Critical need for a new chiller for the Aquatic Toxicology Research Facility, Toxicology Centre, University of Saskatchewan

水生毒理研究设施是加拿大唯一的多用户水生设施，设在萨斯喀彻温大学(S大学)毒理中心。ATRF允许研究人员在受控的环境条件下，研究污染物和其他应激源对从微生物到鱼类和两栖动物的广泛淡水水生生物的影响。ATRF由加拿大和国际研究人员独立使用，或通过与毒理学中心科学家的研究伙伴关系使用，为HQP提供了理想的培训场所。该设施的设计允许高度专业化的实验设计和提供定制质量/温度的水，以模拟自然环境。 为了继续满足研究人员目前和未来的需求，必须更换和升级ATRF冷水机组，以使该设施继续运行。老化的ATRF冷风机已经达到其使用寿命，而新的冷风机对于继续支持研究是必不可少的。此外，使用该设施的研究人员的需求正在发展，ATRF支持新颖和最先进的大型多方面研究项目的能力对于保持其在加拿大和其他地区的独特地位至关重要。用更先进的冷水系统替换故障的冷水机组，以提供最优的恒温冷水输送，对于满足当前的需求并使研究人员的高度创新、高影响的研究计划在未来取得成功至关重要。我们目前拥有200多个水箱和其他实验装置，供10多名研究人员使用，30个HQP和13个研究项目(包括960万美元的Genome Canada和7000万美元的CFREF赠款)依靠稳定的低温供水。拟建的40吨冷水机组将能够适应城市水温5°C-22°C的季节性波动，全年产生151 LPM的10°C水。新的冷冻机有两个独立的电路，为ATRF提供内置的冗余和灵活性，这对于实现最佳和不间断的供水至关重要，这将防止正在进行的研究项目中断，并提供最佳的水生动物护理。此外，这台冷冻机将增加我们目前的水冷冻能力和输送能力，确保研究人员能够应对新的研究挑战，并继续进行大规模的冷水生物实验，从而为HQP培训和推进他们的研究计划提供坚实的基础。 该研究基金是国家环境与环境研究委员会资助的S大学大量水生毒理学研究项目的重要组成部分。此外，来自其他大学、政府和行业的研究人员已经认识到该设施的独特性和能力，这些设施正在利用/已经利用ATRF来满足他们的研究需求。

The Aquatic Toxicology Research Facility (ATRF) is the only multi-user aquatic facility of its type in Canada, and is housed within the Toxicology Centre, University of Saskatchewan (U of S). The ATRF allows researchers to study the impacts of contaminants and other stressors on a broad range of freshwater aquatic organisms ranging from microorganisms to fish and amphibians, under controlled environmental conditions. The ATRF is utilized by Canadian and International investigators independently or through research partnerships with Toxicology Centre scientists, and provides an ideal training ground for HQP. The design of the facility allows for highly specialized experimental design and delivery of water of customized quality/temperature to simulate natural environments. To continue to meet the current and future needs of researchers, the ATRF water chiller must be replaced and upgraded for continued operation of the facility. The aging ATRF chiller has reached its operational lifespan and a new chiller is essential to continue to support research. Also, the needs of researchers using the facility are evolving and the ability of the ATRF to support novel and state-of-the-art large multi-facet research projects is vital to maintain its unique status in Canada and beyond. Replacing the failing chiller with a more advanced chilling system to provide optimal delivery of stable temperature cold water will be critical to meet current needs, and enable future success of the highly innovative, high impact research programs of researchers. We currently have over 200 tanks and other experimental units that are used by more than 10 researchers, 30 HQP and 13 research projects (including a $9.6M Genome Canada and a $70M CFREF grant) relying on stable cold temperature water supply. The proposed 40 ton chiller will be able to accommodate the 5°C - 22°C seasonal fluctuations in city water temperature and produce 151 lpm of 10°C water year round. The new chiller has two separate circuits that provide built in redundancy and flexibility for the ATRF, which is critical to allow optimal and uninterrupted water delivery that will prevent disruption of ongoing research projects and provide optimal aquatic animal care. In addition, this chiller will increase our current water chilling capacity and delivery, ensuring that researchers are able to meet novel research challenges and continue running large-scale experiments with cold-water organisms, and thus provide a strong foundation for HQP training and advancement of their research programs. The ATRF is an essential component of a large number of NSERC-funded research programs at the U of S that focus on aquatic toxicology research. In addition, researchers from other universities, government and industry have recognized the uniqueness and capabilities of the facility that are utilizing/have utilized the ATRF to address their research needs.