Elevated cadmium levels found in local moose

http://www.mytelus.com/news/article.do?pageID=community/fort&articleID=1827009

A study conducted by the Tl'azt'en First Nation has found high amounts of cadmium in moose in the area surrounding Fort St. James.

Kelly Joseph-Quinn, the cancer research co-ordinator for Tl'azt'en said the findings surfaced during their on-going environmental health research which started in 2000.

"Finding cadmium in our traditional foods was a result of the HEAL (Health Environment for Aborignal Life) project and the cancer research project that was designed to catalogue and inventory all known and new environmental contaminates," explained Joseph-Quinn.

The study found that there were elevated levels of cadmium within the Tl'azt'en, Fort St. James, Nak'azdli and Yekooche areas.

In the past few years, a number of reports in scientific literature have found high levels of cadmium, a heavy metal, in the tissues of large herbivorous land mammals like caribou, moose, horses and cattle in some northern areas of Canada.

In most of theses studies there weren't any cadmium-related industries nearby, leading scientists to conclude that the cadmium must have been transported very long distances by wind and then washed down into the soil by rain and snow and then absorbed by plants.

When the Tl'azt'en Nation people heard about these studies, they wanted to know if the findings applied to their territory as well.

Epidemiology consultant, Dr. Andrew Jin, has worked with Health Canada's First Nations and Inuit Health branch since 1995 and was recommended to help with the research.

"We don't know of any cadmium-related industries in the Fort Saint James area," noted Jin.

"For Tl'azt'en Nation people, the main source of meat is moose. We asked hunters to donate tissue samples like muscle, kidney, liver from moose that they had killed for food. We sent the tissue samples to an accredited laboratory for measurement of cadmium and other heavy metals."

The cadmium levels measured in local moose were similar to the levels that other researchers found in moose and caribou from remote areas in northern Ontario and Quebec.

"Small amounts of cadmium are present in all foods, you can't avoid it completely. There is also a lot of cadmium in cigarette smoke. In both people and animals, as one gets older cadmium accumulates in the kidney and liver. If you accumulate too much cadmium, it could damage your kidneys and cause thinning and softening of the bones," said Jin.

As a long-term average, Health Canada, the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the World Health Organization suggest a tolerable dose limit of one microgram of cadmium per kilogram of body weight per day.

"Calculating from the levels of cadmium that we found in local moose, and allowing for the background intake of cadmium that all Canadians probably get from air, drinking water, soil contact and eating store-bought food, we estimate that an average adult weighing 70 kilograms who didn't smoke cigarettes could safely consume up to 435 grams (weighed before cooking) of moose liver per month as a long-term average, or up to 90 grams (weighed before cooking) of moose kidney per month," said Jin.

The allowable intakes for moose liver and kidney are much less for people in younger age groups. For children under 12 years of age, the allowable monthly intakes are so small that it recommended they do not eat moose liver or kidney.

"People who smoke cigarettes daily shouldn't eat moose liver or kidney at all. A daily smoker can't afford any more cadmium intake from any source. This is one more reason not to smoke," noted Jin.

Results of this study were presented at the 12th International Congress on Circumpolar Health in Greenland in September 2003.

They have were also published in a scientific journal last year.

The Tl'azt'en Nation has informed Health Canada, the District of Fort St. James, Nak'azdli and Yekooche about these findings.

"This doesn't just effect us. This is a human impact. Everything we share with our people, as a professional courtesy I am bound to share it with the District of Fort St. James," said Joseph-Quinn. "We have to do something together."

Joseph-Quinn says there is no way to decipher the damage heavy metals have done to health in the area.

Many native elders will not refrain from eating traditional foods as it forms a large part of their sustenance and T'lazt'en wants people to work together to confront the problem.

"We've got our people's attention and now the government has got to get involved somewhere," he said.

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