A cumulative human health risk assessment of the traditional diet of Indigenous youth in Western James Bay, Canada

Environmental contaminant exposure from traditional food consumption presents a risk for Indigenous youth (i.e., children and adolescents) who live in northern Canada; however, there are few studies targeting this demographic. Essential (Co, Cr, Mn, and Se) and non-essential (As, Cd, Hg, Ni, Pb, and Sb) metals and metalloids, and fourteen polychlorinated biphenyl (PCBs) congeners in 229 tissue samples of traditionally consumed foods were analyzed (i.e., birds, fish, and large mammals) using the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme protocol. Deterministic and probabilistic Monte Carlo risk assessments were used to estimate the risk of exposure to contaminants <i>via</i> the consumption of traditional foods; a maximum cumulative ratio calculation (<i>MCR</i>) to assess the risk of a varied diet of traditional foods for metals and metalloids was also carried out. There was a probabilistic risk of exposure to Hg from the consumption of pike, sucker, and walleye for children; the <i>MCR</i> supported the result that the risk was due mainly to Hg. Dietary exposure to PCB congener 153 (PCB-153) was primarily due to the consumption of pike and sucker. There was also a risk of exposure to three other PCB congeners (PCB-101, -180, -187) from the consumption of sucker. Our assessment indicates a risk of exposure to Hg and certain PCBs; however, the actual risk of exposure varies with season, differences in traditional food consumption, and local levels of the toxicant. Therefore, monitoring and communicating information to affected communities on an annual basis is recommended.