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AWG 2013
Wollaston Lake/
Hatchet Lake
CanNorth
Athabasca Working Group
Environmental Monitoring Program
Hatchet Lake
Wollaston Lake
ABOUT THE AWG PROGRAM
The Athabasc
Athabasca
ca W
Working
orkking G
Group
roup ((AWG)
AWG) environmen
environmental
ntal m
monitoring
onitorin
ng program beg
began
gan iin
n tthe
he year 2
2000
000
and
a
nd
d provides reside
residents
ents w
with
ith o
opportunities
pportunities tto
o ttest
est th
the
he e
environment
nvironme
entt a
around
round
d their com
communities
mmunitties
ffor
or parameterss tthat
hat ccould
ould ccome
ome from uranium
mm
mining
ining and m
milling
illing operations. These parameters
can p
potentially
ottentially b
be
e sspread
pre
ead b
byy water flow
flowing
wing from lak
lakes
kes n
near
ear tthe
he uranium operations, and small
amounts
am
mounts m
may
ay a
also
ls o b
be
e sspread
pread through th
the
he a
air.
ir. IIn
n order to ad
address
ddress local residents’ concerns, lakes,
rrivers,
ivers, p
plants,
lants, w
wildlife,
ildlife, a
and
nd air quality are ttested
este
ed n
near
ear tthe
he northern communities of Wollaston
Lake/Hatchet
La
ake/Ha
atchett Lak
Lake,
ke, B
Black
lack LLake,
ake, Ca
Camsell
amsell Portage, Fo
Fond-du-Lac,
ond-d
du-LLac, S
Stony
tonyy Rapids, and Uranium City.
The types of pla
plants
ants and animalss sselected,
elected, the locations cchosen
hosen ffor
or sampling, and the sample
e
ccollections
olle
ections were
were carried ou
ut b
y, or w
itth tthe
he h
elp o
f, n
orthern co
ommunitty members. The purpose
out
by,
with
help
of,
northern
community
off tthis
o
his brochure
brochure iiss tto
o iinform
nform
m the
e pu
public
ublicc o
off tthe
he rresults
esults from the 2013 environmental monitoring
g
program
p
rog
gram tthat
hatt was ccompleted
omple
eted in th
the
he W
Wollaston
ollaston Lake/Hatchet Lake area.
STUDY AREA
Water, sediment, and fish were sampled from a reference site, an exposure site, and two
potential exposure sites in the Wollaston Lake/Hatchet Lake area. Fidler Bay was chosen as the
reference site because it is not influenced by uranium operations. Hidden Bay is the exposure
site because it is located downstream of the Rabbit Lake Operation. Welcome and Collins bays
are potential exposure sites because they are located far downstream of uranium operations in
northern Saskatchewan.
Air quality is monitored at two locations near the communities of Wollaston Lake and Hatchet
Lake and plant and wildlife samples are collected each year near the communities 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, exposure, and
potential exposure sites, 2) over time,
and 3) to available guidelines.
Water
Water samples were collected in the spring and fall in Fidler, Welcome,
Hidden, and Collins bays of Wollaston Lake in 2013. All results were below
the provincial guidelines for the protection of aquatic life and drinking
water quality standards. The exception was copper in the spring in Hidden Bay, which was
higher than the guideline for the protection of aquatic life, but much lower than the drinking
water quality objective. In the fall, copper was below all guidelines and lower than the laboratory
could measure. Uranium levels in water at each sampling site in 2013 were often lower than
the laboratory can measure . The graph below displays the uranium results from the reference,
exposure, and potential exposure sites in 2013.
2013 Uranium Levels in Water
Uranium levels (micrograms per litre)
20
18
16
14
Drinking Water Guideline
12
10
8
6
Summer
Fall
4
2
0
Fidler Bay
(reference)
Welcome Bay
(potential
exposure)
Hidden Bay
(exposure)
Collins Bay
(potential
exposure)
Sediment is the mud on the lake bottom. Parameters from mine
sites can be carried by flowing water to lakes where they may 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 Wollaston Lake/
Hatchet Lake area.
Sediment
Treated effluent from the Rabbit
Lake Operation is released
upstream of Hidden Bay. Key
parameters such as molybdenum,
nickel, selenium, uranium, and
arsenic were higher in Hidden Bay
compared to the other sampling
sites in Wollaston Lake in 2013.
Molybdenum was higher than
all recommended guidelines and
nickel, selenium, uranium, and
arsenic were higher than some of
the available guidelines.
Uranium levels (micrograms per gram)
2010-2013 Uranium Levels in Sediment
280
2010
240
2011
200
2012
160
2013
120
80
40
0
Fidler Bay
(reference)
Welcome Bay
(potential
exposure)
Hidden Bay
(exposure)
Collins Bay
(potential
exposure)
A treatment process to reduce uranium levels in the final effluent from the Rabbit Lake Operation
began in 2007, and in 2010, a molybdenum-selenium reduction circuit was completed. As a result,
the amount of metals in the final effluent has been reduced. The graph displays the uranium levels
in the reference site of Fidler Bay, the exposure site of Hidden Bay, and the potential exposure sites
of Welcome and Collins bays from 2010 to 2013.
Northern pike were captured in Fidler, Welcome, Hidden, and Collins bays and lake
whitefish were captured in all except Collins Bay. The levels of key parameters in
both fish species were similar to previous years in Wollaston Lake. The levels of
many of the key parameters were 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 and northern pike
captured for AWG monitoring in the
Wollaston Lake/Hatchet Lake area
have remained low over time.
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 barren-ground caribou flesh sample was obtained from the Wollaston Lake/Hatchet Lake
area in 2013. The levels of key parameters were similar to previous years of AWG monitoring
in the area. Moose and lynx samples were not obtained from the Wollaston Lake/Hatchet Lake
area in 2013. However, moose samples from Black Lake, Fond-du-Lac, and Uranium City, and
a lynx sample from Fond-du-Lac were tested in 2013 and contained similar amounts of the key
parameters compared to previous years in each community and 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 Wollaston
Lake/Hatchet Lake 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 Wollaston Lake/Hatchet Lake 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 graphs shows that
radon levels in the Wollaston Lake/Hatchet Lake area were
low in 2013.
Air
200
180
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
Station 1
Station 2
Nov-00
Jun-01
Nov-01
Jul-02
Jan-03
Jun-03
Jan-04
Jul-04
Jan-05
Jun-05
Jun-06
Jan-07
Jun-07
Jun-08
Jan-09
Jun-09
Jan-10
Jun-10
Jan-11
Jun-11
Jan-12
Jun-12
Jan-13
Jun-13
Dec-13
Radon Levels
(Becquerels per metre cubed)
2000-2013 Radon Levels
P
r
ie
re
R ya
nF
r
Georg
es
St
.
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 Georges St. Pierre
who continues to do a great job collecting
AWG samples from the Wollaston Lake/
Hatchet Lake 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, Kevin
Kardynal, 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 awg@cannorth.com.
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
awg@cannorth.com
AWG Industrial Partners: