Title

Identification and Risk Assessment of Sources of Contamination Utilizing Geographic Information Systems (GIS): GIS and Contaminants Database Development

Fiscal Year

2003-2004

Community/Region

London District Chief’s Council, Ontario

Principal Investigator

Robert Bakalarczyk

Community Project Lead

N/A

Project Members

N/A

Project Summary

The London District Chiefs Council is composed of three cultural groups, the Leni Lana’pe, Onkwehuwe, and Anishinaabeg people. The objective of this project was to develop a database, mapping the geographical locations of these First Nations communities against available data on sources of environmental contaminants.

The study made use of external research and administered a questionnaire to identify potential areas of contamination both on and off reserve, which may not have been previously documented. A Geographical Information System (GIS) was developed to identify the location of contaminants in areas that might directly affect First Nations. London was chosen as a major city for its geographic radius; other selected sites were Chippewa, Munsee, and Oneida First Nations; Sarnia was chosen for the Aamjiwnaang community; Blenheim and Chatham-Kent were selected for Delaware Nation and Caldwell First Nation; and, Forest, Ontario was selected for Kettle and Stoney Point First Nation. Water and sediment samples were also collected and analysed for various contaminants of interest including persistent organic pollutants (POPs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), metals (mercury, copper, nickel, zinc), cyanide, and E. coli.

The study found that few of the contaminants in the water samples exceeded the drinking water guidelines. However, the turbidity levels were slightly above the guidelines and sediment samples from three of the five sites were above the lowest observed adverse effect level for some metals, namely, mercury at the Oneida/Chippewa Bridge, copper and cyanide at the Moravian of Thames Bridge, and nickel and zinc at the Telford Creek. To summarize, the London District Chiefs Council was able to integrate First Nations communities into a base map through GIS to identify contaminated sites and link issues concerning environmental contaminants with traditional land use activities. The GIS and Contaminants Database could be a valuable tool for First Nations communities to manage their land use.