An Ecological and Human Biomonitoring Investigation of Mercury Contamination at the Aamjiwnaang First Nation

Abstract

The Aamjiwnaang First Nations community is located in Canada’s ‘Chemical Valley’ situated in southwest Ontario near Sarnia. Mercury pollution in the region has been known since the 1940s but little is known about levels in the environment and area residents. The current study, using ecological and human exposure assessment methods, was conducted at the community’s request to help fill these gaps. First, Canada’s National Pollutant Release Inventory (NPRI) and the U.S. Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) were queried to investigate mercury releases from area facilities. In 2010, 700 pounds of mercury were emitted into the air, 25 pounds were released into water bodies, and 93 thousand pounds were disposed of on-site via underground injections or into landfills, and together these show continued releases into the region. Second, mercury levels were measured in stream sediment and nearby soil from sites at Aamjiwnaang (n=4) and off Reserve (n=19) in Canada and the U.S. during three seasons that spanned 2010–2011. Total mercury in sediment across all sites and sampling seasons ranged from 5.0 to 398.7μg/kg, and in soils ranged from 1.2 to 696.2μg/kg. Sediment and soil mercury levels at Aamjiwnaang were higher than the reference community, and Aamjiwnaang’s Talfourd Creek site had the highest mercury levels. Third, a biomonitoring study was performed with 43 mother-child pairs. Hair (mean±SD of all participants: 0.18±0.16μg/g) and blood (1.6±2.0μg/L) mercury levels did not differ between participants studied on- and off-Reserve, likely because of limited seafood intake (<1 serving/week). Urine mercury levels (0.5±0.8μg/L) were significantly higher (1.5–2.5 times) in mother-child pairs living on-Reserve versus those living off-Reserve. In general, the study links evidence of mercury sources, environmental fate, and human exposures, and in doing so it shows that mercury levels in ecological and human samples are similar to values found in other areas, though there are some trends and evidence of contamination at Aamjiwnaang that warrant attention.

A State‐of‐the‐Art Review of Indigenous Peoples and Environmental Pollution

“…While the number of projects that claim to conduct participatory environmental monitoring is growing (Turreira‐García et al 2018), most research reporting the impacts of environmental pollution on IPs has been conducted by scientists. For example, the Aamjiwnaang First Nations community in Ontario, Canada, requested scientists to assess level of exposure to pollutants both in their lands and bodies through a community‐based participatory research project (Cryderman et al 2016). There are, however, some pollution monitoring programs engaging IPs, such as the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program (AMAP 1998, 2015), the Māori Cultural Health Index for Streams (Tipa and Teirney 2006), the Northern Contaminants Program in Canada (Donaldson et al 2013), or stakeholder‐driven pollution assessments with active involvement of Aleut communities in Alaska (Burger and Gochfeld 2009).…”

Effects of Electronic and Electrical Waste–Contaminated Soils on Growth and Reproduction of Earthworm (Alma nilotica)

“…Total metal (As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn) concentrations in the digested samples were determined by a PerkinElmer NexION 300x Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer (Akan et al, 2014) at the University of Montreal (Montreal, Canada). For total mercury (Hg), concentrations in soil were measured with a NIC MA‐3000 device (Nippon Instrument, Sabio Environmental) as previously outlined in Cryderman et al (2016). In brief, approximately 15–20 mg of dried sample was weighed into a ceramic boat, which was then introduced into the machine, where it was thermally decomposed.…”

Avaliação dos níveis de chumbo e mercúrio em população exposta ambientalmente na Região Centro-oeste do Brasil

“…In the current study, mean HgU concentration (1.41 ± 0.97µg L -1 ) was 28.85% of the mean (4.89µg L -1 ) found in 1995 in residents of the city of Poconé, when the gold mining operations were in full swing in the region 40 . However, this level was above the mean HgU in dentists who did not use the metal in their work (0.92 ± 0.33µg L -1 ) 15 and the mean (0.44 ± 0.41µg L -1 ) in adult women living in the vicinity of the Aamjiwnaang First Nation Reserve (Ontario, Canada), in the Great Lakes region, known for Hg pollution 41 .…”