| Abstract
| - Elevated levels of arsenic in Yellowknife, NWT, Canada,from historic and recent gold mine operations, are ofincreasing concern to Yellowknife residents. The study ofarsenic in Yellowknife plants is a part of ongoingbioavailability and food chain research. A variety ofplants from Yellowknife were analyzed for total arsenicand water soluble arsenic species. The plants includedvascular plants and bryophytes (mosses). Total amounts ofarsenic were greatest in mosses and varied greatlywithin specimens of the same plant species from differentlocations. Mostly inorganic arsenic species were extractedfrom plants using methanol/water (1:1). This result is veryimportant from a toxicological point of view, sinceinorganic species are relatively toxic arsenic species.Small amounts of methylated arsenic species, as well asarsenosugars, were present in some plants. On average,greater than 50% of arsenic in these plants was notextracted; the chemical and toxicological characteristicsof this fraction remain a topic for further study.
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