1675 Stony Rapids Final.Indd

AAWGWG 22013013 SStonytony RRapidsapids AAthabascathabasca WorkingWorking GroupGroup CanNorth EEnvironmentalnvironmental MonitoringMonitoring ProgramProgram ABOUT THE AWG PROGRAM TheThe AthabascaAthabasca WorWorkingking GGrouproup (A(AWG)WG) eenvironmentalnvironmental momonitoringnitoring program bbeganegan iinn tthehe year 2000 andand pprovidesrovides rresidentsesidents wwithith oopportunitiespportunities to test tthehe enenvironmentvironment aaroundround ttheirheir commcommunitiesunities forfor parametersparameters thathatt ccouldould come ffromrom ururaniumanium mminingining aandnd mmillingilling operations. ThesThesee pparametersarameters cancan potentiallypotentially bbee sspreadpread bbyy wawaterter fflowinglowing ffromrom llakesakes nnearear tthehe urauraniumnium ooperations,perations, and ssmallmall amountsamounts maymay aalsolso bebe spreadspread tthroughhrough tthehe air. IInn oorderrder ttoo aaddressddress llocalocal rresidents’esidents’ coconcerns,ncerns, llakes,akes, rivers,rivers, pplants,lants, wwildlife,ildlife, aandnd aairir qualqualityity aarere ttestedested nnearear tthehe nnorthernorthern ccommunitiesommunities ooff StoStonyny Rapids, BlackBlack Lake,Lake, CamsellCamsell Portage,Portage, FFond-du-Lac,ond-du-Lac, UUraniumranium CitCity,y, aandnd WWollastonollaston LaLake/Hatchetke/Hatchet LaLake.ke. TheThe ttypesypes ooff plantsplants aandnd animals selselected,ected, tthehe llocationsocations cchosenhosen fforor sasampling,mpling, aandnd ththee ssampleample collectionscollections werewere carriedcarried ououtt bby,y, or wwithith tthehe hhelpelp ofof,, northernorthernn ccommunityommunity memmembers.bers. TThehe pupurposerpose ofof thisthis brochurebrochure is to iinformnform the ppublicublic ooff tthehe rresultsesults ffromrom tthehe 22013013 eenvironmentalnvironmental momonitoringnitoring programprogram tthathat wwasas ccompletedompleted in tthehe SStonytony RRapidsapids ararea.ea. STUDY AREA Water, sediment, and fish were sampled from a reference site and a potential exposure site in the Stony Rapids area. Riou Lake was chosen as the reference site because it is not influenced by uranium operations. Stony Lake is referred to as the potential exposure site because it is located downstream of the active uranium operations in northern Saskatchewan. Air quality is monitored at two locations near the community of Stony Rapids and plant and wildlife samples are collected each year near the community when available. KEY PARAMETERS The focus of the program is to monitor certain parameters related to uranium operations that are of concern to human and environmental health. These include: copper, lead, nickel, molybdenum, zinc, radium-226, uranium, selenium, and arsenic. All of these parameters occur naturally in the environment and in parts of northern Saskatchewan they can sometimes be found in high amounts. In order to help establish whether the key parameters found in samples are naturally occurring, whether they are from uranium operations, and whether they pose a risk to the environment, the amounts measured are compared: 1) between reference and potential exposure sites, 2) over time, and 3) to available guidelines. In 2013, water samples were collected in the spring and fall in Riou and Stony lakes. The key parameter levels, including uranium, were similar to WWaterater previous years and often below the levels the laboratory could measure. All results were below the provincial guidelines for the protection of aquatic life and drinking water quality standards. The graph displays the amount of uranium found in the Riou and Stony lakes water samples in 2013. 2013 Uranium Levels in Water 20 18 16 Drinking Water Guideline 14 12 10 8 6 Spring Fall 4 2 Uranium levels Uranium levels (micrograms litre) per 0 Riou Lake (reference) Stony Lake (potential exposure) Sediment is the mud on the lake bottom. Parameters from mine sites may be carried by flowing water to lakes where they can SSedimentediment be left in the sediment on the lake bottom. It is important to sample sediment because it is a good indicator of the general health of the aquatic ecosystem. Sediment samples were collected from the same locations used for water sampling in the Stony Rapids area. 2010-2013 Uranium Levels in Sediment 110 100 90 80 70 60 50 2010 2011 2012 2013 40 30 20 Uranium levels (micrograms Uranium levels per gram) 10 0 Riou Lake (reference) Stony Lake (potential exposure) The levels of the key