Letter to the Editor

ALCOA, the former Reynolds Metals, Inc. and General Motors (GM) have poisoned the St. Lawrence River Valley in the vicinity of Massena and Akwesasne. These corporations poisoned the land, water and air with PCBs and other industrial chemicals. There has been some limited clean-up of the contaminated sediments and soils. However, much contamination remains: ground water contamination, the Toxic Mound on the former GM Powertrain site, the lagoons on the former GM site, the sediments of the Grasse River, and the sediments of the Massena Power Canal. All of the contaminants should be removed and placed in a secure repository.

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) meetings in Akwesasne and Massena are a perfect opportunity for the residents of Akwesasne, Massena and the rest of the region to come forward and demand clean-up of all industrial contamination in the St. Lawrence River Valley.

I have long advocated for removal of industrial contaminants from the soils and sediments of the North Country environment. I have communicated my desire for removal of these poisons to the EPA on many occasions. I have communicated with EPA concerning the need for public educational outreach to warn the populations that reside in the vicinity of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) contaminated sites of the POPs exposure health hazard that exists in contamination of the mainstream food supply. I have advocated for this because the people who live near POPs contaminated sites have received unusually heavy exposures to POPs. It is of critical importance to their health that all ongoing POPs exposures be minimized. The EPA has shown no interest in providing such educational outreach to the people of the communities of Akwesasne and Massena. The EPA is far too much under the control of the corporations that poisoned the St. Lawrence River Valley. I will attend these meetings and call for removal of all industrial contaminants from the St. Lawrence River Valley. I will call for education to warn the residents of the St. Lawrence River Valley of their ongoing exposures to POPs that result from consumption of mainstream food supply animal fats, including: meats, fish, eggs and dairy products. EPA should provide every family in the St. Lawrence River Valley with a copy of the 2010 World Health Organization (WHO) report, titled, “Persistent Organic Pollutants: Impact on Child Health”. This report calls for a worldwide effort to minimize the POPs exposures received by children. WHO prioritizes populations that reside in the vicinity of POPs contaminated sites for immediate action on POPs exposure minimization. I will distribute literature that addresses the matter of POPs exposure minimization and which explains how to access the WHO report named above to those in attendance at the EPA’s Grasse River Superfund Site clean-up meetings.

Donald L. Hassig, Director

Cancer Action NY