Title

A Study of Potential Contaminants of First Nations Traditional Foods by Industrial Activities Associated with Forestry Cut Blocks Operations and Train Right of Way (ROW)

Fiscal Year

2010-2011

Community/Region

Boothroyd and Northern St’at’limc First Nations (Boston Bar), British Columbia

Principal Investigator

Lawrence Campbell

Community Project Lead

Matt Manuel

Project Members

Mike Davidson, Trevor Scott, Justin Campbell, Rick Campbell, Thomas Roy, Michael Easton, Lonni Ledoux and John Terry

Project Summary

Community members have been concerned about the potential impact of industrial activities, such as forestry operations, highway maintenance, train right of ways, and Hydro developments, on traditional foods harvested by the Boothroyd and Northern St’at’limc First Nations in British Columbia.

The objectives of this study were to 1) assess the traditional food consumption patterns among the participating communities using a dietary questionnaire and 2) quantify the levels of contaminants in the country foods most often consumed by community members such as berries, mushrooms, fish, birds, and ungulates. Samples of traditional foods were collected and tested for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), select metals (arsenic, lead and cadmium), pesticides and insecticides.

According to the study findings, pesticides and insecticides were not detected in any of the traditional food samples analysed. However, over 70% of the samples contained either PAHs or select metals.  Although the PAHs and metals were not found to be at critical concentrations, the study investigators believed that existing levels in traditional foods may nevertheless pose a cumulative health risk over time. Therefore, further sampling of traditional foods consumed at a moderate to high frequency and harvested from areas of highest concern for potential contamination may be necessary.