Arsenic in Plants Important to Two Yukon First nations: Impacts of Gold Mining and Reclamation Practices

This project examines arsenic in plants growing enar closed or reclaimed gold mines located in the traditional territories of two Yukon First Nations. A total of 238 soil and plant amples (comprising 9 different species) were collected from Mt. Nansen, Arctic Gold and Silver, and Venus Mine tailing properties. At each property, samples were collected near the suspected point source of contamination, approximately 1-3 km away, and from background sites. Species were chosen for their ethnobotanical significance to the Little Salmon/Carmacks and the Carcross/Tagish First nations, based on interviews with Elders and other knowledgeable people. Total and inorganic arsenic concentrations were determined using ICP-MS and AAS instrumentation, and organic arsenic concentrations were calculated from the difference. Uptake of arsenic by plants was low compared to soil arsenic concentrations. In both plants and soil, the arsenic form was predominantly inorganic. Concentrations in berries at all three sites were low or undetectable, and are therefore considered safe to eat under Health Canada tolerable daily intake guidelines for inorganic arsenic. At Mt. Nansen, the lichen "caribou moss"…

Publisher

Government of Yukon

Resources

3

Catalogue metadata updated

2026-08-26