Mercury exposure linked to high youth suicides in Canada First Nation
www.theguardian.com
Grassy Narrows’ exposure to toxic metal helped cause a suicide rate three times higher than other communities, research finds

Researchers who studied three generations of mothers and their children from the community of Grassy Narrows, Ontario, have concluded that sustained exposure to the toxic metal helped cause a suicide rate three times higher than any other First Nations community – which are already far higher than among the country’s general population.

  • QuinceDaPence@kbin.social
    1·
    1 year ago

    released more than 20,000lb of mercury into the Wabigoon and English river systems

    That’s weird considering mercury was and is kinda valuable.

    • Parallax@kbin.social
      1·
      1 year ago

      Maybe it was mixed in with something else and wasn’t considered valuable enough to salvage/filter out. I also wonder if the 20,000lbs number is over a period of many years. Super messed up either way though, I don’t even know where one would start cleaning this up. :(

    • redtea@lemmygrad.ml
      1·
      1 year ago

      I didn’t think of it like that. Maybe it was mixed up and hard to separate from something else? Or maybe there were high taxes, etc, on commercial waste? Something like that?