Examination of the effects of mixtures, metals, and toxicity modifying factors on fathead minnow at Vale Inco, Junction Creek, Sudbury, ON

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The mining industry is of great importance to Canada, employing close to 400,000 Canadians and contributing $40.8 billion to the economy (2003 statistics). The benefits of mining however, come with environmental consequences. Mines discharge significant amounts of treated effluents to surrounding waters (e.g., rivers, lakes). Many efforts have been made to determine whether the release of these effluents causes changes in the quality of the water or the health of the animals that live in the water (e.g., fish and bottom-dwelling insects). However, understanding how waters may be affected by mine effluents is a complicated task. Further, determining if mine effluents are causing change is only the first step towards mitigation and sustainable development. Understanding the causes of the effects (e.g., causative metals) and factors which modify their toxicity is also required to explore solutions. This research seeks to better understand mine effluent effects on waters and to generate information for developing strategies for removing their toxicity. Our objectives are to 1) confirm responses of a fish species (fathead minnow) to metal mine effluents in Sudbury, Ontario using artificial streams with constructed food chains; 2) compare minnow responses to whole effluent mixtures relative to doses of single metals (copper, selenium, thallium); 3) understand the importance of water versus diet as the route of exposure causing toxicity; and 4) explore factors which modify toxicity (pH/alkalinity, organic matter, diet quality and quantity) of effluent mixtures and dominant single metals to fathead minnow. This three year research program will train graduate and undergraduate students in an area of national importance, and involve an integrated combination of laboratory and field studies.