parameters in the Stony Rapids sediment samples were similar between the reference and exposure waterbodies, between years, and below all available guidelines in 2013. The graph displays the uranium levels in the reference waterbody of Riou Lake and the potential exposure waterbody of Stony Lake from 2010 to 2013. Samples of lake whitefish and northern pike were captured in Riou (reference) and Stony (potential exposure) lakes in 2013. The test results were similar to previous FFishish years of AWG monitoring in the Stony Rapids area. Often the key parameter levels were lower than the laboratory could measure. Mercury is the only parameter in fish for which there are consumption guidelines. Mercury is widespread in the environment globally and can be found in soil, water, plants, and animals. It is not related to uranium mining and milling in northern Saskatchewan. Mercury levels in lake whitefish and northern pike captured for AWG monitoring in the Stony Rapids area have remained low over time. For mercury consumption guidelines specific to particular lakes see “Mercury in Saskatchewan Fish: Guidelines for Consumption” on the Saskatchewan Environment website: http://www.environment.gov.sk.ca/. Fis h Wild game are an important source of vitamins, minerals, protein, and nutrients such as iron, zinc, copper, magnesium, and phosphorus1,2. WWildlifeildlife Additionally, wild meat has less saturated fat than store-bought meats1. For example, the fat content of barren-ground caribou meat is about 1% compared to 12% to 40% for beef, pork, or poultry3. Samples of mammal flesh were not obtained near Stony Rapids in 2013. Moose samples from Black Lake, Fond-du-Lac, and Uranium City; barren-ground caribou samples from Black Lake, Fond-du-Lac, and Wollaston Lake; and, a lynx sample from Fond-du-Lac were tested in 2013 and contained similar amounts of the key parameters compared to previous results in each community for each mammal type. Efforts will be made to obtain mammal flesh samples from the Stony Rapids area in 2014. 1PHU AHA 2005. 3NWT 2002. 2Kuhnlein et al. 1995; Receveur et al. 1997. Fis h Plants such as blueberries, cranberries, and Labrador tea PPlantslants have traditionally been used for both food and medicine1. Wild plants are very good sources of Vitamin C, fibre, and carbohydrates2. Blueberry, bog cranberry, and Labrador tea samples were collected and analyzed from the Stony Rapids area in 2013. The levels of the key parameters were considered low because they were similar to previous years and to the 2013 results from the other AWG communities. 1CanNorth 1999, 2011. 2Johnson et al. 1995; NWT 2002. Air quality was monitored at two locations near Stony Rapids in 2013 by measuring radon AAirir levels. Radon is an odourless and tasteless gas produced by the natural breakdown of uranium and radium-226 in the soil and water. As a result, radon levels are naturally higher in areas where uranium is found in the ground. Seasonal differences may occur because the ground thaws and releases radon gas into the air during the summer months. The 2013 Stony Rapids results showed low levels of radon. 2000-2013 Radon Levels 440 400 360 Station 1 320 Station 2 280 240 r metre cubed) 200 160 Radon Levels 120 80 (Becquerels pe 40 0 Jul-02 Jun 13 Jun Jan-01 Jun-01 Jan-03 Jun-03 Jan-04 Jun-04 Jan-05 Jun-05 Jan-07 Jun-07 Jun-08 Jan-09 Jun-09 Jan-10 Jun-10 Jan-11 Jun-11 Jun-12 Jan-13 Jan-14 Nov-01 Dec-11 TThankhank YouYou di re rc e M e o J y l l i B m ogra mana pr ge s - r es The AWG ro program is made possible F n thanks to the continued a involvement of northern residents. y R Special thanks to Billy Joe Mercredi who continues to do a great job collecting AWG samples from the Stony Rapids area. Thank you to the AWG members, including representatives from the seven northern communities and industrial partners, Cameco Corporation and AREVA Resources Canada Inc. Thank you to Alija Bos, Doug Chisholm, and Lori Parker for photo permissions. If you have any questions or comments about the AWG Environmental Monitoring Program, or for a list of full citations, please contact CanNorth at 306-652-4432 or [email protected]. This project was managed by CanNorth, a First NaƟ ons environmental services company 211 Wheeler Street, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada S4P 0A4 Telephone: 306-652-4432 Facsimile: 306-652-4431 www.cannorth.com [email protected] AWG Industrial Partners:.

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