diesel exhaust).

Environment Canada maintains the National Climate Data and Information Archive, which includes a geographic location file for all weather monitoring stations and a range of variables related to monthly precipitation and temperature.

The National Dose Registry, operated by the Radiation Protection Bureau of Health Canada, contains the occupational radiation dose records of all monitored radiation workers in Canada, including records from Health Canada's own National Dosimetry Services, commercial dosimetry processors, nuclear power generating facilities, Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, uranium mines, and some hard rock mines. The record system contains exposure information by radiation type, province, industry, occupation, and sex.

The National Pollutant Release Inventory tracks reported annual emissions to air, land and water from a wide range of industries and institutions.

Emissions of the following CAREX Environmental Group A carcinogens were tracked 2006:

• Benzene, ethylbenzene, 1,3-butadiene, particulates (Total, PM₁₀, and PM_2.5), PAHs (10 in total), lead, cadmium, nickel, styrene, hexavalent chromium, arsenic, asbestos, dichloromethane, tetrachloroethylene, formaldehyde, and chloroform.

CanVec is a geographic dataset that includes topographic and built features, including rivers, roads, railways, transmission lines, etc. with positional accuracy of +/- 30 meters.

The Product Label Search is a tool that can be used to gather pesticide product information for all products included in the Pest Management Regulatory Agency's (PMRA) Registered Products Database. The database contains recommended application rates by type of crop (product amount per area of crop production), and recommended frequency of application (times per year).

Statistics Canada¹ provides data and geographic location files for a range of census areas. These are generally available to researchers at academic institutions free of charge, and include:

• Population census for 1981, 1986, 1991, 1996, 2001 and 2006, for dissemination areas, census subdivisions, census divisions, and provinces.
• Block populations for 2006. GeoSuite provides population estimates for all individual street blocks in Canada, and a geographic file of points representing each block.
• Food consumption statistics and indicators are designed to provide information on per capita food availability for consumption and food prices, nutrition, supply and demand.

The Statistics Canada Census of Agriculture reports general farm and operation characteristics for all farm operations in Canada once every 5 years. Data are provided by geographic level, not by individual farm operation.

The Interpolated Census of Agriculture to Soil Landscapes, Ecological Frameworks and Drainage Areas of Canada, which is undertaken by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in collaboration with Statistics Canada's Agriculture Division, reallocates Census of Agriculture information to correspond with biophysical characteristics such as ecological regions, soil landscapes, and drainage areas.

The Crop Protection Survey conducted in 2005 by Statistics Canada reports pesticide use for apple, carrot, and grape production. This one-time pilot survey includes a sample of farm operations in Quebec, Ontario, Maritime Provinces, and British Columbia and is available by special request.

Health Canada produces Total Diet Study¹ reports occasionally on levels of contaminants found in foods consumed by a sample of Canadians in selected cities (Halifax, St John's, Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Vancouver, Whitehorse), including the following CAREX Environmental Group A carcinogens:

• Total PCBs, total dioxin-like chemicals, cadmium, lead, and some pesticides

This database contains air quality data, including monitored levels of PM_2.5, for the province of British Columbia. (Historical data available by request only.)

The CASA Data Warehouse contains air quality data, including monitored levels of PM_2.5, for the province of Alberta.

The LIMS database from WorkSafeBC contains exposure sampling data taken by occupational hygienists in British Columbia workplaces between 1981 and 2004 (when funding for the program was discontinued).

The MESU database, held by the Ontario Ministry of Labour, contains data on over 300,000 samples taken by occupational hygienists in Ontario workplaces between 1982 and 1996 (when funding for the program was discontinued). Approximately 70,000 of the samples were for substances of interest to CAREX Canada (i.e. known or suspected carcinogens).

Provincial-specific agricultural uses of each pesticide, if registered for use in the province.

This database contains air quality data, including monitored levels of PM_2.5, for the city of Montreal.

Background concentration levels of metals (arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, and nickel) in British Columbia soils can be found on the BC Ministry of Environment website.