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Properties not subject to the requirements of Ontario's Brownfield Regulation (O. Reg. 153/04) may still be required to undergo a due diligence risk assessment (DDRA). DDRAs (either screening-level or detailed in nature) are often conducted to satisfy the requirements of a purchase of sale agreement, real estate transaction, or a specific lending institution. Capitalizing on over 25 years of experience conducting and reviewing risk assessments of contaminated sites that  range from former service station properties impacted with petroleum hydrocarbons to wide-area sites impacted with heavy metals — Wolf produces high-quality DDRAs that help provide the critical information you need when conducting your environmental due diligence. 

Prior to conducting a DDRA, Wolf reviews all relevant environmental site information to determine the quality of the existing data and to identify potential gaps that may be critical to the DDRA. Typically, the objectives of a DDRA are to characterize potential human health and ecological risks under existing and proposed future land uses and to identify the need (or not) for risk mitigation measures.

DDRAs are not bound by the prescriptive requirements and review timelines under Ontario's Brownfields Regulation 153/04 — therefore, Wolf conducts defensible, site-specific DDRAs that benefit from the ability to utilize a variety of recognized scientific approaches and tools  consistent with various federal, provincial, and U.S. regulatory guidance.    

If you have any questions or would like to discuss matters related to your specific project or site, please feel free to get in touch with us.

Under Ontario Regulation 419/05 (O. Reg. 419/05 – Local Air Quality Regulation) and Ontario Regulation 1/17 (O. Reg. 1/17 – Air Emissions EASR Regulation), all contaminants released to air above negligible amounts must be assessed for their potential to cause adverse effects. 

The Air Contaminant Benchmark (ACB) list is a collection of jurisdictional screening levels (JSLs), air standards, and guidelines established by the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) and is intended for use primarily by an emitter who is required to prepare an Emission Summary and Dispersion Modelling (ESDM) report (under O. Reg. 419/05) or an Environmental Activity and Sector Registry (EASR) ESDM report (under O. Reg. 1/17). 

Under Ontario Regulation 419/05, the MECP may require the holder of a Comprehensive Certificate of Approval (CofA) to conduct a Maximum Concentration Level Assessment (MCLA)on contaminants, emitted to air, that are without a screening level value.

WOLF has the necessary experience in the areas of risk assessment and toxicology to provide high-quality MCLAs and Toxicity Assessments in support of ECA and EASR applications. If you have any questions or would like to discuss a scenario specific to your operations, please feel free to get in touch with us.

Conducting human health risk assessments of air emissions from commercial/industrial emission sources is an area where Wolf provides considerable expertise. These types of assessments may be a requirement of a larger Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) or may be required due to a specific regulatory order. When you choose Wolf, your assessment is completed by a professional with over 25 years of experience conducting screening-level and detailed multi-media risk assessments of air emissions from a variety of different industrial emission sources (e.g., energy-from-waste facilities, landfill operations, hydro power generation, mining/smelting operations, etc.).

Whether you need a screening-level assessment focused on indoor air quality,  acute inhalation risks at the maximum point of impingement OR a more detailed, multi-media, multi-receptor location risk assessment evaluating both acute and chronic health risks from multiple exposure pathways, Wolf provides you with the expertise to provide high quality assessments that effectively communicate human health and environmental risks. If you have any questions or would like to discuss a scenario specific to your operations, please feel free to get in touch with us. environmental consultant toxicology

Under Part XV.1 of the Environmental Protection Act (EPA), Ontario Regulation 153/04 (Record of Site Condition) sets out the requirements that must be met if a Brownfield property is to be redeveloped for a new purpose. 

A Record of Site Condition (RSC) summarizes the environmental condition of a property based on a series of environmental site assessments which must be conducted by a "Qualified Person" for Environmental Site Assessment (QPESA) as defined O. Reg. 153/04.  A RSC may include property-specific standards that have been developed using a risk assessment (RA) prepared by a "Qualified Person" for Risk Assessment (QPRA). The QPESA must certify that the property meets either the applicable generic site condition standards OR site-specific standards as developed by the RA. Once all requirements are met, the RSC can be filed to the Environmental Site Registry. Filing a RSC, according to Part XV.1 and XV.2 of the EPA, offers a reduction in potential liability and/or future provincial orders for property owners, secured creditors, receivers, municipalities, and others.  

Obtaining a RSC under O.Reg.153/04 using Risk Assessment (RA) in Ontario is a multi-step process that can, depending on the type of RA being conducted, take anywhere from 6 to 18 months (or more) to gain regulatory approval. The RA relies on the information gathered from the Phase One and Phase Two Environmental Site Assessment (ESA) Reports. As such, it is critical that O.Reg. 153/04 compliant Phase One and Phase Two ESA reports be completed or near completion prior to developing the RA.    

Using the knowledge of a Qualified Person for Risk Assessment (QPRA) with over 24 years of hands-on experience conducting risk assessments and who has reviewed RA submissions on behalf of the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) , Wolf is a critical team member that can provide O. Reg. 153/04-compliant RAs to support the filing of RSCs. If you have any questions or would like to discuss a specific property, please feel free to get in touch with us. 

Establishing a robust scientific foundation is essential to the development of any standard designed to protect human health and the environment. The fundamentals of toxicology and risk assessment play an integral role in the development of effects-based standards for air, soil, sediment, food, water, and consumer products.  

Wolf capitalizes on over a decade of experience in providing critical reviews, input, and active participation in consultation sessions with the MECP and other stakeholders during the air quality standards development process under Ontario Regulation 419/05.  Wolf staff even created some of the initial risk assessment models and approaches initially used, in part, by the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) to generate the Ontario Soil Standards, under Ontario Regulation 153/04. 

Wolf provides quality consulting services related to the development and review of the methods used by regulatory agencies to develop regulatory effects-based standards and human health toxicity reference values. If you have any questions, or would like to discuss a specific standard, please feel free to get in touch with us.   

Relying on years of experience providing scientific advice, reviews, and affidavits during legal proceedings, Wolf can provide technical scientific support, research, advice, and expert opinions in the areas of toxicology and human health risk assessment.  

Obtaining an independent third-party review can prevent unanticipated regulatory delays and increase the credibility of any project. When you choose Wolf, you're guaranteed that all reviews are conducted by a professional with over 15 years of experience conducting detailed peer reviews, ranging from the development of human health-based air quality standards and inhalation toxicity values to detailed multi-media and screening-level human health and ecological risk assessments. Wolf staff also have considerable experience conducting reviews of contaminated site risk assessments on behalf of the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) under O. Reg. 153/04.