heureusement, ici, c'est james

Millions living in the Great Lakes basin are in danger from high levels of toxic chemical pollution, cites a new study by the U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC).

But like the increasing government censorship of Environmental Science here in Canada, this 400-page study was suppressed by the American government for fear of lawsuits, and God forbid, a public call to action.

Much of the N. American public is still under the false impression that the Lakes are rebounding from near-disaster in the 1970s.

Not so.

The Montreal Gazette reports the CDC to have identified "elevated levels of infant mortality in 26 AOCs [areas of concern], and of premature births in four AOCs. The study also identified 108 hazardous waste sites, of which 71 are or could be public health hazards. Powerful lake currents can distribute the chemical and hydrocarbon pollutants including dioxins throughout the Great Lakes system."

Findings echo Health Canada study

Health Canada's own study of the Great Lakes, released in 1998, identified 17 Canadian AOCs. The Montreal Gazette says this study was also kept from the public, circulated only to public health officials in the 17 AOCs.

"The Canadian study, for example, found a series of outbreaks of Minamata disease in Thunder Bay, Collingwood, Sarnia and Cornwall. Minamata disease, which includes cerebral palsy among its symptoms, is caused by mercury poisoning... Canadian research has also found an inexplicable drop in the male-female ratio on the Aamjiwnaang Reserve near Sarnia. The number of male babies had dropped 40 per cent in the mid-1990s. The reserve is surrounded by 46 large chemical plants and refineries."

While the American government cited faulty science as the reason for information suppression, Michael Gilbertson, one of three scientists to peer review the U.S. study, said the reasons behind the suppression were political.

Only one of many problems facing Great Lakes

The study essentially warns us that we are dumping too many chemicals into our lakes and rivers. But at the end of the day, the American chemical industry will still account for a huge chunk of GDP, and we will likely keep using the same pesticides, fertilizers, and lord-knows-what-else on a mass scale.

The problem of Lake toxicity is only in addition to a number of other problems facing the Lakes, including a growing algae buildup and an alarming shrinkage in their water volume. The Earth Policy Institute suggests that "the volume of water in the five Great Lakes could drop by 25 percent by 2040" due to overconsumption and global warming.

This information casts the recent tongue-in-cheek comments by David Suzuki - that politicians should be jailed for failing to heed environmental warnings - in a slightly better light.

Doing nothing to prevent premature births, mercury poisoning, palsy, cancer, not to mention the disappearance of the largest freshwater lake system in the world, surely qualifies as borderline criminal.

Labels: environment, Great Lakes, toxic soup