METALS IN SURFACE WATER, SEDIMENT, FISH AND BLUEBERRY SAMPLES COLLECTED NEAR FLIN FLON, MANITOBA AND CREIGHTON, SASKATCHEWAN File No. 160960429 April 2009 Prepared for: Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting Co., Ltd. P.O. Box 1500 Flin Flon, MB R8A 1N9 Prepared by: Stantec Consulting Ltd. 70 Southgate Drive, Suite 1 Guelph ON N1G 4P5 METALS IN SURFACE WATER, SEDIMENT, FISH AND BLUEBERRY SAMPLES COLLECTED NEAR FLIN FLON, MANITOBA AND CREIGHTON, SASKATCHEWAN Table of Contents 1.0 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................1.1 2.0 METHODS..........................................................................................................................2.1 3.0 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION ...........................................................................................3.1 3.1 SURFACE WATER.............................................................................................................3.1 3.2 SEDIMENT .........................................................................................................................3.4 3.3 METALS IN FISH TISSUE..................................................................................................3.7 3.3.1 Comparison of metal bioaccumulation in different species and lakes .................3.7 3.3.2 Species Comparisons from Lake Athapapuskow ..............................................3.24 3.4 BLUEBERRIES.................................................................................................................3.27 4.0 REFERENCES ...................................................................................................................4.1 List of Tables Table 2.1 Lakes sampled to collect fish for investigation of risk to human health. ............2.1 Table 2.2 Surface water sampling locations and dates for HBMS Human Health Risk Assessment.......................................................................................................2.5 Table 2.4 Surface water sampling locations and dates for HBMS Human Health Risk Assessment.......................................................................................................2.9 Table 2.5 Blueberry sampling locations and dates for the HBMS Human Health Risk Assessment.....................................................................................................2.11 Table 3.1 Results of Laboratory Analysis of Lake Water Samples; HBMS Human Health Risk Assessment 2008......................................................................................3.3 Table 3.2 Manitoba water quality objectives for parameters with objectives dependent on water hardness..................................................................................................3.4 Table 3.3 Summary Statistics for Sediment Metals Analysis; Human Health Risk Assessment 2008..............................................................................................3.5 Table 3.4 Summary Statistics for Arsenic Analysis in Fish Tissue; Human Health Risk Assessment 2008..............................................................................................3.7 Table 3.5 Summary Statistics for Cadmium Analysis in Fish Tissue; Human Health Risk Assessment 2008..............................................................................................3.9 Table 3.6 Summary Statistics for Copper Analysis in Fish Tissue; Human Health Risk Assessment 2008............................................................................................3.11 cs w:\active\60960429\reports\final report\rpt_60960429_2009-04-16.doc i METALS IN SURFACE WATER, SEDIMENT, FISH AND BLUEBERRY SAMPLES COLLECTED NEAR FLIN FLON, MANITOBA AND CREIGHTON, SASKATCHEWAN Table of Contents Table 3.7 Summary Statistics for Lead Analysis in Fish Tissue; Human Health Risk Assessment 2008............................................................................................3.13 Table 3.8 Summary Statistics for Mercury Analysis in Fish Tissue; Human Health Risk Assessment 2008............................................................................................3.15 Table 3.9 Summary Statistics for Selenium Analysis in Fish Tissue; Human Health Risk Assessment 2008............................................................................................3.17 Table 3.10 Laboratory Analysis of Methyl Mercury in Fish Tissue; HBMS Human Health Risk Assessment 2008. Units in ug/g wet weight...........................................3.19 Table 3.11 Laboratory Analysis of Blueberries; HBMS Human Health Risk Assessment 2008. ...............................................................................................................3.27 List of Figures Figure 2.1 HBMS