A new study from the University of Western Ontario suggests mercury contamination in northwestern Ontario’s English-Wabigoon River has been made worse by ongoing industrial pollution.
Contamination of the river system dates back to the 1960s and 70s, when the pulp and paper mill dumped an estimated nine tonnes of mercury into the water.
The mercury has impacted generations of people living in Grassy Narrows First Nation, also known as Asubpeeschoseewagong Netum Anishinabek, a community about 150 kilometres from Dryden near the Ontario-Manitoba border, and Wabaseemoong Independent Nation.
However, the new study, published Thursday, has found that discharge of wastewater from the Dryden Paper Mill, combined with existing mercury, has created high levels of methylmercury – an even more toxic compound.
“Other forms of mercury don’t accumulate as strongly as methylmercury, but because it accumulates, it builds up to high levels in organisms, presenting that greater risk,” said Brian Branfireun, a biology professor at the University of Western Ontario. “It’s actually more serious than I even imagined.”
It is estimated that 90 per cent of Grassy Narrows’ population has symptoms of mercury poisoning, which causes problems including tremors, insomnia, memory loss, neuromuscular effects, headaches and cognitive and motor dysfunction.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
However, the new study, published Thursday, has found that discharge of wastewater from the Dryden Paper Mill, combined with existing mercury, has created high levels of methylmercury – an even more toxic compound.
It is estimated that 90 per cent of Grassy Narrows’ population has symptoms of mercury poisoning, which causes problems including tremors, insomnia, memory loss, neuromuscular effects, headaches and cognitive and motor dysfunction.
Anispiragas Piragasanathar, a spokesperson for Indigenous Services Canada (ISC), provided CBC News an emailed statement about the Mercury Care Home.
“ISC continues to support Grassy Narrows leadership as they take steps toward realizing their vision for health-care delivery in their community through the Mercury Care Home,” Piragasanathar said.
Michael Rennie is an associate professor at Lakehead University’s biology department, as well as a research fellow at the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) Experimental Lakes Area.
There are ways to reduce the impact of mill operations on the river, Rennie said, such as settling ponds or new environmental policies, but the level of contamination throughout the system means there are no simple solutions.
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