Mercury exposure linked to high youth suicide rate in a First Nations community in Ontario
Grassy Narrows had no history of suicides before the Dryden pulp and paper mill dumped nearly 10 tons of mercury in the Wabigoon River
Mercury exposure is directly contributing to high suicide rates among Indigenous youth in a First Nations community in Ontario, a study has found.
The peer-reviewed study, published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, is the first to directly link the industrial waste dumping near the Grassy Narrows decades earlier to the high suicide rates among its youth.
Researchers examined 80 mothers and 162 children between the ages of five and 17. Their analysis found the mothers’ umbilical cords had concentrated levels of mercury directly inherited from grandmothers.
Mercury accumulates in the body and binds to tissue and causes neurological issues. It also affects fetal brain development in the womb.
From 1962 to 1970, a former Dryden pulp and paper mill dumped nearly 10 tons of mercury into the English-Wabigoon River, upstream from the northwestern Ontario First Nation located in Treaty 3 territory.
Three generations later, Grassy Narrows youth are showing signs of poisoning from mercury ingested and passed down maternally.
“You can see this cascade of effects,” Donna Merger, lead author of the study, explained in a news conference Wednesday. “We found that the mother’s childhood mercury exposure is associated with today’s nervous system disorders, as well as a psychological distress.”
Mothers of the community reported that 41.2 per cent of girls and 10.7 per cent of boys between ages 12 and 17 in Grassy Narrows had attempted suicide.
The suicide rate among the Grassy Narrows youth is three times higher than other First Nations communities, which is already five to seven times the rate of non-Indigenous youth.
Grassy Narrows, a community of about 1,500 people, had no history of suicides before the contamination of the Wabigoon River, which the community long relied on for food.
In the early 1960s, around 80 percent of households in Grassy Narrows had someone who worked as a fishing guide in their family, the study says.
“During the tourist fishing season, all Grassy Narrows fishing guides reported eating fish everyday as part of the customary shore meal for anglers, and almost all (92 per cent) brought fish home to their family,” the authors write.
Mercury levels in fish following contamination was 50 times higher than levels considered safe for consumption.
Recent studies have confirmed residents of Grassy Narrows still suffer from tell-tale symptoms of mercury toxicity, such as muscle weakness, numbness in their fingers and toes, seizures and cognitive deficits.
A 1971 paper cited in the study looked into the mental effects of mercury, finding miners who were exposed to the metal suffered from “a lack of interest in home and work, emotional instability with fits of anger, depression, or rage.”
The federal government pledged close to $90 million for the construction of mercury treatment centre in the community, after many years of agitation. But the project, announced in 2020, has stalled repeatedly due to the complicated nature of the project, according to Indigenous Services. Construction is expected to begin in 2024.
Rudy Turtle, who is the Chief of Grassy Narrows, told the press conference he wanted federal and provincial governments to provide the community “fair compensation,” including for mental health support.
“You’ve done enough damage already, why do more?” he asked.