Soil Ingestion in People Following Traditional Lifestyles

This study was proposed due to concerns in communities represented by the Tribal Chiefs Association near Cold Lake, Alberta. The area is near the Alberta Oil Sands facilities and the Cold Lake Air Weapons Range. The goal of the study was to determine if the soil exposure assessments used to determine the risks at contaminated sites or proposed projects are enough to protect peoples who follow a traditional lifestyle. Specifically, the communities were concerned with air-borne contaminants such as heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).

The first objective of this project was to estimate how much soil people consumed while living a traditional lifestyle in rural and wilderness areas. For fourteen days, the team collected fecal samples from participants. The participants spent entire days outdoors doing different activities, including traditional lifestyle activities. The team sampled all foods eaten by participants, including traditional food preserved and prepared using traditional methods. The team collected soil and sediment samples from locations where the activities took place and near the Cold Lake oil facilities.

The study found soil ingestion rates were higher than in previous studies, which had been done in suburban and urban areas. The analysis of the soil samples found one high PAH value in lake sediment while all other samples had levels well below guidelines for heavy metals. The team concluded exposure to contaminants from soils in the Cold Lake region is unlikely to be a health hazard to residents of the Cold Lake First Nation. Further analysis is needed. The findings suggest exposure to contaminants through soil ingestion may be greater in rural or wilderness areas. The study team concluded the soil ingestion levels used in soil exposure assessments may not be enough to protect the health of peoples following a traditional lifestyle in rural and wilderness areas.