Understanding the environmental risks from the High-Tech industry

全球高科技市场从2008年的4万亿美元增长到2018年的6万亿美元，到2030年可能达到16万亿美元。为了支持市场增长，高科技产业越来越依赖于一组关键要素，通常被称为技术关键要素（TCEs）。这类元素包括稀土元素（ree）、铂族元素和其他元素（如Ga、Te、Tl）。尽管其稀缺性和不确定的供应，在其整个生命周期（采矿到寿命结束的高科技产品，或电子废物）中，tce正在经历高耗散损失。首先，虽然目前不是稀土的主要生产国，但加拿大拥有一些最大的稀土储量（1500万吨），并且有几个先进的勘探项目正在进行中。加拿大TCE采矿业的预期增长是一个环境问题。此外，日益繁重的电子废物处理最近被认为对自然环境具有潜在的严重和不可预见的影响。尽管tce在环境中的浓度很低，但它们可以在水生生物中高度生物积累（高达一百万次）并通过食物网向上转移。然而，由于缺乏能够准确检测和确定其在水生环境，特别是海水中的物种形成的分析程序，人们对其环境地球化学和命运知之甚少。这妨碍了我们评估它们的流动性和毒性。本研究将通过三个相关主题来深入了解高科技产业中TCE的环境风险：(i)分析方法的发展；（ii）水生食物网中的环境地球化学、生物利用度和营养转移；（iii）用于估算自然环境中来源比例的同位素混合模型。首先，开发新的方法论工作流程对于进一步开展本研究内外的TCE研究至关重要。其次，这些发展将使实验室实验和圣劳伦斯海道沿线的实地研究能够为tce的环境循环提供新的见解，以更好地评估其环境命运。最后，我们将开发第一代定量同位素模型来跟踪加拿大tce的排放，因为源跟踪对于管理整个tce生命周期的排放至关重要。由于高科技工业部门对加拿大经济具有战略意义，因此确定环境污染的影响和来源的能力也具有战略意义。这项研究将提供对政策制定和监管管理至关重要的基本知识、数据库和专业知识。这些知识将指导加拿大高科技产业和废物回收/处置设施的规划，并为加拿大在采矿和加工tce方面的作用的辩论提供信息。这项研究将使加拿大在为高科技废物和TCE采矿管理创造切实知识方面处于领先地位。

The global High-Tech market increased from $4 trillion in 2008 to $6 trillion in 2018 and could reach $16 trillion by 2030. To support the market growth, High-Tech industries rely increasingly on a critical group of elements, usually known as Technology-Critical Elements (TCEs). This group includes rare earth elements (REEs), platinum group elements, and others (e.g., Ga, Te, Tl). Despite their scarcity and uncertain supply, TCEs are experiencing high dissipative losses into ecosystems throughout their lifecycle (mining to end-of-life High-Tech products, or e-waste). First, while not currently a major producer of REEs, Canada has some of the largest REE reserves (15 million tonnes) and has several advanced exploration projects underway. The anticipated growth in Canada of TCE mining industries is an environmental concern. Moreover, the progressively burdensome disposal of e-waste is recently recognized as having potentially severe and unforeseen impacts on the natural environment. Despite their low concentrations in the environment, TCEs could be highly bioaccumulated in aquatic organisms (up to a million times) and transferred up the food web. However, little is known about their environmental geochemistry and fate because of deficient analytical procedures capable of accurately detecting and identifying their speciation in the aquatic environment, especially seawater. This hinders us from evaluating their mobility and toxicity. This research will provide insights into the environmental risks of TCE from the High-Tech industry through three related topics: (i) development of analytical procedures, (ii) environmental geochemistry, bioavailability and trophic transfer in aquatic food webs, and (iii) isotopic mixing models for estimating source proportions in natural environments. First, the development of novel methodological workflows is essential in furthering TCE research within and beyond this study. Second, these developments will enable both laboratory experiments and field studies along the St-Lawrence Seaway to provide novel insights into the environmental cycles of TCEs to better evaluate their environmental fate. Finally, we will develop the first generation of quantitative isotopic models to track emissions of TCEs in Canada, as source tracking is crucial for managing emissions throughout the lifecycle of TCEs. As Hi-Tech industrial sectors are strategic for the Canadian economy, so too is the capacity to determine the impacts and sources of environmental contamination. The research will provide essential knowledge, databases, and expertise critical to policy development and regulatory management. This knowledge will guide planning for Hi-Tech industries and waste recycling/disposal facilities in Canada, as well as inform the debate over Canada's role in mining and processing TCEs. This research will put Canada at the forefront of generating tangible knowledge for both high-tech waste and TCE mining management.