title: An Ecological and Human Biomonitoring Investigation of Mercury Contamination at the Aamjiwnaang First Nation.
abstract: The Aamjiwnaang First Nations community is located in Canada's 'Chemical Valley' situated in southwest Ontario near Sarnia. Mercury pollution in the region has been known since the 1940s but little is known about levels in the environment and area residents. The current study, using ecological and human exposure assessment methods, was conducted at the community's request to help fill these gaps. First, Canada's National Pollutant Release Inventory and the U.S. Toxics Release Inventory were queried to investigate mercury releases from area facilities. In 2010, 700 pounds of mercury were emitted into the air, 25 pounds were released into water bodies, and 93 thousand pounds were disposed of on-site via underground injections or into landfills, and together these show continued releases into the region. Second, mercury levels were measured in stream sediment and nearby soil from sites at Aamjiwnaang (n = 4) and off Reserve (n = 19) in Canada and the U.S. during three seasons that spanned 2010-2011. Total mercury in sediment across all sites and sampling seasons ranged from 5.0 to 398.7 µg/kg, and in soils ranged from 1.2 to 696.2 µg/kg. Sediment and soil mercury levels at Aamjiwnaang were higher than the reference community, and Aamjiwnaang's Talfourd Creek site had the highest mercury levels. Third, a biomonitoring study was performed with 43 mother-child pairs. Hair (mean ± SD of all participants: 0.18 ± 0.16 µg/g) and blood (1.6 ± 2.0 µg/L) mercury levels did not differ between participants studied on- and off-Reserve, likely because of limited seafood intake (<1 serving/week). Urine mercury levels (0.5 ± 0.8 µg/L) were significantly higher (1.5-2.5 times) in mother-child pairs living on-Reserve versus those living off-Reserve. In general, the study links evidence of mercury sources, environmental fate, and human exposures, and in doing so it shows that mercury levels in ecological and human samples are similar to values found in other areas, though there are some trends and evidence of contamination at Aamjiwnaang that warrant attention.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.|Science Department, Bay Mills Community College, Brimley, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Diana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cryderman
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Letourneau
authors.affiliation: University Center for the Child and Family, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Fiona
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA. Niladri.basu@mcgill.ca.|Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada. Niladri.basu@mcgill.ca.
authors.forename: Niladri
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Basu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002170:Canada; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D004787:Environmental Pollution; D006197:Hair / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D008628:Mercury / Q000032:analysis*; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000032:analysis; D014873:Water Pollutants / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D012989:Soil Pollutants; D014873:Water Pollutants; D008628:Mercury
keywords: community health; contamination; environmental justice; epidemiology; heavy metals; indigenous peoples; monitoring