PROJECTS
Large mammals, such as caribou and moose, are important traditional foods for indigenous peoples in Canada's North. Surveys conducted over 30 years have shown low levels of contamination from organochlorine pesticides but some herds have elevated concentrations of cadmium due to the nature of soils and bedrock in the region. This sometimes leads to health advisories to avoid eating large amounts of organ meat in those areas. Monitoring continues, but large mammals are considered to be highly nutritious, and important for cultural and social aspects of traditional life.
Large Mammal Surveys
Mine and Abandoned Contaminated Site Assessments
The collection of soils and vegetation at suspected contaminated sites is an important component to site environmental assessments because it gives an indication of the contamination which could be leaching from waste rock and tailings, and might be accessible for ingestion by wildlife and humans. Significant amounts of elements such as uranium and arsenic have been shown to move into soils around stored waste rock.
Fisheries Collections
Fish are also an important part of traditional diets in northern communities. Species include lake trout, whitefish, herring, northern pike and inconnu. Fish are collected near outfalls of mines and in background areas to determine if contamination is present. Several decades of research has shown that contamination is generally low in fish, but naturally-occurring mercury, in the form of methyl mercury, may exceed Health Canada's guideline in some fish species in some lakes. Monitoring of mercury in fish at traditional fishing sites helps to protect pregnant women and children from mercury exposure.
Experience from Mine Site Assessments
In conjunction with Territorial and First Nation governments, the Canadian government has taken significant steps in assessing the levels of contamination at abandoned northern sites and remediating disturbed lands.
Through major consulting firms, Northern Environmental Consulting has been involved with the assessment and monitoring at Port Radium, Colomac, Contact Lake, Silver Bear Mines and others. In the south, assessments have included naturally-occurring uranium contamination in tailings ponds and waste rock at a phosphate mine.