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Welcome to the website of BARC (Bioaccessibility Research Canada)

 

BARC is a Canadian working group that brings together the university, industry, government, and risk assessment communities to study inorganic and organic contaminant bioaccessibility in soils found at contaminated sites in Canada.    A priority objective of BARC is to advance the scientific basis for incorporating bioaccessibility testing into site specific human health risk assessments.

 

BARC Research Activities

 

BARC has a strong international component through close links established with Bioaccessibility Research Group Europe (BARGE), the European equivalent to BARC, and through the initiation of interlaboratory comparisons involving labs from Europe, United States and Canada. An initial round robin was recently carried out to assess the variability in bioaccessibility test results between labs using similar but different methods. Subsequent comparisons will assess the variability among methods and identify methods that best predict and correlate with in vivo studies.    

 

BARC is undertaking the development of one or more Canadian reference materials. These are critically needed to support bioaccessibility/ bioavailability research and for the development of performance standards that will ensure the consistency and reliability of data produced.  

 

BARC members are involved in research investigating the influence of soil characteristics, chemical speciation, and method variables on bioaccessibility estimates.  

 

 

 

 

All of these activities are helping to advance the meaningful incorporation of bioaccessibility into contaminated sites risk assessment.

 

BARC is supported in large part by contributions from the Contaminated Sites Division of Health Canada.

 

If you wish to find out more about BARC please direct your enquiries to:

 

Viviane Paquin

Environmental Sciences Group

Royal Military College of Canada

 

Tel: 613-541-6000 x 3632

 

Fax: 613-541-6596

 

Email: Viviane Paquin

 

 

BARC Co-Chairs

Dr. Ken Reimer

Dr. Bev Hale