john@yunccn.UUCP (John Hummel) (10/13/88)
From john@yunccn.UUCP Fri Oct 7 01:00:43 1988 Path: yunccn!john From: john@yunccn.UUCP (John Hummel) Newsgroups: nccn.services Subject: PCB Pollution and Native Communities: Sources of Information & Contacts Keywords: PCB's Pollution Health Environment Message-ID: <519@yunccn.UUCP> Date: 7 Oct 88 05:00:43 GMT Distribution: ont Organization: York University, Toronto Canada Lines: 263 Greetings to NCCN members and to the world! Here is the information on PCB pollution I promised in my last major broadcast. I am sending this information on PCB pollution because PCB's are be- ing found in the blood of people living in Native communities in Ontario. Hopefully this information will be helpful in locating the sources of PCB's and eliminating them from the environment. It may also be useful for locating various pollution "Hot Spots" near Native communities in Ontario. What are PCB's? Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCB's) are man made che- micals which have been "widely used in insulation for electric conden- sers, transformers and as additives for extreme pressure lubricants, plasticizers, adhesives, paints, etc." (A Study of PCB Blood Levels in Ontario Reserve Indians). "PCB's are of human health concern because of two types of effects which have been identified in scientific studies. PCB's are considered to be cancer causing and have been shown to affect normal fertility, pregnancy,birth and development of offspring when tested on laboratory animals." (Guide To Eating Ontario Sport Fish, 1987) American researchers found that mothers who ate lake fish that were contaminated with low levels of PCB's gave birth to babies that had smaller heads and weigh less than normal babies. The babies that were more heavily exposed often had behavioral problems described as "worrisome". In the study just mentioned, researchers weren't absolutely certain which chemical or combination of chemicals was effecting the infants because the fish had other chemicals besides PCB's in them also! Scientists disagree on what amounts of PCB's are harmful to humans. What ever they eventualy decide; any pollutant which might be causing babies to be born with smaller heads and lower weights than normal babies definetly doesn't belong in peoples bodies!! On November 10th, 1987 Health and Welfare Canada released a document called: "A Study of PCB Blood Levels in Ontario Reserve Indians". This study analyzed the blood of 601 people from 14 different Native commun- ities in Ontario. More than half of those tested had detectable levels of PCB's in their blood. At some communities,like Big Trout Lake, levels "were significantly higher than in other communities and in zone indiv- iduals exceeded the limits of PCB acceptability as defined by Health and Welfare Canada." Where are the PCB's comming from? Well--they aren't exactly sure. How are PCB's getting into the people? They aren't exactly sure of that ei- ther. Some scientists have made some guesses e.g. maybe it comes down with the rain or perhaps oil (contaminated with PCB's) was sprayed on the roads. Nobody really knows yet. My own personal research on the matter has revealed several other possible sources. While the following information might not reveal "the" sources; it may give some useful clues. It is definetly worth checking out! Here's what I found: 1) A July 1986 Ontario Ministry of the Environment report called: "Trace Contaminants in Pulp and Paper Mill Effluents" found very high levels of PCB's in paper industry efluents in Thunder Bay, Nipigon Bay, Dryden and Marathon. In the case of Great Lakes Forest Pro- ducts in Dryden, plant intake was PCB polluted but concentrated prior to discharge! In other areas PCB's seemed to be being discharged by the industries. So, if they are "concentrated prior to discharge" at the Dryden mill then it means that there is some PCB source upstream from the mill. Perhaps it is a leaking dump site or PCB storage site or maybe some kind of municipal efluent from the town of Dryden? 2) I obtained a document called "Ontario Ministry of the Environment Waste Disposal Site Inventory". This document lists all the known toxic waste dump sites in Ontario. It gives a map reference for each dump site, a general idea of how hazardous it is, the date it closed (if it shut down) and lots of other useful information and maps. Sure enough, there was a dump site called Contact Bay listed. There is a water body called Contact Bay upstream from the pulp and paper mill at Dryden! Is there a link? I don't know yet but it is definetly worth investigating! This document would also be extremely useful to find out exactly where these hazardous dumps are in relation to Native communities. Once they are located, it could then be discovered exactly what is contained in them and if the substances are dangerous to people or to the environment. The next step would be to see if they are leaking and if there are any communities that might be effected by such a leak. Clean-up operations could then be launched where required. 3) Another place to look for PCB's is at the PCB storage sites in Ont- ario. There are 988 known PCB storage sites in the province. 308 of these sites are clasified as major and contain 1,000 litres or more of PCB liquid waste. All of these sites are listed in a document called "Ontario Inventory of Approved PCB Storage Sites" released in September 1988. This document gives exact site locations, addresses, company names and indicates wether it is a major or minor storage facility. Big Trout Lake is mentioned and some of the other sites listed may be in the vacinity of other Native communities or their traditional lands. 