Ontario Reserves to Demand Inquiry into Mercury Dumping
Chiefs of the White Dog and Grassy Narrows First Nations are expected to hold a press conference Thursday to demand that Prime Minister Paul Martin launch the inquiry.
An expert's report released earlier this week says at least nine residents show symptoms of Minimata disease, or methylmercury poisoning, which can include partial paralysis, dementia, impaired balance, impaired speech and blurred vision.
- FROM AUG. 11, 2004: Ontario communities link disease rates to food supply
"Everything that has gone wrong in my community is all pointing back to mercury," said Ron McDonald, chief of White Dog First Nations.
"We need our government to come forward to the table and speak to us, and stop denying that there is a problem."
Health Canada disputes report
Health Canada disputed the report by Japanese expert Dr. Masazumi Harada, who tested residents in 1975 and retested them two years ago.
The department countered that blood mercury levels in people are in steady decline. It suggested the symptoms found by Harada could be associated with different disorders such as diabetes, multiple sclerosis and alcoholism.
$17 million in compensation paid
Between 1962 and 1970, a pulp mill operated by Dryden Chemicals dumped about 9,000 kilograms of mercury into the English-Wabigoon river system. Both communities sit along the 480-kilometre system, which runs across the Ontario-Manitoba border.
Testing showed people had high levels of mercury in their blood, which was blamed for birth defects in children.
In the mid-1980s, the bands received a compensation package of almost $17 million from the company and provincial and federal governments.
They're still advised not to eat fish from the river.
Written by CBC News Online staff
