Canadian Arctic Contaminants Assessment Report Ii
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N ORTHERN C ONTAMINANTS P ROGRAM HUMAN HEAL CANADIAN ARCTIC CONTAMINANTS ASSESSMENT REPORT II TH HUMAN HEALTH CANAD IAN AR C TIC CONT AMI N ANT S ASSESSMENT REP O R T II Chukchi Sea Arctic Ocean Beaufort Sea Sachs Harbour (Ikaahuk) Old Crow Tuktoyaktuk Aklavik Inuvik (Ak∏arvik) (Inuuvik) Holman Fort McPherson Paulatuk (Uluqsaqtuuq) (Teet∏’it Zheh) Tsiigehtchic (Paulatuuq) (Tsııgehtshık) Colville Lake Fort Good Hope (K’áhbamítúé) Dawson (Rádeyılıkóé) Keno Hill Iqaluktuutiaq Beaver Creek (Cambridge Bay) Mayo Kugluktuk Norman Wells (Coppermine) Pelly Crossing (T∏egóhtı ) Umingmaktuuq Faro Ross River Déline Carmacks Tulita (Délı ne) (Tulít’a) Qinguaq Haines (Bathurst Inlet) Junction Whitehorse Wrigley Rae Lakes (Pedzéh Kí) (Gametì) Snare Lakes Carcross (Wekwetì) Teslin Wha Ti (Wha T ) Rae-Edzo (Behchokò-Edzo) Watson Lake Fort Simpson (¸íídlı Kúé) Jean Marie River Nahanni Butte (Tthenáágó) (Tthek’éhdélı ) Yellowknife (Sò˛ mbak’`e) Fort Providence Lutselk’e Fort Liard (Zhahtı Kúé) (¸útsëlk’é) Hay River Fort Resolution (Xát∏’odehchee) (Denínu Kúé) Fort Smith (Tthebacha) Alert Ausuittuq (Grise Fiord) Resolute (Qausuittuq) Ikpiarjuk/Tununirusiq Mittimatalik (Arctic Bay) (Pond Inlet) Kangiqtugaapik (Clyde River) Baffin Bay Taloyoak Igloolik Qikiqtarjuaq Sanirajak (Broughton Island) Uqsuqtuuq Kugaaruk (Hall Beach) (Gjoa Haven) (Pelly Bay) Pangnirtung Naujaat (Repulse Bay) Kinngait Iqaluit Qamanittuaq (Baker Lake) Salliq (Cape Dorset) (Coral Harbour) Kimmirut (Lake Harbour) Igluligaarjuk (Chesterfield Inlet) Ivujivik Salluit Kangiqliniq (Rankin Inlet) Kangiqsujuaq Tikirarjuaq (Whale Cove) Quaqtaq Akulivik Kangirsuk Arviat Puvirnituq Aupaluk Kangiqsualujjuaq Tasiujaq Nain Hudson Bay Kuujjuaq Inukjuak Hopedale Makkovik Postville Rigolet Umiujaq Sanikiluaq Happy Valley/Goose Bay Kuujjuarapik Cover photos: INAC/Jennifer Baizana and ITK/Eric Loring Published under the authority of the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development Ottawa, 2003 www.ainc-inac.gc.ca 1-800-567-9604 QS-8525-003-EE-A1 R72-260/2003-4E 0-662-33469-8 © Minister of Public Works and Government Services Canada TOXIC SUBSTANCES IN THE ARCTIC AND ASSOCIATED EFFECTS - HUMAN HEALTH Contributors: This report is based on contributions from a number of individuals. In some cases, these contributions are supplemented by additional information from related studies in the scientific literature and have been edited to ensure a coherent assessment report. The Northern Contaminants Program, Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, would like to thank the following authors for their contributions in their respective areas of expertise: GNWT/NWT Archives/B. Harnum Authors and Editors: J. Van Oostdam1, S. Donaldson, M. Feeley, N. Tremblay Authors: D. Arnold, P. Ayotte, G. Bondy, L. Chan, E. Dewailly, C. Furgal, U. Gill, S. Kalhok, H. Kuhnlein, E. Loring, G. Muckle, E. Myles, O. Receveur, Y. Stokker, B. Tracy Contributors: J. Bailey, S. Bernier, H. Bilrha, S. Bruneau, F. Dallaire, S. Jordan, D. Pereg, R. Roy Acknowledgements The list of people who have been involved in these environmental contaminant, dietary and health effects research studies is extremely long, from researchers to contaminants coordinators in each region, to community health workers, to dietitians, to nurses, to mothers and community residents. All deserve a great round of thanks, as without their efforts and contributions of new and ground breaking research and cooperation we would have very little to present in this report. The authors would like to thank P. Bjerregaard, D. Villeneuve and G. Egeland who reviewed an earlier draft of this report. 1 Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. Health Canada, Safe Environments Program, Management of Toxic Substances Division, Rm B233, Environmental Health Centre, Tunney’s Pasture, AL 0801A2, Ottawa, ON, Canada, K1A 0K9 Executive Summary The Northern Contaminants Program (NCP) was estab- Aboriginal perspectives on food and health lished in 1991 in response to concerns about human Traditional/country foods are an integral component of exposure to elevated levels of contaminants in fish and good health among Aboriginal peoples. The social, cultural, wildlife species that are important to the traditional diets spiritual, nutritional and economic benefits of these foods of northern Aboriginal peoples. Early studies indicated must be considered in concert with the risks of exposure to that there was a wide spectrum of substances — persistent environmental contaminants through their consumption organic pollutants, heavy metals, and radionuclides — of traditional/country foods. Traditional/country food is many of which had no Arctic or Canadian sources, but an economic necessity for