4) Another document I found useful was called: "Guide to Eating Ontario Sport Fish". This document lists many of the lakes in Ontario and, for each lake listed, it explains which fish have pollution in them and says if they can be eaten or not. This document also gives lists of what pollutants the fish were tested for e.g. at Clay Lake (downstream from the paper mill at Dryden) tests looking for PCB's, mercury, mirex and pesticides were done on several species of fish. The fish should not be eaten because of the pollution. Well--I hope this information is of use to you. Here is a list of the sources of information I mentioned and places where you can get them. Also, here is an extensive list of useful contact people for you. DOCUMENTS --------- 1) "A Study of PCB Blood Levels in Ontario Reserve Indians" - Final Draft, November 10,1987 By: Health and Welfare Canada, Medical Services Branch, Ontario Region To obtain a copy of this document write or telephone: Health and Welfare Canada, Medical Services Branch, Jeanne Mance Bldg., de l'Eglantine St., Ottawa, Ontario Canada K1A 0L3 Telephone: (613) 957-7702 or (416) 965-3101 2) a) "Trace Contaminants in Pulp and Paper Mill Effluents"-July 1986 By: Ontario Ministry of the Environment b) "Ontario Inventory of Approved PCB Storage Sites"-September 1988 By: Ontario Ministry of the Environment c) "Ontario Ministry of the Environment Waste Disposal Site Inventory Revised 1988"#246 By: Ontario Ministry of the Environment d) "Guide to Eating Ontario Sport Fish" By: Ontario Ministry of the Environment & Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources To obtain these four documents write or telephone: Public Information Centre, Ontario Ministry of the Environment, 135 St.Claire Ave.West, 1st Floor, Toronto Ontario, Canada M4V 1P5 Telephone: (416) 323-4321 If there is any problem with obtaining any of the documents menti- oned in this bulletin, please contact me and I'll provide a list of other places where you can get them. CONTACT PEOPLE -------------- 1) Julia MacCrae, Health/Environment Worker, Nishnawbe-Aski Nation, 14 College Street, 6th Floor, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5G 1K2 Telephone: (416) 920-2376 Telex: #06-218237 FAX: (416)920-1765 - health & environmental worker at Nishnawbe-Aski Nation who has lots of information on: PCB's, their health effects on people, and about Native communities presently effected by PCB's 2) Maureen Simpkins, Environment Worker, Chiefs of Ontario, 22 College Street, 2nd Floor, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5G 1K2 Telephone: (416) 972-0212 - environmental worker for Chiefs of Ontario office, has lots of inform- ation on PCB's and other environmental issues effecting Native people in Ontario 3) Allan Roy, Environmental Worker, Union of Ontario Indians, 27 Queen Street East, 2nd Floor, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5C 1R5 Telephone: (416) 366-3527 - environmental worker at Union of Ontario Indians who knows a lot about environmental issues effecting Native peoples 4) Laurie Montour, Walpole Island Research Centre, RR#3, Wallaceburg, Ontario, Canada N8A 4K9 Telephone: (519) 627-8131 - environmental worker for Walpole Island Indian Reserve who knows alot about toxic pollutants and their effects 5) Allan Penn, Cree Regional Authority, Quebec, Canada Telephone: (514) 861-5837 - head of environmental protection for the Cree Regional Authority in James Bay area of Quebec,knows effects of all kinds of toxic pollutants, e.g., mercury and cadmium pollution 6) Dr. John Buschek, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Telephone: (613) 744-2589 - a chemist who knows all about toxic pollutants like PCB's 7) Pam Stokes, University of Toronto, Toronto Ontario, Canada Telephone: (416) 978-6527 - a botanist who knows alot about effects of pollutants on people and on the rest of the natural world 8) Joseph E.Cummins, Associate Professor, Genetics, University of Western Ontario, Department of Plant Sciences, Biological & Geological Building, London, Ontario, Canada N6A 5B7 Telephone: (519) 679-2111 Extension: 6478 - a geneticist who knowes about pollution and its possible effects on people and on other parts of the natural world 9) Al Johnson, Ontario Goverment, Water Resources Branch, Toronto Ontario, Canada Telephone: (416) 323-4914 or (416) 323-4927 - can provide fish studies, he has been studying toxics in fish for many years and can give a different perspective on PCB's All of these contact people have lots of contacts and have, or know how to get, documents on: PCB's, waste dump sites, municipal pollution discharges, PCB storage sites, fish studies and human health studies as well as many other relevant topics. Well--that's all I have to send you today! Hope you can do print outs of this broadcast on PCB's and maybe send copies to as many people as possible? A lot of people and groups aren't "ON-Line" and the above information would be useful to a lot of the bands, Native organizations and Nations. Any help on this would be much apreciated!!!! Also, it sure would be good to get some mail from somebody! So please feel free to send me a "Dear John Letter"! IS THERE ANYBODY OUT THERE?! -------- ------------------ For Land and Life, John Hummel yunccn!john :) P.S. My mailing address is: John Hummel, 126 Ridley Blvd., Toronto, Ontario Canada M5M 3L9. Please feel free to send me a letter or information or secret documents, etc., etc.!!!! Bye till next time!