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Use of Biomonitors for Studying Contamination in Residential Areas and Efficacy of Remediation
Primary Issue Addressed: Sustainability
Secondary Issue Addressed: Characterization
Project Site: Residential yards, Butte and Anaconda, Montana
Collaborating Entities: Montana Tech
Cost Share: None
Project Description
Nearly a century of mining and smelting activities in the Butte/Anaconda area of Montana resulted in widespread contamination throughout southwest Montana. Some of the mining impacted areas have been investigated and remediated as a direct result of the National Priorities List designations of sites in the area. Little is known, however, about the long-term health impact for residential populations exposed to contaminants on a daily basis. This project will perform a novel type of environmental health research to improve our understanding of actual, long-term exposure to widespread elevated metals concentrations in residential areas. This project will use domestic dogs as sentinel species to provide information on exposure patterns. While the overall goal is to improve our understanding of exposure to elevated metals in the environment, the following main objectives have been identified for this project to: 1) develop a simple, inexpensive biomonitoring system to characterize existing exposure patterns to contaminants in the community of Butte, Montana; and 2) help document the efficacy of localized remediation efforts using the biomonitors.
Status
Approximately 200 dogs and several cats have been sampled, mainly within Butte, completing the spatial sampling phase of this project. Four dogs have been sampled as part of the remediation campaign conducted in the Butte area. These four dogs have been sampled on several occasions, with 1 to 2 months between each sampling episode. Since sampling for the remediation campaign will take place during winter months, a control dog (a fifth dog) has been added to this phase of the project. The control dog lives at a residence that has not undergone remediation. Arsenic concentrations of sampled animals have been plotted with GIS and a spatial pattern is appearing. Dogs within the Butte Priority Soils boundary do appear to have elevated arsenic concentrations compared to dogs outside of this boundary. An in-depth final report detailing this study is expected in fiscal 2006.