Ontario Minamata disease

Last updated

Ontario Minamata disease is a neurological syndrome caused by severe mercury poisoning. It occurred in the Canadian province of Ontario, in 1970, and severely affected two First Nation communities in Northwestern Ontario following consumption of local fish contaminated with mercury, and one First Nation in Southern Ontario due to illegal disposal of industrial chemical waste. The disease was named after the infamous case of severe mercury poisoning in the fishing community of Minamata, Japan, which became known as Minamata disease because it devastated only the residents of the community.

Contents

Source of the mercury pollution

Grassy Narrows and Whitedog First Nations

In 1962, Dryden Chemical Company began operating a chloralkali process plant in Dryden, Ontario, using mercury cells. [1] [2] It produced sodium hydroxide and chlorine that were used in large amounts for bleaching paper during production by the nearby Dryden Pulp and Paper Company. [1] Both companies were subsidiaries of the British multinational, Reed International. [1]

Dryden Chemical Company discharged their effluent directly into the Wabigoon-English River system. In 1970, extensive mercury contamination was discovered in this river system, leading to closure of the commercial fishery and some tourism related businesses. On March 26, 1970, the Ontario provincial government ordered Dryden Chemical Company to cease dumping mercury into the river system, although the order did not place any restrictions on airborne emissions of mercury by the company. [2] It was estimated that over 9,000 kg of mercury had been dumped by the company into the Wabigoon-English river system between 1962 and 1970. [2] The airborne emissions of mercury continued unabated until the company stopped using mercury cells in its chloralkali process in October 1975; the company closed down in 1976. [2]

Sarnia First Nation

The Aamjiwnaang First Nation (the Chippewas of Sarnia) is located on the St. Clair River, affectionately called by the local population as "Chemical Valley". This First Nation is plagued by numerous chemical affective disorders, including mercury poisoning. Elders in the community recall collecting mercury from the local toxic waste dump by pouring water, then selling the collected mercury on the black market. [3]

Health effects

Grassy Narrows and Whitedog First Nations

In the late 1960s, people in the Grassy Narrows and Whitedog First Nations populations started to have symptoms of mercury poisoning. Several Japanese doctors who had been involved in studying Minamata disease in Japan travelled to Canada to investigate the mercury poisoning in these people. [4] [5] Blood mercury levels were above 100  ppb in a significant number of individuals and above 200 ppb in several others. [5] Symptoms included sensory disturbances, such as narrowing of the visual field, and impaired hearing, abnormal eye movements, tremor, ataxia (impaired balance), and dysarthria (poor articulation of speech). [5]

Health effects continued to be felt, even in young people, in the 21st century. Dumping of drums of mercury which continue to leak is suspected, [6] and field work by Brian Branfireun and others continues to monitor the health of the ecosystem. [7] [8] [9]

Lawsuits and settlements

Grassy Narrows and Whitedog First Nations

The Asabiinyashkosiwagong Nitam-Anishinaabeg or the "Grassy Narrows First Nation" and their downstream neighbours, the Wabaseemoong Independent Nations (then known as the "Whitedog Community of the Islington Band of Saulteaux") "sought compensation for loss of jobs and way of life. According to the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs (INAC) Ontario Region Communications, "on March 26, 1982, Canada contributed $2.2 million to Wabaseemoong for economic development, social and educational programs. Wabaseemoong also signed a settlement with Ontario in January 1983. On July 27, 1984, Canada contributed $4.4 million to Grassy Narrows for economic development and social service development/planning." [10]

According to INAC, a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) reached in 1985 between the federal government, the Ontario government, Reed Limited, and Great Lakes Forest Products Ltd. resulted in a one-time compensation payment of $16.67 million with the federal government contributing $2 million, the Ontario government paying . Through the 1986 "Grassy Narrows and Islington Indian Bands Mercury Pollution Claims Settlement Act". Through this claims settlement, the Kenora, Ontario-based Mercury Disability Fund (MDF) and the Mercury Disability Board. [10] The Government of Ontario held $2 million of this settlement in a trust fund which the province is "responsible for replenishing when the balance drops below $100,000. [10]

Nevertheless, the community members have seen little of this money, due to conditions on its use and bureaucratic requirements by band councils. Similarly to other First Nations communities, the federal government's Indian Act governance system has made it difficult for band councils and chiefs to negotiate for their people. [11]

Chief Sakatcheway was the first leader of community when the treaty was signed and mainly wanted education for the community.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dryden, Ontario</span> City in Ontario, Canada

Dryden, originally known as New Prospect, is the second-largest city in the Kenora District of Northwestern Ontario, Canada, located on Wabigoon Lake. It is the least populous community in Ontario incorporated as a city. The City of Dryden had a population of 7,749 and its population centre had a population of 5,586 in 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saulteaux</span> Ethnic group

