After years of congestion, two new highways have opened in British Columbia and Quebec.  This is very beneficial to the Quadra fleet of delivery vehicles – enabling greater flexibility and efficiency for shipments to these areas.

British Columbia:  Approximately 40km long, South Fraser Perimeter Road (SFPR) Highway 17 is a new four-lane expressway along the south side of the Fraser River.

It is part of Highway 17 in Metro Vancouver, which connects the Tswwassen Ferry Terminal in southwest Delta to 176 Street (Highway 15) in North Surrey.  Strategically located, South Fraser Perimeter Road (SFPR) also connects to Highways 1, 91, 99 and the Golden Ears Bridge, and provides fast and efficient access between the B.C. interior and Vancouver Island.

Quebec:  The last section of Highway 30 is open to traffic allowing east-west traffic to bypass the island of Montreal by the South Shore.

The 42-kilometer stretch of highway, linking Vaudreuil-Dorion to Châteauguay, includes 30 overpasses and two major bridges linking Les Cèdres and Salaberry-de-Valleyfield.

Enbridge is proposing to reverse a section of Line 9 between North Westover, Ontario and Montreal, Quebec to accommodate our customers’ requests for access to western Canadian crude, which can be sourced from a number of locations in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, to supply the Quebec refining market. Increasing the supply of lower-priced Canadian oil to Canadian refineries benefits the refining industry and the Canadian economy overall, including the economies of Ontario and Quebec.

Line 9 is an existing Enbridge 762 mm (30-inch) diameter pipeline with a current capacity of approximately 240,000 barrels per day (bpd), extending from Sarnia, Ontario to Montreal, Quebec. Currently, the pipeline transports crude oil from areas such as the North Sea, West Africa and the Middle East, in a westbound direction.

The scope of the proposed Project includes reversing the flow of the 639 km-long section of Line 9 from North Westover to Montreal (Line 9B) mainly by modifying existing facilities (please see map for details).

A commercial open season was held by Enbridge for the Project in May and June 2012. Open seasons are held when a pipeline company posts information about a proposed project and seeks an indication of customer interest. Customers have the opportunity through the open season to indicate their interest/support by signing a transportation services agreement for capacity on the pipeline. The open season for the Line 9B Reversal was very successful and as a result, we made some changes to the scope to accommodate the increased customer interest.

The open season confirmed additional demand to ship crude oil—mainly light crude oil—on the reversed pipeline from what had been originally anticipated. As a result, we now propose to expand the capacity of Line 9B from 240,000 bpd to 300,000 bpd. This expansion does not affect the maximum operating pressure of the pipeline. The increase in capacity will be achieved largely through the use of Drag Reducing Agent (DRA). DRA is a tested and safe polymer compound, (found in wool, amber, nylon and silicone), that will be injected into the crude oil flowing through Line 9, allowing it to flow with less friction.  This technology allows for increased capacity with minimal requirement for new infrastructure, ensuring we can use existing facilities as originally proposed to meet changing industry requirements and minimize impact to the environment or to stakeholders.

Unchanged from our original project proposal, the Project will take place within existing Enbridge properties and rights of way with the exception of some temporary workspace required for the installation of a small new metering facility near Enbridge’s North Westover Station. With the proposed capacity increase, Project work at Sarnia Terminal, North Westover Station, Hilton Station, Cardinal Station (in Ontario), and Terrebonne Station and Montreal Terminal (in Quebec) will now include the addition of new equipment, the modification of existing equipment, and the installation of piping, all within the facility boundaries. The new equipment will include small pumps that will inject DRA into the crude oil.

The City of Saskatoon and Ostara Nutrient Recovery Technologies Inc. officially launched Canada’s first commercial nutrient recovery facility at the Saskatoon Wastewater Treatment Plant on August 14th, 2013.

The project is the first commercial plant of its kind in Canada to use Ostara’s Pearl® nutrient recovery process to recover phosphorus and nitrogen from the facility’s wastewater stream and transform them into Crystal Green®, a slow-release and environmentally responsible enhanced efficiency fertilizer.

