Mercury poisoning near Grassy Narrows First Nation worsened by ongoing industrial pollution, study suggests
A new study from the Uni‐ versity of Western Ontario suggests mercury contami‐ nation in northwestern On‐ tario's English-Wabigoon River has been made worse by ongoing industrial pollu‐ tion.
Contamination of the river system dates back to the 1960s and 70s, when the pulp and paper mill dumped an estimated nine tonnes of mercury into the water.
The mercury has im‐ pacted generations of people living in Grassy Narrows First Nation, also known as Asub‐ peeschoseewagong Netum Anishinabek, a community about 150 kilometres from Dryden near the OntarioManitoba border, and Wabaseemoong Indepen‐ dent Nation.
However, the new study, published Thursday, has found that discharge of wastewater from the Dryden Paper Mill, combined with ex‐ isting mercury, has created high levels of methylmercury - an even more toxic com‐ pound.
"Other forms of mercury don't accumulate as strongly as methylmercury, but be‐ cause it accumulates, it builds up to high levels in or‐ ganisms, presenting that greater risk," said Brian Bran‐ fireun, a biology professor at the University of Western On‐ tario. "It's actually more seri‐ ous than I even imagined."
The experiment was con‐ ducted by masters student Eric Grimm under Branfire‐ un's supervision.
Dianne Loewen, commu‐ nications and engagement co-ordinator for Dryden Fibre Canada, the owner of the Dryden Paper Mill, said in an email to CBC News on Wednesday that she could not comment on the study.
"Dryden Fibre Canada on‐ ly recently acquired the mill from Domtar. We are not in a position to comment as we have not seen, nor have we been briefed on, Dr. Branfire‐ un's report."
Dryden Fibre Canada took over the mill from Domtar in August 2023.
Poison through the food chain
While the wastewater coming from the mill today does not contain mercury, it does con‐ tain high levels of sulfate and organic matter, which "feed the bacteria that produce methylmercury from inor‐ ganic mercury in the environ‐ ment," the study says.
These toxins build up in the river's fish, which are then passed on to the people that consume them.
"The accumulation of methylmercury in the human body causes neuromuscular problems and can also lead to death," Branfireun said.
WATCH | Chief says re‐ search confirms communi‐ ty's fears:
Just under 1,000 people live in Grassy Narrows First Nation, and fish are a staple part of the community's diet.
"Most of the families con‐ tinue to fish, they continue to eat the fish. It's something they've done for hundreds of years - you can't really stop them," said Grassy Narrows Chief Rudy Turtle in an inter‐ view with CBC News.
It is estimated that 90 per cent of Grassy Narrows' pop‐ ulation has symptoms of mercury poisoning, which causes problems including tremors, insomnia, memory loss, neuromuscular effects, headaches and cognitive and motor dysfunction.
For years, Turtle has called for the paper mill to be closed and for the river to be cleaned up. The community has also been anxiously awaiting the construction of a Mercury Care Home, for which the federal govern‐ ment signed a funding agreement in 2020.
"We continue to be poi‐ soned," said Turtle, who him‐ self has shared his experi‐ ences with mercury poison‐ ing.
Mercury Care Home construction slated for summer
Anispiragas Piragasanathar, a spokesperson for Indigenous Services Canada (ISC), provided CBC News an emailed statement about the Mercury Care Home.
Piragasanathar said the federal government has com‐ mitted: $77M to build the Mer‐ cury Care Home. $68.9M for operations, mainte‐ nance and specialized service delivery.
"ISC continues to support Grassy Narrows leadership as they take steps toward re‐ alizing their vision for healthcare delivery in their commu‐ nity through the Mercury Care Home," Piragasanathar said.
"Together, we have devel‐ oped key construction mile‐ stones to ensure that the Mercury Care Home is built in a timely manner."
Construction is planned to begin by July 1 and take about two to three years to complete.
Turtle said he is pleased with the additional funds the government has committed to the project this year, and that a ceremony will be held in the community once the shovels hit the ground.
No simple solutions
It is possible to remove the methylmercury from the wa‐ ter - but it won't be easy, Branfireun said.
"We are talking about po‐ tentially hundreds of kilome‐ tres of rivers and lakes and wetlands in a very compli‐ cated landscape that is not developed," he said.
While cleaning up the riv‐ er will take substantial time and resources, removing the sulfate and organic matter is a more manageable solution for the short-term, Bran‐ fireun said.
"It wouldn't completely solve the mercury problem in fish in this river, but it would dramatically improve it while these other remediation strategies are being imple‐ mented over the next few decades."
Michael Rennie is an asso‐ ciate professor at Lakehead University's biology depart‐ ment, as well as a research fellow at the International In‐ stitute for Sustainable Devel‐ opment (IISD) Experimental Lakes Area.
While he was not involved in the methylmercury study, he said he is not surprised by the results.
We are talking about po‐ tentially hundreds of kilometres of rivers and lakes and wetlands in a very complicated land‐ scape that is not devel‐ oped. - Brian Branfireun, University of Western Ontario
"It shows a pretty clear role for the impact that the mill has on the system now just from the effluent that's going into it from the current oper‐ ations," Rennie said in an in‐ terview with CBC News.
There are ways to reduce the impact of mill operations on the river, Rennie said, such as settling ponds or new environmental policies, but the level of contamina‐ tion throughout the system means there are no simple solutions.
"I don't think this is say‐ ing, 'Oh my God, we have to close the mill.'
"What I think it's saying is there are likely industrial processes that can be put in
to help reduce sulfate con‐ centrations that are coming out of that effluent to help reduce organic matter, that will at least not make the problem continue to be worse," he said.
Branfireun is expected to share the study's findings on Thursday morning at the
Earth Sciences Centre in Toronto.
WATCH | Mercury conta‐ mination in river made worse by ongoing industrial pollu‐ tion: