Assessing the Risks Posed by Metal Contamination to Environmental and Human Health in Millstream Creek, Canada

Potential metal contamination originating from race cars at an abandoned raceway in the region of Millstream-Langford on Vancouver Island is hypothesized to pose a risk to environmental and human health. This thesis uses Millstream Creek in the City of Langford as the study region for assessing whether the concentration of metals in sediment exceed federal and provincial guidelines for the protection of environmental and human health. Twenty-nine sediment samples were collected along Millstream Creek, which were then analyzed with an x-ray fluorescence spectrometer to identify the concentrations of metals contained within them. The results of the study indicated that sediment samples adjacent to the race track had higher statistically significant concentrations of copper and nickel. Similarly, the pH of the water was found to be higher. The study’s conclusion is that the analyzed metals pose no significant risks to environmental or human health, refuting its null hypothesis.

Author dc:creator

• Barker, Maxime-Alexandre

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Dodd, Matt

• School of environment and sustainability

Language dc:language.iso

en_US

Identifier URI

https://doi.org/10.25316/ir-20327

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:null:10613/28758