Assessing risk of mercury exposure and nutritional benefits of consumption of caribou (Rangifer tarandus) in the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation community of Old Crow, Yukon, Canada

Environmental Research

Volumn 111, Issue 6, 2011, Pages 881-887

  Schuster, Roseanne C ^a   Gamberg, Mary ^b   Dickson, Cindy ^c   Chan, Hing Man ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN BRITISH COLUMBIA   (Canada)

^b Gamberg Consulting   (Canada)

^c Circumpolar Relations   (Canada)

Author keywords

Caribou; Mercury; Nutrient intake; Traditional food; Yukon First Nations

Indexed keywords

ALPHA TOCOPHEROL; CALCIUM; COPPER; MAGNESIUM; MANGANESE; MERCURY; METHYLMERCURY; NICOTINIC ACID; POTASSIUM; RETINOL; SELENIUM; SODIUM; ZINC;

ADULT; CHEMICAL POLLUTANT; CHILDBEARING; DEER; FOOD CONSUMPTION; FOOD INTAKE; FOOD SECURITY; HEALTH RISK; INDIGENOUS POPULATION; MERCURY (ELEMENT); MUSCLE; POLLUTION EXPOSURE; RISK ASSESSMENT;

ABORIGINE; ADULT; ANIMAL TISSUE; ARTICLE; ATOMIC ABSORPTION SPECTROMETRY; BODY WEIGHT; CANADA; CLINICAL ARTICLE; DIETARY INTAKE; ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURE; FEMALE; FOOD CONTAMINATION; FOOD FREQUENCY QUESTIONNAIRE; FOOD SECURITY; HEALTH HAZARD; HOUSEHOLD; HUMAN; KIDNEY; LIVER; LIVER LEVEL; MALE; MUSCLE; MUSCLE LEVEL; NONHUMAN; NUTRIENT CONTENT; NUTRITIONAL ASSESSMENT; PORCUPINE; PRIORITY JOURNAL; REINDEER; RISK ASSESSMENT; RISK MANAGEMENT; SELF REPORT; TRACE METAL BLOOD LEVEL; VITAMIN INTAKE;

ADULT; ANIMALS; DIET; ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURE; FEMALE; FOOD CONTAMINATION; HUMANS; INDIANS, NORTH AMERICAN; KIDNEY; LIVER; MALE; MEAT; MERCURY; MUSCLE, SKELETAL; REINDEER; RISK ASSESSMENT; YOUNG ADULT; YUKON TERRITORY;

CANADA; OLD CROW; YUKON TERRITORY;

ANIMALIA; RANGIFER TARANDUS;

EID: 79960636697     PISSN: 00139351     EISSN: 10960953     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2011.05.025     Document Type: Article

References (50)

