Development of New Analytical Methods for Speciation of Chromium in Subsistence Fish from northern Ontario

开发安大略省北部生计鱼类中铬形态的新分析方法

• 批准号: 533736-2018
• 负责人: Gunn, John
• 金额: $ 5.1万
• 依托单位: Laurentian University of Sudbury
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Collaborative Research and Development Grants
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2019-01-01 至 2020-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=691517
• 关键词: Development; New; Analytical; Methods; Speciation

Obtaining "social license" to operate is a key challenge for the mining industry in the Far North of Ontario because First Nations Communities face major uncertainties on how mining affects their traditional food sources. The discovery of the massive Chromium (Cr) deposits in the Ring of Fire area has created a unique challenge in this regard because Cr concentrations in fish tissue vary widely throughout the area, even before production mining has begun. However, we lack the analytical methods to be able to distinguish between the toxic (Cr VI) and more benign (Cr III) forms of Cr in fish tissue. The Ontario government response to this uncertainty has been to exercise precautionary principles and issue consumption guidelines to restrict the use of fish when total concentration of Cr exceeds published limits, but this approach unnecessarily curtails First Nations harvest. For example, various species of fish in the Attawapiskat River below the DeBeers Victor diamond mine exhibited elevated concentrations of Cr and consumption guidelines have been issued. Our project is therefore designed to develop and test new analytical methods for the speciation of Cr in fish tissue and develop models to associate these measured forms to environmental conditions in rivers and lakes throughout the North. This work will be an important inaugural project for a new analytical facility at Laurentian to support Ontario's mining industry and provide essential information to First Nations and other community members.

获得“社会许可证”是安大略远北地区采矿业面临的一个关键挑战，因为原住民社区在采矿如何影响其传统食物来源方面面临重大不确定性。在火环地区发现的大量铬（Cr）矿床在这方面带来了独特的挑战，因为即使在生产采矿开始之前，整个地区鱼类组织中的铬浓度也有很大差异。然而，我们缺乏分析方法，能够区分有毒（铬VI）和更良性的（铬III）形式的铬在鱼组织。安大略政府对这种不确定性的反应是，当铬的总浓度超过公布的限度时，实行预防原则并发布消费指南，以限制鱼类的使用，但这种方法不必要地减少了原住民的收获。例如，DeBeers维克托钻石矿下面的Attawapiskat河中的各种鱼类的铬浓度升高，并发布了消费准则。因此，我们的项目的目的是开发和测试新的分析方法的铬在鱼组织中的形态，并开发模型，这些测量的形式，在整个北方的河流和湖泊的环境条件相关联。这项工作将是在Laurentian建立一个新的分析设施的一个重要的启动项目，以支持安大略的采矿业，并向第一民族和其他社区成员提供必要的信息。