The Saulteaux, otherwise known as the Plains Ojibwe, are a First Nations band government in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia, Canada. They are a branch of the Ojibwe who pushed west. They formed a mixed culture of woodlands and plains Indigenous customs and traditions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Minamata disease</span> Severe neurological disease caused by mercury poisoning

Minamata disease is a neurological disease caused by severe mercury poisoning. Signs and symptoms include ataxia, numbness in the hands and feet, general muscle weakness, loss of peripheral vision, and damage to hearing and speech. In extreme cases, insanity, paralysis, coma, and death follow within weeks of the onset of symptoms. A congenital form of the disease can also affect fetuses in the womb and may cause cerebral palsy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mercury poisoning</span> Poisoning caused by mercury chemicals

Mercury poisoning is a type of metal poisoning due to exposure to mercury. Symptoms depend upon the type, dose, method, and duration of exposure. They may include muscle weakness, poor coordination, numbness in the hands and feet, skin rashes, anxiety, memory problems, trouble speaking, trouble hearing, or trouble seeing. High-level exposure to methylmercury is known as Minamata disease. Methylmercury exposure in children may result in acrodynia in which the skin becomes pink and peels. Long-term complications may include kidney problems and decreased intelligence. The effects of long-term low-dose exposure to methylmercury are unclear.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wabigoon River</span> River in Ontario, Canada

The Wabigoon River is a river in Kenora District in northwestern Ontario, Canada. It flows from Raleigh Lake past Dryden, Ontario on Wabigoon Lake to join the English River. The name "Wabigoon" comes from the Ojibwe waabigon, "marigold", or waabi-miigwan, "white feather".

Treaty 3 was an agreement entered into on October 3, 1873, by Chief Mikiseesis on behalf of the Ojibwe First Nations and Queen Victoria. The treaty involved a vast tract of Ojibwe territory, including large parts of what is now northwestern Ontario and a small part of eastern Manitoba, to the Government of Canada. Treaty 3 also provided for rights for the Waasaakode Anishinaabe and other Ojibwe, through a series of agreements signed over the next year. The treaty was modified in 1875 when Nicolas Chatelain negotiated an adhesion that created a reserve, surveyed as reserve 16A, for Metis families connected to Mikiseesis' Rainy Lake Band. Reserve 16A and the Rainy Lake Band reserve were unified in 1967.

Asubpeeschoseewagong First Nation is an Ojibwe First Nations band government who inhabit northern Kenora in Ontario, Canada. Their landbase is the 4,145 ha English River 21 Indian Reserve. It has a registered population of 1,595 as of October 2019, of which the on-reserve population was 971. As of October 2020, the community had a population of approximately 1,200. They are a signatory to Treaty 3.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chisso</span> Japanese chemicals company

The Chisso Corporation, since 2012 reorganized as JNC, is a Japanese chemical company. It is an important supplier of liquid crystal used for LCDs, but is best known for its role in the 34-year-long pollution of the water supply in Minamata, Japan that led to thousands of deaths and victims of disease.

The four big pollution diseases of Japan were a group of man-made diseases all caused by environmental pollution due to improper handling of industrial wastes by Japanese corporations. The first occurred in 1912, and the other three occurred in the 1950s and 1960s.

Niigata Minamata disease is a neurological syndrome caused by severe mercury poisoning. Identical in symptoms to the original outbreak of Minamata disease in Kumamoto Prefecture, the second outbreak in Niigata Prefecture was confirmed with the same name in 1965. The disease was caused by severe mercury poisoning, the source of which was methylmercury released in the wastewater from mercury sulfate-catalysed acetaldehyde production at the Showa Electrical Company's chemical plant in Kanose village. This highly toxic compound was released untreated into the Agano River where it bioaccumulated up the food chain, contaminating fish which when eaten by local people caused symptoms including ataxia, numbness in the hands and feet, general muscle weakness, narrowing of the field of vision and damage to hearing and speech.

Wabaseemoong Independent Nations or more fully as the Wabaseemoong Independent Nations of One Man Lake, Swan Lake and Whitedog, is an Ojibway First Nation band government who reside 120 km northwest of Kenora, Ontario and 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) east of the Ontario-Manitoba border of northwestern Ontario, Canada. As of December 2018, the First Nation had a population of 2,000 registered people, of which their on-Reserve population was 1200 registered members and approximately 100 non-Band members.