1. Arctic Health Research Network-Yukon, 2009. Climate Change, Food Security and Health Research. Available at: (accessed February 21, 2011). http://www.arctichealth-yt.ca/ourProjects/climateChangeFoodSecurityHealthResearch.
2. Batal M., Gray-Donald K., Kuhnlein H.V., Receveur O. Estimation of traditional food intake in indigenous communities in Denendeh and the Yukon. Int. J. Circumpolar Health 2005, 64(1):46-54.
3. Berti P.R., Receveur O., Chan H.M., Kuhnlein H.V. Dietary exposure to chemical contaminants from traditional food among adult Dene/Métis in the Western Northwest Territories, Canada. Environ. Res. 1998, 76(2):131-142.
4. Braune, B., Outridege, P., Wilson, S., Bignert, A., Riget, F., 2005. Chapter 5: Temporal Trends AMAP Assessment 2002: Heavy metals in the Arctic. Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP), Oslo, Norway.
5. Brooks, S., Lindberg, S., Gordeev, V., Christensen, J., Gusev, A., Macdonald, R., Marcy, S., Puckett, K., Travnkov, O., Wilson, S., 2005. Chapter 3: Transport pathways and processes leading to environmental exposure. AMAP Assessment 2002: Heavy Metals in the Arctic. Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP), Oslo, Norway.
6. Chan H.M., Fediuk K., Hamilton S., Rostas L., Caughey A., Kuhnlein H., Egeland G., Loring E. Food security in Nunavut, Canada: barriers and recommendations. Int. J. Circumpolar Health 2006, 65(5):416-430.
7. Chan H.M., Receveur O. Mercury in the traditional diet of Indigenous peoples in Canada. Environ. Pollut. 2000, 110(1):1-2.
8. Damman S., Eide W.B., Kuhnlein H.V. Indigenous peoples nutrition transition in a right to food perspective. Food Policy 2007, 33(2):135-155.
9. Derome, J., Fairbrother, A., Marcy, S., Wirtz, J., Harding, K., 2005. Chapter 6: Biological effects. AMAP 2002: Heavy Metals in the Arctic. Arctic Environmental Assessment Programme, Oslo, Norway.
10. Deutch B., Dyerberg J., Pedersen H.S., Aschlund E., Hansen J.C. Traditional and modern Greenlandic food-dietary composition, nutrients and contaminants. Sci. Total Environ. 2007, 384(1-3):106-119.
11. Egede, I., 1995. Inuit food and Inuit health: contaminants in perspective. In: Proceedings of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference. Seventh General Assembly, Nome, Alaska.
12. Egeland G.M., Middaugh J.P. Balancing fish consumption benefits with mercury exposure. Science 1997, 278(5345):1904-1905.
13. Gamberg, M., 2007. Arctic Caribou and moose contaminant monitoring program. Synopsis of Research Conducted 2006-2007 Northern Contaminants Program, pp. 127-130.
14. Gamberg, M., 2008. Contaminants in arctic moose and caribou-2006. Technical Report. Northern Contaminants Program, Whitehorse, p. 21.
15. Gamberg M., Braune B., Davey E., Elkin B., Hoekstra P.F., Kennedy D., Macdonald C., Muir D., Nirwal A., Wayland M., Zeeb B. Spatial and temporal trends of contaminants in terrestrial biota from the Canadian Arctic. Sci. Total Environ. 2005, 351-352(Dec 1):148-164.
16. Hansen J.C., Gilman A.P. Exposure of Arctic populations to methylmercury from consumption of marine food: an updated risk-benefit assessment. Int. J. Circumpolar Health 2005, 64(2):121-135.
17. Health Canada, 2006. Dietary reference intake tables. Available at: (accessed March 1, 2009). http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/nutrition/reference/table/index-eng.php.
18. Health Canada, 2008. The Canada Nutrient File. Available at: (accessed March 1, 2009). http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/nutrition/fiche-nutri-data/cnf_aboutus-aproposdenous_fcen-eng.php.
19. Hidiroglou N., Peace R.W., Jee P., Leggee D., Kuhnlein H. Levels of folate, pyridoxine, niacin and riboflavin in traditional foods of Canadian Arctic Indigenous. J. Food Comp. Anal. 2008, 21(6):474-480.
20. Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives, 2006. Sixty-seventh Meeting: Summary and Conclusions. Rome, p. 11.
21. Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives, 2010. Seventy-second Meeting: Summary and conclusions. Rome, p. 16.
22. Kassi N. Contaminants in the Yukon. North. Perspect. 1998, 25(2).
23. Kuhnlein H.V., Barthet V., Farren A., Falahi E., Leggee D., Receveur O., Berti P. Vitamins A, D, and E in Canadian Arctic traditional food and adult diets. J. Food Comp. Anal. 2006, 19(6,7):495-506.
24. Kuhnlein H.V., Receveur O., Soueida R., Egeland G.M. Arctic Indigenous peoples experience the nutrition transition with changing dietary patterns and obesity. J. Nutr. 2004, 134(6):1447-1453.
25. Kuhnlein H.V., Soueida R., Receveur O. Dietary nutrient profiles of Canadian Baffin Island Inuit differ by food source, season, and age. J. Am. Diet. Assoc. 1996, 96(2):155-162.
