The human health risk assessment currently underway will determine whether there is a need for biological testing of Creighton residents for heavy metal exposure. Current exposure for some metals can be measured in the urine, blood, hair or nails, depending on the metal of interest.

There have been several studies conducted in the Flin Flon/Creighton area since environmental monitoring began in the 1970s. Manitoba Conservation studied the lead levels in boulevard soils in 1983. The University of Winnipeg and Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting conducted garden studies in 1990s and Manitoba Conservation completed a garden study in 2002.

These studies suggested that levels of metals and other elements might be elevated in Creighton and Flin Flon and Manitoba Conservation decided this required further investigation and designed a systematic soil survey for the area.

The soil study was conducted with three principle objectives:

• Determine the concentrations of metals and other elements in surface soil in Flin Flon, Creighton and area;
• Map the distribution of metals and other elements; and
• Provide a preliminary assessment of the results by comparing the area concentration data to existing, national environmental quality guidelines.

The soil study was released in July 2007 and a more comprehensive human health risk assessment is underway.

Most health conditions have multiple risk factors, including smoking, alcohol, diet and physical activity and it can be difficult to determine simple cause and effect. For example, arsenic has been linked to lung cancers, but it’s estimated that about 90% of lung cancers in Canada are related to tobacco smoke, radon in homes, occupational exposures and air pollution.

Manitoba Health and Healthy Living and the Saskatchewan Ministry of Health are currently conducting a health assessment study looking at a number of health conditions in Flin Flon and Creighton and comparing those results to other areas of the provinces, to determine if these results are significantly different.

There were 93 test sites in Flin Flon and 13 test sites in Creighton. Sample sites included public lands including boulevards, parks, playgrounds, schoolyards, vacant lots and other undeveloped lands within each community. Further samples have been taken from the front and back yards at various locations in Creighton and Flin Flon during the fall of 2007 as part of the human health risk assessment.

In October 2007, soil was sampled at 200 residential properties from all areas of Flin Flon and Creighton to provide data for the human health risk assessment currently underway. No further soil sampling and analyses are being considered at this time.

The human health risk assessment is expected to determine if any more testing may be needed. For more information on the soil testing process, contact the Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment in Creighton at 306-688-8812.

In Falconbridge, Ontario, levels of arsenic in the soil were much higher than in Flin Flon. A comprehensive study testing the urine of residents of Falconbridge was done to determine their exposure to arsenic and it was found that there was no difference in urinary arsenic between Falconbridge residents and residents of a community with no smeltering plant and arsenic levels well below the national guidelines.

Once the comprehensive human health risk assessment is complete, a risk management plan will be established for Creighton if the assessment findings indicate it is necessary. The plan will be implemented by Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting, the communities and the involved government departments from both Saskatchewan and Manitoba. The human health risk assessment is expected to be complete in the spring of 2009.