[LINK] "Mercury levels rising in Canada's Grassy Narrows First Nation, study finds"

[rfmcdonald]

Al Jazeera America's Renee Lewis notes the ongoing mercury crisis at Grassy Narrows.

Mercury levels remain up to 20 times above natural levels in Ontario First Nation tribe Grassy Narrows’ territory, according to a report released on Monday, that was commissioned by the provincial government and the tribe in response to a decades-long push to clean up contamination in the area.

The study, which identified gaps in research that should be addressed in future studies, found that although mercury levels in Clay Lake had declined since the 1970s, levels remained elevated above natural levels by up to 20 times. The study, written by Patricia Sellers, a biology professor at the University of North Carolina, added that mercury levels have increased in lakes downstream from Dryden, where 9,000 kilograms of mercury was dumped from a paper mill in the 1960s.

“When we shared our land and water we expected it to be kept pristine, but they have failed and destroyed our culture as a result,” Chief Roger Fobister Sr. of Grassy Narrows said in a press release on Monday. Fobister went on hunger strike in July 2014 over mercury contamination.

Since the mercury was released in Dryden, the contamination has traveled downstream along the Wabigoon River to Clay Lake, to Ball Lake, to the English River, and further downstream to Separation Lake, the report said. Ball Lake was one of two sites downstream from Clay Lake that showed an increase in mercury in surface sediment, the report added. “This pattern of increase can be best explained by the accelerated erosion, transport downstream, and deposition of (upstream) particles richer in mercury than those already there,” the report said.

The report warned that mercury pollution could be released and sent downstream even more rapidly if the contaminated area is logged. Last year, a 10-year logging plan for Whiskey Jack Forest was approved by the government, which would affect large swathes of Grassy Narrow's territory. Logging that has already been carried out on Grassy Narrows territory “undoubtedly contributed to degraded downstream water quality,” the report said.