Drive to revive polluted Boat Harbour threatens mill jobs in Nova Scotia town | CBC News
NOTE: a little white washing from the CBC. Samples of the effluent tested show the heavy metals to contain mercury, cadmium, lead, nickel, chromium, arsenic, aluminum, vanadium, chromium as well as dioxins and furans.
. Soil samples have shown small amounts mercury and it could certainly leech into the waterways and migrate towards Pictou Harbour as methylmercury. It’s formed from inorganic mercury by the action of microbes that live in aquatic systems including lakes, rivers, wetlands, sediments, soils and the open ocean. It can have disastrous health effects on sea life and people, as being experienced by Grassy Narrows First Nation, located 80 kilometres north of Kenora in Ontario. It can cause neurological damge, IQ deficits, abnormal muscle tone, decrements in motor function, attention, and visuospatial performance and damage to the central nervous system.
This site where the new treatment plant will sit, is an old industrial site with tons of mercury buried below into the bedrock… most of which has never been accounted for. There are concerns that disturbing the ground could activate the mercury to start leaching into the waterways and out into the strait. More research needs to be done on this to confirm it.
Although it could be considered fortunate that only small amounts (mercury) were discovered in the soil samples, the flow of the water in the Northumberland Strait will amplify this condition. There are continuous circulating ocean currents located at both ends of the strait that contains the water and aquatic life for extended periods. Coupled with the nature of methylmercury that bioaccumulates in living organisms, species will digest increased amounts. The bigger fish, feeding on contaminated prey, will absorb a greater quantity. Naturally, this includes other heavy metals as well.
The health of the ecosystem has been getting increasing worse since 2007. with shell fish harvesting restricted in some of the areas. PEI and Nova Scotia will lose a significant fishing area, and once word gets out, tourism is likely to drop as well.