Grant: Operating Grant: Health Effects of the Alberta Wildfires - Other

The wildfires of 2016 in Northern Alberta destroyed 2,400 homes and buildings. Some of the burnt building materials included pressure-treated wood that was preserved with chromated copper arsenate (CCA). Burning of the CCA-treated wood left high concentrations of arsenic and a number of metals in the ash. Combustion of organic materials and debris also produced chemical contaminants, such as mixtures of polycyclic aromatic compounds. During the fires, fine particulates were suspended in the air and detected not only in Fort McMurray but in surrounding Aboriginal communities such as Fort McKay and Anzac. Community members have concerns about how much of these chemical contaminants end up in the traditional foods that the local communities depend on. Traditional foods, such as locally hunted game meat and locally harvested plants, are essential to meeting the nutritional needs of First Nations communities and are a central component of cultural identity. This project is developed in collaboration with the wildfire-affected Northern Alberta communities, such as the Mikisew Cree First Nation (Fort Chipewyan), Fort McKay First Nation and Metis locals. A primary objective is to measure and compare the levels of important contaminants in local game meat and plants collected before and after the Alberta wildfires. The collaborating First Nations communities and researchers of this project already have archived traditional food samples from a 10-year First Nations Food Nutrition and Environment Study. This new project builds on this collaborative dynamic and a partnership with community members to address immediate concerns over the safety of their local foods. The collaborative team consists of knowledge users, decision makers, a disaster medicine expert, and researchers with complementary expertise.The results of this study will empower community members to make evidence-based decisions on traditional food safety immediately after the wildfires.