TTHEK'EHDELI/JEAN MARIE RIVER
Residents of Jean Marie River curious about their exposure to chemicals in the environment were given the opportunity to partake in a bio monitoring study from Jan. 27 to 29.

Agnes Hardisty takes a hair sample from one young man in Jean Marie River for a bio monitoring project. Hair samples will be used to detect mercury levels. - photo courtesy of Brian Laird

The study, spearheaded by University of Waterloo researcher Brian Laird and research co-ordinator Mylene Ratelle involved taking hair, urine and blood samples as well as giving participants the choice of filling out surveys on what they've eaten over the past 24 hours and the past year. The research team set up a clinic in the band office gymnasium where people could participate, with a nurse on-hand to draw blood.

"We invited everyone in Jean Marie River over six years of age to take part. We've had a really good turnout," said Laird on Jan. 29.

"The big thing is people get to control how they participate in the study; some people have decided to provide a hair sample and complete the surveys, but don't give urine or blood samples - and that's OK. Other people want to give as much information as possible and provide (all the) samples."

Laird said his research team collected hair to measure mercury levels. Other samples were gathered to test for contaminants such as cadmium, lead and uranium - metals that occur naturally but can become elevated in the environment.

"People get to choose the type of info they want to provide, and it's up to us to make sure all the people who provided samples get all the information they can from what they choose to give us," Laird said.

"By combining together the info from all these different stations, we can start to answer the questions of not only what levels of contaminants are in people but also how people are getting exposed to those contaminants."

The project builds off information collected by University of Waterloo biology professor Heidi Swanson and George Low, the Dehcho's aboriginal aquatic resource and oceans management program co-ordinator, regarding the mercury levels in fish. Those studies focused on Kakisa, Jean Marie River and lakes around Fort Simpson, Laird said.

"This project came out of (that) research. People wanted to know what the implications for their health was," he said.

The project is funded federally and Laird said his research team is applying for additional funding to return to the Deh Cho in the future, due to interest from other communities.

"Next year, the plan is for Kakisa, Tulita and Deline ... a few other Deh Cho communities heard about the project, too, and are considering whether or not they want to take part," he said.

Now that samples have been collected in Jean Marie River, Laird's team will take them back to the University of Waterloo and University of Montreal, where they will do chemical analyses.

He said the team will return to Jean Marie River within six to nine months to give a community presentation on their findings.

At that time, residents who participated in the study will find out their own individual exposure levels to contaminants.

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