Human Health Risk Assessment Lake Sampling Locations ..................2.3 Figure 2.2 HBMS Human Health Risk Assessment Blueberry Sampling Locations.........2.13 Figure 3.1 Arsenic concentrations in the fillet of northern pike.........................................3.19 Figure 3.2 Cadmium concentrations in the fillet of northern pike......................................3.20 Figure 3.3 Copper concentrations in the fillet of northern pike .........................................3.21 Figure 3.4 Mercury concentrations in the fillet of northern pike........................................3.22 Figure 3.5 Selenium concentrations in the fillet of northern pike......................................3.23 Figure 3.6 Arsenic and copper in the fillet of various fish species captured from Lake Athapapuskow.................................................................................................3.24 Figure 3.7 Mercury in the fillet of various fish species captured from Lake Athapapuskow ........................................................................................................................3.25 Figure 3.8 Selenium in the fillet of various fish species captured from Lake Athapapuskow ........................................................................................................................3.26 ii cs w:\active\60960429\reports\final report\rpt_60960429_2009-04-16.doc METALS IN SURFACE WATER, SEDIMENT, FISH AND BLUEBERRY SAMPLES COLLECTED NEAR FLIN FLON, MANITOBA AND CREIGHTON, SASKATCHEWAN Table of Contents List of Appendices Appendix A Surface Water Data Appendix A1 Combined Flin Flon Tailings Impoundment System and Trout Lake Mine Effluent Plume in 2007 Appendix A2 Station Locations, Station ID and In Situ Parameters Appendix A3 Summary of Water Chemistry Results Appendix A4 Laboratory Report for Water Chemistry Analyses Appendix A5 Manitoba Water Stewardship Mercury in Surface Water Background and Assessment Appendix B Sediment Data Appendix B1 Sediment Sampling Locations & In Situ Parameters Appendix B2 Summary of Sediment Chemistry Results Appendix B3 Laboratory Report for Sediment Chemistry Analysis Appendix C Fish Data Appendix C1 Summary of Methyl Mercury and Total Mercury and Metals Concentrations in Fish Tissue Appendix C2 Fish Parameters of Fish Analyzed for Metals Appendix C3 Location, Effort, In Situ Water Quality Appendix C4 Location, Effort and Catch for Angling Appendix C5 Laboratory Reports and Provincial Data for Fish Tissue Analyses and Chain of Custody Forms Appendix D Vegetation (Blueberry) Data Appendix D1 Blueberry Sampling Locations and Summary of Metals Concentrations Appendix D2 Laboratory Reports and Chain of Custody Forms for Blueberry Sample Analyses cs w:\active\60960429\reports\final report\rpt_60960429_2009-04-16.doc iii METALS IN SURFACE WATER, SEDIMENT, FISH AND BLUEBERRY SAMPLES COLLECTED NEAR FLIN FLON, MANITOBA AND CREIGHTON, SASKATCHEWAN Table of Contents This page left blank intentionally. iv cs w:\active\60960429\reports\final report\rpt_60960429_2009-04-16.doc METALS IN SURFACE WATER, SEDIMENT, FISH AND BLUEBERRY SAMPLES COLLECTED NEAR FLIN FLON, MANITOBA AND CREIGHTON, SASKATCHEWAN 1.0 Introduction Stantec Consulting Ltd. was retained by Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting Co., Ltd. (HBMS) to collect some local fish and berry data to determine metal concentration content in potential local food sources. The purpose for collecting this data was to incorporate it into the human health risk assessment (HHRA) being conducted by Intrinsik. Any assessment of the results in terms of potential risk to human health from the consumption of local fish and blueberries is beyond the scope of this report and will be addressed in detail in the human health risk assessment currently being conducted by HBMS. The scope of work was taken from the draft “Flin Flon Local Food Survey Summary and Local Food Sampling Plan” (Intrinsik, 2008) and is summarized in the Table 2.1 below. Some adjustments to the sampling plan were made that are discussed later in this report. Scientific and standard accepted technical methods were used for all aspects of the field program as will be discussed during the subsequent methods Section 2.0. cs w:\active\60960429\reports\final report\rpt_60960429_2009-04-16.doc 1.1 METALS IN SURFACE WATER, SEDIMENT, FISH AND BLUEBERRY SAMPLES COLLECTED NEAR FLIN FLON, MANITOBA AND CREIGHTON, SASKATCHEWAN Introduction April 2009 This page left blank intentionally. 1.2 cs w:\active\60960429\reports\final report\rpt_60960429_2009-04-16.doc METALS IN SURFACE WATER, SEDIMENT, FISH AND BLUEBERRY SAMPLES COLLECTED NEAR FLIN FLON, MANITOBA AND CREIGHTON, SASKATCHEWAN 2.0 Methods The final lake sampling locations and a summary of what was collected in each