NWT RESEARCH DATABASE

Regions: Sahtu Settlement Area, Qikiqtaaluk Region

Tags: contaminants, social sciences, community development, birds, PFAS

Objective(s): to evaluate the current PFAS level in birds harvested in the Sahtu region, and to estimate the human exposure patterns to PFAS through game bird consumption.

Project Description: This licence has been issued for the scientific research application No.5530. to evaluate the current PFAS level in birds harvested in the Sahtu region, and to estimate the human exposure patterns to PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) through game bird consumption. 1) The research team will do a series of community-based bird-harvesting workshops to build local capacity and facilitate collection and preparation of tissue samples for contaminant testing. This is a skill that was identified as important to empower the Indigenous Guardians responsible for monitoring the Land in the region. During a previous pilot project (2021), a community-based study was implemented in Fort Good Hope and the team collected 10 carcasses for the analysis of lead. The team will use a similar community-based approach to archive our current objectives. A local partner will contact hunters to invite them to provide game bird carcasses (whole), previously collected for subsistence food. Those birds are kept in the individuals' freezer. Any harvested birds for consumption (i.e., spruce grouse; sharp-tailed grouse, ptarmigan, black duck, mallard, fish duck, long-tailed duck, wigeon/whistling duck, canvasback, Canada goose, snow goose, pintail, swan, etc.) can be provided by the hunter, and therefore can be part of the study. For each animal, the hunter will be invited to complete a 1-page short form with information on the harvest (e.g., the date of collection, bird species, tissue type, approximate weight, what bullet type was used). Other traditional knowledge might also be collected, such as harvesting location. The regional Renewable Resources Council will select the workshop participants (i.e., Indigenous Guardians and hunters). The workshop will be provided by a wildlife expert (Kirsty Gurney or her assistant). The workshops will focus on training related to biosafety, dissection, measurement, and collection of biological data from harvested birds, shipping samples, providing the opportunity for local people to develop the technical skills needed to support community interests in bird health and contaminant monitoring. During the workshop, the team will aim to collect and dissect samples from 20 birds in each community. Each bird will be weighed and assigned fat (0 – 3.5, based on the amount of visible fat on the belly) and muscle (0 – 3.5, based on the amount of breast muscle) scores. Key organs (primarily gastrointestinal) will be removed and measured, and liver and breast muscle will be placed in chemically clean vials for subsequent analyses of persistent organic pollutants, including PFAS. To evaluate the extent to which contaminant burdens reflect changes in local conditions (compared to changes on wintering areas used by the birds), the team will also collect feathers for stable isotope analyses, which will help identify geographic links between the Sahtú and other areas used by birds during the non-breeding season. After the workshop, the carcasses will be placed in a waste bag and be discarded as food waste, or as per recommended according to local customs. The workshop instructor will freeze the tissues and will ship the cooler via North Wright Airline to the analytical service provider. The bird samples (foods) are expected to not be dangerous goods, but to be safe the team will conform with the current IATA (International Air Transport Association) packaging instructions for dangerous goods for air transport (http://www2.cwhc-rcsf.ca/forms/CCWHC_Packaging_Shipping_instructions.pdf). The samples will be placed in a puncture-resistant leak-proof plastic bag of appropriate size. It will be double-bagged, with newspaper in the second bag to absorb any possible leak. The bagged samples will be placed in a hardsided plastic insulated cooler before shipping to the lab. The shipments will be marked as “exempt animal specimen” on the package and waybill. 2) The research team will analyze PFAS in samples. Tissues (liver, muscle) will be analyzed for PFAS at SGS AXYS Analytical Services Ltd. The analytical suite will include NCP Schedule B Chemicals of Emerging Arctic Concern – perfluorocarboxylic acids (C9-C20 PFCAs), perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), among others. SGS AXYS offers an EPA-validated method of PFAS measurement, consistent with laboratory analytical best practices. Briefly, samples will be lyophilized, spiked with a labeled internal standard, solvent-extracted and cleaned-up (weak anion exchange, carbon), prior to quantitative determination of PFAS via liquid chromatography tandem-mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS or LC-MS/MS). 3) A statistical approach will be used to estimate the human exposure to PFAS via game bird consumption. With those data, the team will use a variety of statistical methods to assess the associations between demographic and survey data -previously collected (e.g., age, sex, country food consumption, harvesting practices) and PFAS levels. The Monte Carlo models describing the nutritional benefits of traditional food as well as their contribution to PFAS exposures will be completed. This Monte Carlo PFAS model will be based on similar models already constructed for HCB and methylmercury. The findings will provide an initial assessment of the PFAS levels expected in game birds in the region, part of a bigger assessment of the contaminant exposure for people living in the Sahtú region. This project will help fill important gaps on the ways by which traditional food patterns impact contaminant exposure of First Nations. The research team is working in the Sahtu region since 2015 and has an extensive network of collaborators. In preparation for this proposal, the team has held a series of phone calls and Zoom meetings with community and regional partners (e.g., SRRB, RRC) in April 2022. Letters of support for the community-bird harvest were provided by the Renewable Resources Council of Deline and Tulit'a in Spring 2022. These conversations have indicated strong support for this proposed work. As part of our 2020-2021 NCP funded proposals on lead in the Sahtú, the team engaged regularly with the regional and/or community leaders. The Department of Health and Social Services in the Northwest Territories Government has been contacted about the progress of this project. Much of the NWT-focused research in the past year has focused on engagement activities in Fort Good Hope (Nov 12-13, 2020) and with other Sahtú communities throughout the year. The team also had regular phone calls with the president of the FGH RRC, the Executive Director of the K’ahsho Got’ine Foundation, and the local coordinators working on the project. Another on-the-land camp as part of the Water Knowledge Camps project in the Sahtú is scheduled for Summer 2023 (postponed from August 2021 due to the pandemic) with Sahtú community members, and members of our team are involved with the collaborative camp planning. In addition, a regional support coordinator (housed at the SRRB) served as the primary liaison for community consultations. Over the past two years, the team has strengthened partnerships with co-located researchers working on studies of biota and environmental media. In early 2022, representatives from the SRRB within the project team consulted with the Renewable Resources Councils in Deline and Tulit’a to expand the bird harvest component. In addition, Dr. Gurney shared the results with the FGH RRC during a virtual meeting in May 2022. Dr. Gurney and Dr. Ratelle visited Fort Good Hope in June 2022 to discuss this project. Ongoing engagement (phone, email, in person) is essential to succeed such project. Dr. Gurney and Dr. Skinner visited Fort Good Hope in early February 2023 to engage with partners. The communications associated with this project will be guided by the inputs from the community consultations undertaken since 2014. In line with our previous projects, the team will provide our community contacts with regular phone/email updates of the research progress. 1-pager, short reporting summary, and longer extensive report (i.e., manuscript style) are sent to our partners when results are available. The knowledge products are also shared with the regional contaminants committees and Departments of Health and Social Services as well as Environment and Natural Resources. The team aims to provide our contacts with bi-monthly phone/email updates of the research progress. Additionally, the team regularly participates in virtual networking opportunities, such as in the Sahtú Environmental Research and Monitoring Forum, providing additional opportunities to liaise with other researchers, local organization members and community leaders. The fieldwork for this study will be conducted from: April 01 - December 31, 2024