Sampling criteria for identifying human biomonitoring chemical differences in the Canadian Arctic

Abstract

Human biomonitoring studies in the Canadian Arctic have measured a wide range of metals and persistent organic pollutants in Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal mothers during two time periods in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. This analysis provides preliminary estimates on sample sizes and sampling frequencies required to measure significant changes in maternal blood concentrations for PCB 153 and total mercury. For example, sample sizes of 35–40 mothers permit the detection of a 40% decrease in these chemical concentrations between two groups (e.g. communities or regions). Improvements in method sensitivity can be achieved by on-going sampling over multiple time periods (e.g. 4 or 5) in these regions, or increasing sample sizes.

• Arctic
• Inuit
• human biomonitoring
• persistent organic pollutants
• mercury
• Canada

Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the women from the Northwest Territories and Nunavut who volunteered to participate in the NCP studies. Special thanks are given to the Northern Contaminants Program, the Chemicals Management Plan, the Government of the Northwest Territories and the Government of Nunavut for their support and financial assistance for human health research projects in Arctic Canada. We also thank Bryan Adlard, Tara Leech and Shawn Donaldson for their assistance in preparing the manuscript.