Grand Council of Treaty 3 (GCT3) is a political organization representing 24 First Nation communities across Treaty 3 areas of northern Ontario and southeastern Manitoba, Canada, and four additional First Nations, specifically in regard to their Treaty rights.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paper and pulp industry in Dryden, Ontario</span>

The Dryden pulp mill, also known as the Reed Mill, is a paper and pulp mill in Dryden, Ontario. During the 1960s and 70s, mercury poisoning from the mill caused one of Canada's worst environmental disasters: Dryden Chemicals Ltd dumped mercury into the English-Wabigoon River, upstream of Grassy Narrows First Nation, poisoning the fish which were their staple food. Members of the Grassy Narrows and the Whitedog communities downstream from the mill suffered severe mercury poisoning.

Mercury is a poisonous element found in various forms in Canada. It can be emitted in the atmosphere naturally and anthropogenically, the main cause of mercury emission in the environment. Mercury pollution has become a sensitive issue in Canada for the past few decades and many steps have been taken for prevention at local, national, and international levels. It has been found to have various negative health and environmental effects. Methylmercury is the most toxic form of mercury which is easily accessible as well as digestible by living organisms and it is this form of mercury causing serious harm to human and wildlife health.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian Branfireun</span> Canadian environmental scientist

Brian Branfireun is a Canadian environmental scientist. He held a Canada Research Chair (2010-2020) and is a professor at Western University. He studied climate change and directed a laboratory in Western's Biotron for the study of speciated trace metals in the environment such as mercury and arsenic.

In Canada, First Nations communities have been under long-term drinking water advisories (DWAs) for decades. A long-term drinking water advisory is an advisory that has been in place for over a year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mercury contamination in Grassy Narrows</span> Environmental & health disaster 1962 - 1970

Mercury contamination in Grassy Narrows was an uncontrolled discharge of between 9,000 kilograms (20,000 lb) and 11,000 kilograms (24,000 lb) of mercury from the Dryden Mill's chloralkali plant in Dryden into the headwaters of the Wabigoon River in the Kenora District of Northwestern Ontario from 1962 until 1970. It was described as "one of the worst cases of environmental poisoning in Canadian history." The contamination poisoned many people in the Grassy Narrows First Nation and Whitedog First Nation communities

The Royal Commission on the Northern Environment was established by the Government of Ontario with J. E. J. Fahlgren as Commissioner. The final report and recommendations were submitted to the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General on June 28, 1985.

Water pollution in Canada is generally local and regional in water-rich Canada, and most Canadians have "access to sufficient, affordable, and safe drinking water and adequate sanitation." Water pollution in Canada is caused by municipal sewage, urban runoff, industrial pollution and industrial waste, agricultural pollution, inadequate water infrastructure. This is a long-term threat in Canada due to "population growth, economic development, climate change, and scarce fresh water supplies in certain parts of the country."

References

  1. 1 2 3 D'ltri, P A; D'ltri, F M (January 1978). "Mercury contamination: A human tragedy". Environmental Management. 2 (1): 3–16. Bibcode:1978EnMan...2....3D. doi:10.1007/BF01866442. ISSN   1432-1009. S2CID   153666705.
  2. 1 2 3 4 McDonald, A. "Indigenous peoples' vulnerabilities exposed: Lessons learned from Canada's Minamata incident: An Environmental analysis based on the case study of methyl-mercury pollution in northwestern Ontario, Canada" (PDF). JACS Conference 2007: Japanese Association for Canadian Studies. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-10-14. Retrieved 2007-12-14.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)CS1 maint: location (link)
  3. ↑ "Caught in a toxic web, Canadian natives are alarmed by a shortage of sons" Archived 2012-02-09 at the Wayback Machine . AP News archive
  4. ↑ Mercury Poisoning. Vol. CX16. Quaker Committee for Native Concerns, Toronto, Canada. 1976. Retrieved 2007-12-14.
  5. 1 2 3 Harada, M, Fujino, T, Akagi, T, and Nishigaki, S. "Epidemiological and clinical study and historical background of mercury pollution on Indian Reservations in Northwestern Ontario, Canada". Kumamoto University . 26: 169–184.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ↑ Susan Goldberg (April 19, 2017). "The Town Where Mercury Still Rises". The New York Times. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
  7. ↑ Forbes, Ryan (2018-08-14). "ODSP now covers mercury poisoning".
  8. ↑ Loriggio, Paola (2017-02-28). "Chief says mercury still leaking from mill near Grassy Narrows - According to Chief Simon Fobister, a new report suggests there is ongoing contamination from the Dryden, Ont., mill".
  9. ↑ Forbes, Ryan (2017-10-25). "Mercury legacy 'frightening,'commissioner".
  10. 1 2 3 "English-Wabigoon River Mercury Compensation". INAC Ontario Region Communications. April 12, 2005. Archived from the original on March 11, 2008. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
  11. ↑ "New Socialist: Grassy Narrows: History of the fight". Archived from the original on 2008-03-16. Retrieved 2007-10-25.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.