many Aboriginal peoples. The which were, nevertheless, reaching unexpectedly high hunting, fishing and gathering of traditional/country food levels in the Arctic ecosystem. and the subsequent sharing of these items with individuals Under the first phase of the NCP (NCP-I), research was throughout the community are social activities bringing focussed on gathering the data required to determine the together individuals, families and generations. In this levels, geographic extent, and source of contaminants in way, traditional/country foods form and maintain an the northern atmosphere, environment and its people, important social and cultural fabric among individuals and the probable duration of the problem. Results gener- which supports community health and well-being. ated through NCP-I were synthesized and published in 1997 in the first Canadian Arctic Contaminants Health determinants Assessment Report (CACAR-I). Determining the adverse human health effects due to the In 1998, the NCP began its second phase (NCP-II), presence of contaminants in traditional/country foods is which will continue until March 2003. NCP-II focussed very difficult as many factors contribute to the health of upon questions about the impacts and risks to human an individual and in fact contaminants may only play a health that may result from current levels of contamination modest role in determining an individual’s health status. in key Arctic food species as well as determining the Factors such as lifestyle (e.g., alcohol consumption, temporal trends of contaminants of concern in key smoking, and substance abuse), diet, socioeconomic indicator Arctic species and air. It addressed these issues status and genetic predisposition are important health under a number of subprograms: human health; moni- determinants that need to be considered when evaluating toring the health of Arctic peoples and ecosystems and the results described herein. the effectiveness of international controls; education and communications; and international policy. Contaminant exposure The priority areas in the human health subprogram dur- Persistent environmental contaminants such as PCBs, ing NCP-II included: exposure assessment, toxicology, toxaphene, DDT and mercury biomagnify and bioaccumu- epidemiology, and risk and benefit characterization. The late in the food chain. Levels of organochlorine contami- key objectives of this, the human health technical report nants in human tissue in the Arctic are considerably higher in the CACAR-II series, are to summarize the knowledge than those in southern Canadians, reflecting the greater consumption of food species at the top of long food chains. produced since the first CACAR on human exposure to and possible health effects of current levels of environ- Traditional/country food use by women and men 20–40 mental contaminants in the Canadian Arctic, and to years of age is highest in Inuit communities, followed by identify the data and knowledge gaps that need to be Dene and Métis of the NWT and then First Nations filled by future human health research and monitoring. people of the Yukon. Age and gender are factors influencing The CACAR-II series consists of a Highlights report and traditional/country food use, with men having higher four technical reports: human health, biological environ- average intakes than women, and traditional/country food ment, physical environment and knowledge in action. consumption increasing with age. Continued monitoring i and assessment of the frequency of consumption of lichen caribou human food chain and have been traditional/country foods in a limited number of Dene present in the Arctic environment for thousands of years and Métis, First Nations, and Inuit communities is at more or less the same concentrations as found today. needed to identify any significant changes in consumption Current estimates of polonium exposure would give a patterns and those with highest exposures. radiation dose of 3–4 millisieverts/year (mSv/yr) to a high consumer of caribou meat over and above normal back- Human contaminant levels ground radiation exposure of 2–3 mSv/yr. Inuit mothers have oxychlordane and trans-nonachlor levels Trends in traditional/country food dietary that are 6–12 times higher than those in Caucasians, Dene intakes and contaminant exposures and Métis, or Other mothers, with Baffin Inuit mothers having the highest levels. Similar patterns were observed For Canadian Inuit, intakes of traditional/country food for PCBs, HCB, mirex and toxaphene. The monitoring do not seem to have significantly changed in the last 20 of organochlorines in human tissues does not have a long years. Surveys of dietary intake in one Inuit community, history in the Canadian Arctic, and continued monitoring Qikiqtarjuaq (Broughton Island), Nunavut have shown of tissue levels