UCLA

The broad, long-term objective of this study is to identify the extent and

impact of uranium (U) and other heavy metal (As, Cd, Cs, Pb, Mo, Se, Th, and V) contamination on harvested Ovis aries (sheep) and plants on the Dine (formerly known as Navajo) reservation. This study provides a food chain assessment of U exposure in an American Indian (AI) reservation in northwestern New Mexico. The study setting was a prime target of U mining for military purposes from 1945 to 1988. More than 1,100 unreclaimed abandoned U mines and structures remain. These abandoned U mines, structures, and tailings contaminate the land and vegetation that humans and livestock use for subsistence. The specific aims of the study are to: (1) describe the dietary behavior in Dine residents who grow and harvest their own food specifically related to ingestion of locally harvested O. aries and plants; (2) compare heavy

metal levels in locally harvested sheep and plants in areas suspected to have high levels of environmental contamination and low environmental levels of contamination; (3) explore potential routes of heavy metal exposure for locally harvested plants and O. aries; and (4) formulate a plan to disseminate study findings to the leadership and community on the Dine reservation. This is a comparison study examining contamination levels in locally harvested animals and plants across reservation areas suspected to have high levels of environmental contamination and low levels of contamination. The DiNEH (Dine Network for Environmental

Health) cohort (N=1,304) served as one of the sources from which growers and harvesters were identified who provided samples for the current research. Of the DiNEH cohort respondents, those individuals who reported positively to questionnaire items about harvesting sheep (n=280) and crops (n=180) locally were eligible for the present study. A goal was to compare current results to existing DiNEH data or background levels. New participants were recruited by various snow-ball methods. Data of animal, plant, and soil U levels were determined on a scale of milligrams (mg) per kilogram (kg).Water data U levels are reported on a scale of micrograms per liter. Commonly harvested foodstuffs were examined in this community. Uranium and other heavy metal concentration levels are reported for harvested sheep (n=3), botanicals

including herbs (n= 18), forage (n=33), crops (n=20) coupled with soil and often water utilizing Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). The representative animal (O. aries), crops (e.g. Zea mays, Cucurbita pepo, Phaseolus vulgaris). The study explored potential routes

(e.g. water and soil) of U and HM exposure for locally harvested plants and O. aries. This research aimed to determine if locally harvested sheep and plants on the Dine Reservation are contaminated with heavy metal levels in various sheep parts, herbs, and forage. A plan has been

developed to disseminated study findings and educational information to the Dine community via newsletters, community, and chapter house forums. Findings of U and other heavy metal concentration levels will be valuable for predicting U transfer to harvested food and for conducting future evaluations of the impacts of U mining on critical food chain.