Northwest Territories Research Database

Principal Investigator: Chételat, John
Licenced Year(s): 2018
Summary: This study will assess the present-day and future stability of legacy arsenic contamination stored in Yellowknife Bay sediments that originated from local gold mining activities. Using a combination of quantitative methods (field measurements, laboratory experiments, paleolimnology and mass balance modelling), the research team will estimate the diffusion of arsenic from sediments to overlying wat...

Principal Investigator: Blowes, David W.
Licenced Year(s): 2018 2017
Summary: The objectives of this research are: 1) to determine the magnitude and rate of release of arsenic and other toxic elements from the Giant Mine tailings to groundwater; 2) to evaluate remediation alternatives for tailings management, including the effects of proposed engineered covers; and, 3) to apply novel characterization techniques to understand the mechanisms controlling arsenic release. ...

Principal Investigator: Chan, Laurie H. M.
Licenced Year(s): 2018 2017
Summary: The Health Effects Monitoring Program is a human biomonitoring study aimed to assess the exposure and health impact of arsenic and other contaminants on the human population of Yellowknife, Ndilo and Dettah in the Northwest Territories, as part of the Giant Mine Remediation Project. The overall objective of the program is to establish current or baseline levels of arsenic exposure among residen...

Principal Investigator: Palmer, Mike
Licenced Year(s): 2018 2017
Summary: The overarching objectives of this research are two-fold: 1) to investigate watershed and within-lake abiotic processes affecting the recovery of mine-impacted lakes in the Yellowknife area, including storage and release of arsenic from soils, seasonal dynamics of arsenic export in runoff, and fluxes of arsenic to and from lake sediments; and 2) to investigate the toxicological consequences of...

Principal Investigator: Amuno, Solomon A
Licenced Year(s): 2017
Summary: The objectives of this research project are to: 1. investigate the effects of chronic arsenic exposure on reproductive parameters, specifically seminal and hormonal parameters including testicular pathology and os penis (baculum) morphology of small mammals (muskrats and squirrels) inhabiting the vicinity of the Yellowknife area, near the Giant mine, and in a reference location approximately 30-8...

Principal Investigator: Blais, Jules M
Licenced Year(s): 2017 2016 2015
Summary: The research team propose to develop tools to assess risks associated with legacy industrial developments in a northern setting. The team will investigate contaminants from the Giant Mine near Yellowknife Northwest Territories (NT), which operated between 1948 and 2004, producing a legacy of contaminants including arsenic, antimony, hydrocarbons, mercury, and others. This remediation strategy appl...

Principal Investigator: Sandlos, John K
Licenced Year(s): 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013
Summary: The objective is to use academic and non-academic media to examine and communicate community perspectives on the history, and current problem, of arsenic deposition in Yellowknife. The research team will not only ask how these historical memories have influenced the current controversy over the Giant Mine Remediation Project, but will also examine the challenges of communicating the extreme hazard...

Principal Investigator: Oliver, Jonathon
Licenced Year(s): 2016 2015
Summary: The specific objectives of this research are: 1) to investigate concentrations of arsenic and other elements in regional soils to gain a better understanding of regional baseline soil geochemistry; 2) to determine speciation of arsenic in selected soils from the region with elevated concentrations to determine whether arsenic in soils is from a natural geologic source or is derived from past indus...

Principal Investigator: Amuno, Solomon A
Licenced Year(s): 2016
Summary: The first objective of this preliminary study is to monitor in selected small mammal population, specifically the snowshoe hare population the effects of metal exposure on oxidative stress parameters as well as metalothionenin gene expression and genotoxicity (DNA damage and mutation induction). The second is to monitor effect of metal exposure on bone microstructure alterations, including biomark...

Principal Investigator: Corrin, Natasha
Licenced Year(s): 2016
Summary: The overall objective of the Tundra Mine risk assessment is to facilitate project closure by determining if there are any residual risks to human health or ecological receptors, including aquatic life, associated with the proposed tailings remediation. If any risks remain, the goal is to provide recommendations for risk management. In support of the risk assessment, and in order to collect baselin...