Evidence Reviews

Our evidence reviews are motivated by our ongoing assessment of knowledge translation needs and gaps in environmental health practice and policy. These documents uses a semi-systematic literature review process to capture and then synthesize the relevant academic and grey literature. The final product is internally and externally reviewed before publication.
Cyanobacteria and drinking water: Occurrence, risks, management and knowledge gaps for public health
With warming temperatures due to climate change and increased nutrient loads to freshwater systems, the occurrence of harmful algal blooms, largely associated with toxin-producing cyanobacteria, is ex…
,
The intent of this document is to synthesize scientific information related to public health concerns of relevance to Canada about shale gas production (including the pre-production stages of drilling…
This document was based on a contracted review: Animals as Sentinels for Public Health Risks Associated with Oil and Gas Development by Craig Stephen and Tyler Stitt, March 2014.
Microbial contamination of groundwater from private wells can pose a significant health risk to rural Canadians. To mitigate risk, Health Canada currently recommends shock chlorination along with micr…
Health officials often lack information about characteristics that predict which water systems are most likely to be placed on and to persist on drinking water advisories (e.g. health warnings offerin…
Information about Canadian drinking water systems and past water-borne disease outbreaks is incomplete and non-standardized. Standard definitions and coordinated surveillance systems for water-borne d…
Nanotechnology is the creation of materials, devices, and systems by controlling matter at the nanometer scale (1-100 billionths of a meter). Potential exposures to engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) thr…
Few studies have estimated the environmental burden of disease (EBD) in Canada. Available data suggest that the total EBD for high-income, developed countries, like Canada, may range from as low as 1…
This report summarizes information on woodsmoke emissions and health effects associated with woodsmoke exposures from residential wood-burning (RWB) in Canada and provides a qualitative indication of…