26. Lawn, J., Harvey, D., 2006. Northern river basins food consumption survey (NRBFCS): Final Nutrition Report.
27. Loring P.A., Gerlach S.C. Food, culture, and human health in Alaska: an integrative health approach to food security. Env. Sci. Pol. 2008, 12(4):466-478.
28. Martens P.J., Martin B.D., ONeil J.D., MacKinnon M. Diabetes and adverse outcomes in a First Nations population: associations with healthcare access, and socioeconomic and geographical factors. Can. J. Diabetes 2007, 31(3):223-232.
29. Moses S.K., Whiting A.V., Bratton G.R., Taylor R.J., OHara T.M. Inorganic nutrients and contaminants in subsistence species of Alaska: linking wildlife and human heath. Int. J. Circumpolar Health 2009, 68(1):53-74.
30. Mozaffarian D. Fish, mercury, selenium and cardiovascular risk: Current evidence and unanswered questions. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2009, 6(6):1894-1916.
31. Muir D.C.G., Shearer R.G., Van Oostdam J., Donaldson S.G., Furgal C. Contaminants in Canadian arctic biota and implications for human health: conclusions and knowledge gaps. Sci. Total Environ. 2005, 351-352(Dec 1):539-546.
32. Nakano T., Fediuk K., Kassi N., Kuhnlein H.V. Food use of Dene/Métis and Yukon children. Int. J. Circumpolar Health 2005, 64(2):137-146.
33. Pacyna, J., 2005. Chapter 2: Sources and emissions. AMAP 2002: Heavy Metals in the Arctic Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP), Oslo, Norway.
34. Poissant L., Zhang H.H., Canário J., Constant P. Critical review of mercury fates and contamination in the arctic tundra ecosystem. Sci. Total Environ. 2008, 400(1-3):173-211.
35. Poppel B., Kruse J., Duhaime G., Abryutina L. SLiCA: Results 2007, Institute of Social and Economic Research, University of Alaska Anchorage, Anchorage.
36. Porcupine Caribou Management Board Harvest Management Plan for the Porcupine Caribou Herd in Canada 2009, Whitehorse, (p. 41).
37. Receveur O., Boulay M., Kuhnlein H.V. Decreasing traditional food use affects diet quality for adult Dene/Métis in 16 communities of the Canadian Northwest Territories. J. Nutr. 1997, 127(11):2179-2186.
38. Receveur O., Kassi N., Chan H.M., Berti P.R., Kuhnlein H.V. Yukon First Nations Assessment of Dietary Benefit/risk 1998, Center for Indigenous Peoples Nutrition and Environment, Québec City, (p. 159).
39. Richmond C.A.M., Ross N.A. The determinants of First Nations and Inuit Health: a critical population health approach. Health Place 2009, 15(2):403-411.
40. Robillard S., Beauchamp G., Paillard G., Bélanger D. Levels of cadmium, lead, mercury and 137caesium in caribou (Rangifer tarandus) tissues from northern Québec. Arctic 2002, 55(1):1-9.
41. Schuster, R.C., Wein, E.E., Dickson, C., Chan, L.H.M., 2011. Importance of traditional foods for the food security of two First Nations communities in Yukon, Canada. Int. J. Circumpolar Health 70 (X) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21631967PMID:21631967.
42. United Nations Environmental Programme, World Health Organization, 2008. Guidance for identifying populations at risk from mercury exposure. In: Inter-organization Programme for the Sound Management of Chemicals. UNEP DTIE Chemicals Branch and WHO Department of Food Safety, Zoonoses and Foodborne Diseases, Geneva.
43. Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation, 2008a. Old Crow, Home of the Vuntut Gwitchin: History. Available at: (accessed February 1, 2008). http://www.oldcrow.ca/history.htm.
44. Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation, 2008b. Old Crow, Home of the Vuntut Gwitchin: Caribou Coordination. Available at: (accessed May 4, 2009). http://www.oldcrow.ca/caribou.htm.
45. Wagemann R., Trebacz E., Boila G., Lockhart W.L. Methylmercury and total mercury in tissues of arctic marine mammals. Sci. Total Environ. 1998, 218(1):19-31.
46. Wagemann R., Trebacz E., Hunt R., Boila G. Percent methylmercury and organic mercury in tissue of marine mammals and fish using different experimental and calculation methods. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 1997, 16(9):1859-1866.
47. Wein E.E. Nutrient intakes of First Nations people in four Yukon communities. Nutr. Res. 1995, 15(8):1105-1119.
48. Wein E.E., Freeman M.R. Frequency of traditional food use by three Yukon First Nations living in four communities. Arctic 1995, 48(2):161-171.
49. Wheatley M.A. Aboriginal health and the environment. Arctic Med. Res. 1994, 53(S2):265-267.
50. Yukon Bureau of Statistics, 2006. Census 2006: Population and Dwelling Counts. Available at: (accessed February 4, 2008). http://www.eco.gov.yk.ca/stats/census/census06/popdwell.pdf.