AWG 2013
Uranium City
Athabasca Working Group
CanNorth
Environmental Monitoring Program
ABOUT THE AWG PROGRAM
The
T
he A
Athabasca
th
habasca Work
Working
king G
Group
roup (AWG) environmental monitoring program beg
began
gan iin
n tthe
he year 2000
and
dp
provides
rovides rresidents
esidentts wi
with
ith opportunities to test the env
environment
virronment a
around
round
d their commun
communities
nities
for parameters tha
that
at ccould
ould
d ccome
ome from ura
uranium
aniu
um m
mining
in
ning a
and
nd m
milling
illing operation
operations.
ns. Thes
These
se p
parameters
arameters
can pote
potentially
entia
ally b
be
e sspread
pre
ead by water flowing from llakes
ake
es n
near
ear th
the
he uranium
mo
operations,
perations, and smal
smallll
amounts
amou
unts m
may
ay also b
be
e sp
spread
pread through the air
air.
r. In
no
order
rder tto
o ad
address
ddresss llocal
ocal residents’ concerns, lakes,
rivers,
ri
ivers, p
plants,
lan
nts, w
wildlife,
ildlife, a
and
nd air quality a
are
re ttested
ested
dn
near
ear tthe
he n
northern
orthern ccommunities
ommunities of Uranium City,
Black
B
lack Lake,
Lake, C
Camsell
amselll Portage,
Portage, Fond-du
Fond-du-Lac,
u-Lac, S
Stony
tony Rapid
Rapids,
ds, a
and
nd
dW
Wollaston
ollaston Lake/Hatchet Lake.
The
T
he ttypes
ypes o
off p
plants
lants and anim
animals
mals selecte
selected,
ed, tthe
he
e llocations
ocations chosen for sampling, and the sample
colle
ectionss were
were carrie
ed out b
y, or with th
he help of, northern ccommunity
ommunity members. The purpose
collections
carried
by,
the
of thiss brochure
brochure is to inform the public of th
the
he rresults
esults ffrom
rom tthe
he 2
2013
013 e
environmental
nvironmental monitoring
program
m tthat
hat was completed in the
eU
Uranium
ranium C
City
ity ar
area.
rea.
STUDY AREA
Water, sediment, and fish were sampled from a reference waterbody and a potential exposure
waterbody in the Uranium City area. Fredette Lake was chosen as the reference site because
it is not influenced by uranium operations. Lake Athabasca 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 Uranium City 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.
Water
Water samples were collected in the summer and fall in Fredette Lake
(reference) and Lake Athabasca (potential exposure) in 2013. The levels of
the key parameters were similar to previous years and often lower than 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 samples from both lakes in 2013.
Uranium levels (micrograms per litre)
2013 Uranium Levels in Water
20
18
16
Drinking Water Guideline
14
12
10
8
6
Spring
Fall
4
2
0
Fredette Lake (reference)
Lake Athabasca (potential exposure)
Sediment is the mud on the lake bottom. Parameters from mine
sites can be carried by flowing water to lakes where they can
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
Uranium City area.
Sediment
2010-2013 Uranium Levels in Sediment
Uranium (micrograms per gram)
110
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
2010
2011
2012
2013
30
20
10
0
Fredette Lake (reference)
Lake Athabasca (potential exposure)
The results of sediment testing near Uranium City were below the available guidelines in 2013.
Since AWG monitoring began, Fredette Lake has had higher levels of certain key parameters
when compared to Lake Athabasca. This means that parameters may occur at higher levels
naturally in the area, given that Fredette Lake is a reference lake. The graph displays the uranium
levels in both waterbodies from 2010 to 2013.
Lake whitefish and northern pike were captured in Fredette Lake (reference) and
Lake Athabasca (potential exposure) lakes in 2013. The test results were similar to
previous years of AWG monitoring in the Uranium City area. The levels of the key
parameters were often lower than the laboratory could measure.
Fish
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
captured in Fredette Lake and
Lake Athabasca and northern pike
captured in Lake Athabasca for AWG
monitoring have remained low over
time. Mercury levels in northern pike
from Fredette Lake have been higher
than other reference sites in the AWG
monitoring program in certain years,
but were low in 2013.
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
Wildlife
Wild game are an important source of vitamins, minerals, protein, and
nutrients such as iron, zinc, copper, magnesium, and phosphorus1,2.
Additionally, wild meat has less saturated fat than store-bought
1
meats . For example, the fat content of barren-ground caribou meat is about 1% compared to
12% to 40% for beef, pork, or poultry3.
A moose flesh sample was obtained from the Uranium City area in 2013. The testing results
showed similar levels of the key parameters compared to previous years of AWG monitoring.
Barren-ground caribou and lynx samples were not obtained from the Uranium City area in 2013.
Barren-ground caribou samples from Black Lake, Fond-du-Lac, and Wollaston/Hatchet Lake,
and a lynx sample from Fond-du-Lac were tested in 2013. The results were not of concern as
they were similar to previous years in each community for each mammal type.
1
2
PHU AHA 2005.
Kuhnlein et al. 1995; Receveur et al. 1997.
NWT 2002.
3
Plants such as blueberries,
cranberries, and Labrador tea
have traditionally been used for
both food and medicine1. Wild plants are very good
sources of Vitamin C, fibre, and carbohydrates2.
Plants
Blueberry, bog cranberry, and Labrador tea samples
were collected and analyzed from the Uranium City
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.
1
2
CanNorth 1999, 2011.
Johnson et al. 1995; NWT 2002.
Air quality was monitored at two locations
near Uranium City in 2013 by measuring radon
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 graph shows that radon has
been very low in the Uranium City area since 2003.
Air
2000-2013 Radon Levels
1600
1400
Station 1
1200
Station 2
1000
800
600
400
200
0
Dec-00
Jun-01
Apr-02
Jul-02
Feb-03
Jul-03
Jan-04
Jul-04
Jan-05
Jun-05
Jun-06
Jan-07
Jun-07
Jan-08
Jun-08
Jun-09
Jan-10
Jun-10
Jan-11
Jun-11
Jan-12
Jun-12
Jan-13
Jun-13
Jan-14
Radon Levels
(Becquerels per metre cubed)
1800
w
de
r
R ya
nF
r
San
dy
Po
Thank You
s
oe
pr
s
o g ra m m a n a
ge
r
The AWG
program is made possible
thanks to the continued
involvement of northern residents.
Special thanks to Sandy Powder who
continues to do a great job collecting
AWG samples from the Uranium City 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 NaƟons 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: