Title

Contaminants in the Major River Systems Around the Province and Effects on Selected New Brunswick First Nation Communities – Phase 2

Fiscal Year

2003-2004

Community/Region

Union of New Brunswick Indians, New Brunswick

Principal Investigator

Darrell Paul

Community Project Lead

N/A

Project Members

N/A

Project Summary

Eleven First Nations communities live around the six major river systems in New Brunswick. Through consultations, site inspections and responses to survey questionnaires. concerns were expressed by residents of each community about the health and lifestyle impacts of environmental contamination resulting from pulp mill effluents, mining operations, manufacturing factories, agriculture runoff, forest harvesting practices, the use of herbicides and pesticides, and landfill sites

The objective of this phase 2 project was to collect samples of animal tissue (moose), plants, soil, and water and analyse them for heavy metals such as lead, zinc, arsenic, copper, thallium, and cadmium. Other contaminants of interest for which an analysis was done included pesticides, herbicides, dioxins, suspended solids, ammonia, faecal coliform bacteria, and nitrates.

Soil and plant samples at a railway line located on the Pabineau First Nations territory showed heavy metal levels which exceeded the Canadian Environmental Quality Guidelines. Therefore, residents were advised against consuming certain plants in the area, including blueberries. Furthermore, soil samples taken at Eel Ground and Red Bank First Nations contained elevated concentrations of dioxins and furans, which could represent a serious health concern. However, levels of heavy metals in moose were not considered to pose a health risk.