Title

Environmental Contaminants Project Nay Yun Nzoo

Fiscal Year

2004-2005

Community/Region

Nay Yun Nzoo, Nak’azdli & Tahltan, British Columbia

Principal Investigator

Dr. Andrew Jin

Community Project Lead

N/A

Project Members

N/A

Project Summary

The residents of Nak’azdli & Tahltan First Nation have raised concerns about the health risks associated with their exposure to contaminants in their traditional food supply, which may be associated with industrial activities that have taken place in the past or are currently taking place within their territories.

Hair samples were collected from volunteers and analysed for mercury and other metals. In addition, samples of animal tissue, fish, plants and water were collected from various locations in their territory based on a food consumption questionnaire conducted early on in the study. These samples were analysed for a series of metals and other substances (i.e., aluminum, antimony, arsenic, barium, beryllium, bismuth, cadmium, calcium, chromium, cobalt, copper, lead, lithium, magnesium, manganese, mercury, molybdenum, nickel, selenium, strontium, thallium, tin, uranium, vanadium and zinc).

Based on the results of the hair sampling, there was no evidence that the level of methylmercury exposure in the community was high enough to be considered a health concern. However, it was recommended that the consumption of ocean fish (i.e., shark, swordfish, fresh or frozen tuna steaks) and lake trout, which have higher levels of mercury than other types of fish, should be limited to no more than one meal per month for children, pregnant women and women of child-bearing age, and no more than one meal per week for everyone else. It was also recommended that young children and individuals who smoke should avoid eating moose kidney and liver because of the elevated levels of cadmium in these moose organs. Arsenic levels in moose, beaver, and hare muscle tissue were not considered to pose a health risk and no consumption limits were indicated.