Will the legacy of what was once the world’s largest open pit zinc-lead mine come back to haunt the residents of Faro, and will a new international ban on environmentally damaging fluorine waxes create too much friction with competitive skiers?
These are the questions posed by three Yukon Grade 8 students hoping to take home medals at the 2024 Canada-Wide Science Fair.
Lilou Lefebvre and Olive Passmore hypothesized that Faro’s old Cyprus Anvil Range Mine was potentially leaching lead into Faro’s groundwater systems after being advised not to drink from faucets in the Del Van Gorder School changing rooms.
The pair set out to collect soil samples from the mine down to the Pelly River. Their results suggested that there may be an initial connection. What they found was that the soil surrounding the Faro area contained lead 24-per-cent higher than the Canadian national average. Faro’s water supply is fed by five groundwater systems and concerns were raised about soil contaminants.
Control soil samples taken from Carmacks, Braeburn, and Whitehorse showed traces of lead but not elevated levels compared to Faro and the surrounding area. Lefebvre and Passmore believe this might mean dust from the tailings had travelled further than originally thought.
Although their results showed that soil in the area had been tainted with traces of lead, they had yet to confirm whether the groundwater had been contaminated with lead reported in the soil. The exact quantity of lead present in the town’s water supply was not conclusive enough to deem unsafe.
In their project, Lefebvre and Passmore note that the Department of Education was informed of concerns about the school’s water quality by Paul McFadyen, Del Van Gorder School's principal. A technician was hired by the department to conduct professional water quality tests and found concentrations of copper and lead due to the building’s pipes and fixtures.
Tackling the question of how competitive skiers can keep up a competitive edge following a world ban on fluorine waxes is Whitehorse’s Sitka Land-Gillis.
The moisture and dirt repellent miracle product was typically used by Nordic skiers prior to the International Ski and Snowboard Federation, commonly known as FIS, fully introducing a ban beginning of the 2023/24 winter season.
Land-Gillis’s project involved finding a suitable alternative that can give competitive skiers an environmentally friendly edge. Polyfluoroalkyl substance found within fluorine waxes are known as forever chemicals with an incredibly long half-life which accumulates in the environment and living organisms, according to a chemical safety report published on the Health Canada website.
Sliding toward picking the right substitute may take some time. The variety of waxes on the market offer solutions to specific variables such as air temperature, snow humidity, date of snowfall, certain ski types, skiing discipline and many more factors.
The sport requires a more efficient wax selection process rather than a process of trial and error, Land-Gillis’s study states. His study sets out to track the performance of a bunch of different waxes by measuring time windows with constants established by the Norwegian Meteorological Institute. He believes the creation of an AI-powered tool could provide the solution and hopes his data would provide an important piece of the puzzle toward its creation.
About 400 students around the country are set to showcase their science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, projects at the 2024 Canada-Wide Science Fair, scheduled for May 26-31, at Carleton University in Ottawa.
Reni Barlow, the executive director of Youth Science Canada, spoke to the News about the opportunities for growth and what the fair means to parents and students:
“The projects are driven by a personal situation, some community situation, or a passion. A STEM project gives students an opportunity to pursue that question and focus on developing innovation that is meaningful to them. The fairs are an opportunity to share that work, their discoveries and innovations,” he said.
Barlow said the fair, which has operated for six decades, offers students an opportunity to celebrate innovation and learning.
Students between grades 7 through 12 across the country participate at the nationals after winning within their respective regional STEM fairs. Participants compete for a range of awards and scholarships.
Carleton University, Dalhousie University, Mount Allison University, University of British Columbia, University of Manitoba, University of New Brunswick, University of Ottawa and University of Leicester are all offering entrance scholarships to medal-winning students from grades 7 to 12.
The territory has had some success with taking home medals at the Canada-Wide Science Fair.
Evan Howells of St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Secondary School and Hanna Ryan of Jack Hulland Elementary School both won bronze medals at the science fair held in Edmonton in 2023.
In 2021, Gavin Howells previously won gold for his project: A Novel Evaluation of the Mutagenicity of E-cigarette Liquid and Vapour on Yeast Cells.