Community Right to Know Report

Major Donor

Leonard Schein
President,
Festival Cinemas

"I'm very impressed with the difficult work that Toxic Free Canada does. I support Toxic Free Canada because I know their knowledge and hard work will result in great strides in protecting the health and environment of the people of BC and Canada."

May 23, 2009

In the area around Seton Lake, transformers and capacitors have reportedly been buried, and are suspected to have leached PCB’s into the soil. Additionally, herbicides have been historically sprayed in the area around power lines. Wild berries are often picked, and the land is used for gardening, leading to the interest in contamination.

Environmental mapping revealed a community alienated from its traditional physical and spiritual environment as a result of mining and hydro-electric development. Toxic Free Canada and the Seton Lake Indian band worked with scientists from Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops to conduct soil and sediment testing around Seton Lake and Shalath. Contamination of soil from polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB’s) and heavy metals was investigated by TRU graduate students Kyle Burns and Ursal Williams, supervised by Dr. Kingsley Donkor & Dr. Jon Van Hamme. Sediment samples were collected from 14 various sites in the area and analyzed at TRU.

FNECP Final Report (pdf)

This project would not have been possible without the generous support of our funders and all the partners who devoted their time and skills.

Catherine Donnelly Foundation, First Nations Environmental Contaminants Program of Health Canada, J.W. McConnell Family Foundation, Tides Canada Foundation, Vancouver Foundation, Western Mining Action Network (logos)