Trace Metal Analysis of Karuk Traditional Foods in the Klamath River

Kari Marie Norgaard, Spenser Meeks, Brice Crayne, Frank Dunnivant

Chemistry Department, Whitman College, Walla Walla, USA.
Environmental Studies Program, 5223 University of Oregon, Eugene, USA.

DOI: 10.4236/jep.2013.44038                

Abstract

This study evaluates the presence of trace metals in Klamath Riverwater and three important Karuk traditional foods: freshwater mussels (Gonidea angulata), Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Samples of these traditional foods together with water samples were collected from the Klamath River and measured for the total chromium (Chromium), cobalt (Co), copper (Cu), cadmium (Cd), tin (Sn), and lead (Pb) by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). We found that cultural-use species in the Klamath and its tributaries are accumulating higher levels of lead, cadmium and tin downstream of a known Superfund site. Neither water, fish, nor mussel samples exceeded maximum intake levels of metal doses mandated by state or federal agencies for consumption intakes of1.4 Lper day of water,0.5 kgper meal per day for fish, and0.043 kgper meal for 30 meals per year¹.

Keywords

Trace Metals; Metals Analysis; Klamath River

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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