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LETTER TO THE EDITOR OF THE NATION
FROM FORMER CHIEF ABEL BOSUM
To the Editor:
I challenge The Nation to publish this letter in its entirety.
Following The Nation’s recent editorializing about the heavy metal contamination in the Oujé-Bougoumou traditional territory where the author suggests that there is a cover up of information and that there is a lack of seriousness by the Cree leadership in addressing this matter, I think it is time to speak out.
When the issue was first raised by the late Joseph Shecapio-Blacksmith who believed that there were serious questions about the potential contamination of some of the lakes and rivers in the Oujé-Bougoumou territory, it was the local Council who responded and urged the Grand Council of the Crees to engage Christopher Covel to undertake a preliminary assessment of the situation. The Grand Council in turn responded swiftly and positively.
It was our initial intention to obtain a preliminary indication of the seriousness of the situation knowing that if there was serious follow-up work which was required we would need to involve professionals with expertise in the area of environmental ecotoxicology and epidemiology. We were aware at the outset of the professional limitations of Mr. Covel whose professional training is as a geologist. We were also initially skeptical of Mr. Covel’s reliance on the medical advice he relied upon from Roger Masters, a retired professor of political science.
When Mr. Covel’s report was completed we realized that there were two components—a preliminary assessment of the extent potential environmental contaminants in three selected sites which found elevated levels of heavy metals, and an assessment of the implications for the health of the Oujé-Bougoumou population.
At the same time, the Quebec Ministry of Environment began a series of annual sampling and analysis of selected bodies of water in the territory to determine the levels of heavy metal presence. These studies have also confirmed the general conclusions in the Covel report.
To satisfy ourselves as to the validity of the findings in the Covel report, we submitted Mr. Covel’s report to an internationally recognized expert in ecotoxicology, Dr. Evert Nieboer of MacMaster University, for review. In Dr. Nieboer’s report he confirmed the probable validity of the environmental conclusions of the Covel report. He was, however, very critical of the conclusions in the Covel report regarding the health of the Oujé-Bougoumou population which were based on questionable results of hair analysis. The sample population was limited to only 23 people, they were not randomly selected, and hair analysis is generally recognized to be only useful in detecting the presence of mercury.
Dr. Nieboer’s report recommended that there immediately be undertaken a proper scientific health study of the Oujé-Bougoumou population to determine if the human population was at risk as a result of the presence of environmental contaminants.
Following negotiations with Quebec we were able to establish an approach for a proper health study which would be carried out on a joint Cree/Quebec basis. A health study was then designed by the two co-directors, Dr. Evert Nieboer representing the Cree Board of Health and Social Services, and Dr. Evert DeWailly, also a highly respected expert in the field, representing the Quebec National Institute of Public Health.
The health study in Oujé-Bougoumou was carried out during the summer of 2002 and blood, urine and some hair samples were taken from over 200 community members. The results were compared with the community of Nemaska where the life-style and population is similar to Oujé-Bougoumou, unlike the Covel report which inappropriately compared results to a population of young Americans. Based on an analysis of the chemicals associated with mining activities (arsenic, copper, selenium and zinc), it was determined that the Oujé-Bougoumou people are not as risk of internal exposure and therefore no medical intervention was required.
The health study further concluded that it would be prudent to conduct a comprehensive environmental risk assessment covering the entire Oujé-Bougoumou traditional territory to determine the extent of the presence of heavy metals in the environment for purposes of initiating remediation measures, and also, for purposes of a longer term public health measure to continuously monitor the health of the environment and the health of the human population.
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