Canada and the World
Current Events with a Canadian Perspective
Last update
14 October 2011
Great Lakes Pollution
Environmental damage is threatening the Great Lakes fisheries, an industry that’s worth $4 billion a year
The build up of toxins in the world’s biggest freshwater ecosystem has been known about for a long time.
Action plans have been written and then shelved; the authorities tasked with cleaning up the mess have mostly just nibbled at the edges of the problem.
Meanwhile, the fish have no choice but to swim in the sewage, heavy metals, pesticide runoff, and other assorted gunk thrown into the water.
Eskimo Jo
The “beach” at Point Clark on Lake Huron.
Warnings about Great Lakes Fish
In the summer of 2000, the International Joint Commission said it “had some very serious concerns about the injury to human health from exposures to contaminants in Great Lakes fish.”
Nine years later, Environmental Defence issued a report that wasn’t a good read for those who enjoy a fish dinner.
“While fish remains a healthy choice for consumers, toxic contamination levels suggest that we are still treating the Great Lakes as a toxic waste dump,” said Aaron Freeman, Policy Director of Environmental Defence.
“We are clearly not doing enough to protect this vital ecosystem. We need stronger pollution regulations and a real plan from the federal and provincial governments to clean up the Lakes.”
Rona Proudfoot
Contamination of Fish Getting Worse
The Environmental Defence report found that many species of fish were either somewhat or completely unfit for human consumption. Eight species of fish in Lake Ontario became more contaminated between 2005 and 2007, while one improved.
The worst examples were loaded with mercury, PCBs, pesticides, dioxins, and furans. Chowing down on these could lead to respiratory, nervous, and immune system damage, as well as cancer.
It’s wise to take note of official warnings, such as the Ontario government’s Guide to Eating Ontario Sport Fish, about which fish to eat and in what quantities.
More Pollution Arrives Annually
And, the goop dumping continues. Great Lakes United’s John Jackson put some scale on the problem in a 2009 report, Partners in Pollution: “Imagine 17,000 dump trucks pulling up to your beach and tipping their toxic load straight into the drinking water of 40 million people. These ongoing toxic discharges are a smear on one of the world’s greatest sources of freshwater.”
He says there is a pressing need to get beyond making promises and put a serious effort into a clean up, while at the same time cutting down on the pollution that continues to enter the lakes.
Government Budgets for Cleaning Great Lakes
The 2010 budget for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was $475 million to help clean up the Great Lakes environment and eliminate invasive species.
And, here’s the Canadian contribution according to the Environment Canada website: “The Government of Canada’s Budget 2010 announced $16 million over two years to continue to implement the Government’s action plan to protect the Great Lakes by cleaning up areas identified as being the most degraded.”
However, even if no dodgy materials are dumped into the Great Lakes starting today the clean up will extend over a long period.
Lake Superior takes two centuries to change its water volume completely, but there would still be a layer of poisonous stuff sitting on the lake bottom for many hundreds of years more.
Sources
“Persistent Toxic Substances.” International Joint Commission, Summer 2000.
“Up to the Gills: 2009 Update on Pollution in Great Lakes Fish.” Environmental Defence, 2009.
“Great Lakes still under Siege from Toxic Pollution.” Great Lakes United News Release, 2009.
© Canada and the World, October 2011
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“While the Great Lakes fishing industry
has declined substantially over the last century, there are still more than 395,000 anglers who fish in the
Canadian Great Lakes each year, and commercial Great Lakes fisheries pump an estimated
$100-
Environmental Defence
2009
Andrew Borgen
In 1868, and on 12 other occasions since, the Cuyahoga River flowing through Cleveland, Ohio, (above) into Lake Erie was so choked with garbage and oil it actually caught fire.
A fire in 1969 created the impetus for a clean-
