Joint Community and Institutional Approach: Addressing Environmental Contaminants in Stellat’en and Nadleh Whut’en First Nations Territories

Historically, Stellat’en and Nadleh Whuten First Nations have relied extensively on the Fraser River tributaries for salmon. However, over the years, community members have expressed concerns about a potential link between environmental contaminants and the health problems prevailing in their community, particularly given recent changes they have discovered in the shapes and colours of harvested salmon.

In this study, water and soil samples were collected and analysed for heavy metals (arsenic, aluminum, zinc, barium, iron, manganese) and phosphorous. Community members were interviewed to learn about their views on industrial development, traditional food collection and how often family members hunt, fish, trap or gather. The final objective of the interview was to identify any concerns that the participants may have had with their lived environment.

The results of both water and soil samples from this study showed that the concentrations of select elements were higher than the Canadian Environmental Quality Guidelines (CEQG). Soil samples from Lorie Lake showed barium and zinc concentrations at about two times the recommended CEQG values. Water samples from Nithi River, Trout Lake and Endako River also showed elevated concentrations of metals. Nithi River had elevated levels of iron, aluminum, arsenic and manganese, while Trout Lake had elevated levels of iron and aluminum. Phosphorus values at Trout Lake were slightly higher than normal and samples at Endako River showed slight exceedances for iron and manganese. All other water samples showed low values for the metals measured in this study. The study investigators suggested that a long-term monitoring program to establish trends over time would be appropriate. Future projects should also include analysis of plant, animal and fish samples to determine if the contaminants bioaccumulate in the food chain. A possible third phase would be to connect the environmental data to human health and wellness.