“We are pleased to launch our first Canadian nutrient recovery facility in partnership with the City of Saskatoon,” said F. Phillip Abrary, president and CEO of Ostara. “The city’s embrace of leading water treatment technologies enhances the province’s reputation for agricultural innovation and sound land stewardship practices. It is only a matter of time before other Canadian cities follow Saskatoon’s lead and incorporate sustainable nutrient recovery into their own wastewater treatment practices.”

CSA Group, a leading standards development, testing and certification organization officially announces Canada’s first adopted International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standard on nanotechnologies. CSA Z12885, Nanotechnologies – Exposure control program for engineered nanomaterials in occupational settings provides guidance for the safe use of nanomaterials in the workplace.

“The development of standards is crucial for effective and responsible commercialization of nanotechnologies,” said Brian Haydon, Senior Project Manager, Standards, CSA Group. “CSA Z12885 is the first in a series of standards on nanotechnologies being adopted in Canada, resulting from international and Canadian contributions to the continued activity of ISO/TC 229, the ISO Technical Committee on nanotechnologies.”

CSA Z12885, Nanotechnologies – Exposure control program for engineered nanomaterials in occupational settings provides guidance to establish and implement a comprehensive managed program to control exposure to nanomaterials in the workplace. This follows recognized approaches to risk management with a focus on information and issues specific to nanotechnologies including hazard identification, risk assessment procedures, training requirements and worker engagement. CSA Z12885 contains revisions to ISO/TR 12885 and additional guidance to reflect Canadian practices and safety considerations.

Nanotechnology involves materials at the nanoscale. The term “nanoscale” means the size range from approximately 1 nanometre (nm) to 100 nm. A nanometre is one millionth of a millimetre. To give a sense of this scale, a human hair is about 75000 nm wide.

The term “nanotechnology” is a multidisciplinary grouping of physical, chemical, biological, engineering, electronic processes, materials, applications, and concepts in which a defining characteristic is size. Unique properties exhibited at the nanoscale, such as extra strength, chemical reactivity, and electrical conductivity are being applied in a range of product areas that includes computers, health care, packaging, textiles, and energy.

Like chemicals, nanomaterials represent a wide range of materials with different shapes and sizes, as well as different chemical and physical behaviours. Research on the movement, persistence and toxicity of nanomaterials both in humans and the environment is currently underway to ensure responsible and safe use of the technology.

This standard was announced to industry and research stakeholders at the recent Nano Ontario 2012 Conference in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The development of this Standard was made possible, in part, by the financial support of Alberta Innovates Technology Futures – nanoAlberta, Health Canada, MDEIE (Developpement economique, Innovation et Exportation – Gouvernement du Quebec) and the National Research Council Canada – Industrial Research Assistance Program.

Lili Creteu and Oleta LaRush, members of BASF Canada’s KeepFit committee, present Erika Minkhorst of Right to Play with a $3,000 donation, as part of The Company’s KeepFit program.

BASF Canada recently donated $20,000 to select Canadian charities as part of KeepFit, an employee wellness program. Over the past few weeks, the company has presented cheques totaling $20,000 to Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities, The Canadian Diabetes Foundation and Right to Play.

The KeepFit program encourages BASF Canada employees to improve their wellbeing through increased exercise and activity.  An internal website feature helps participants keep record of their accomplishments by recording their steps and translating non-walking activities into distance covered.

To help promote participation, BASF Canada paired this initiative with charitable giving. Every kilometer walked and recorded during the campaign period resulted in a $1 donation to the employee’s charity of choice.

“BASF encourages its employees to live an active lifestyle,” said Laurent Tainturier, President of BASF Canada. “The KeepFit program promotes healthy living by providing the tools they need to track their progress and a charitable incentive which benefits our society at large.”

During the three month campaign period, employees walked the equivalent of 20,000 kilometers. In doing so they raised $20,000 for charities which promote activity among society’s youth:

• – Canadian Tire Jumpstart received $9,500 to use toward its program, which is dedicated to removing financial barriers that prevent children from participating in organized sports and recreation.
• – $7,500 was given to The Canadian Diabetes Association to use in their effort to help youth manage their diabetes through regular exercise.
• – Right to Play, an organization committed to giving children a chance to play sports and become constructive participants in society, regardless of gender, disability, ethnicity, social background or religion, received $3,000.