Akwesasne Health Studies and PCBs Meeting

There are children in the world who have never known peace, they were born into a world of war with the sound of explosive shells, RPG and IED's and by all accounts, will leave here never knowing peace. The children of Akwesasne are born into a world of toxic chemicals, they have been tested, their breast milk has been tested, their blood, their fat, their behavior and their IQ. The fish they eat, the water they drink, the air they breathe. Their parents remember being tested. They have never known anything but to be tested for toxic chemicals. So our children share many commonalties among children born of war.

On Thursday, December 8, 2014, the St. Regis Mohawk Senior Center was packed with concerned community members ranging in age from our very young children to our respected elders. It was immediately clear the people who arrived for this meeting each held very different beliefs; yet on this night they all shared one concern – the future of a toxic-laden Akwesasne and working towards environmental justice.

That evening, an impressive array of scientists and professors gathered to share 30 years of research. The same thirty years of research that was completed on our children and ourselves. From the first testing on cattle in the 1970's for fluoride to the fish advisory in the 1980's to the effects of PCB's on obesity in 2014, volumes have been written and countless hours spent on testing and researching.

Henry Lickers, Environmental Science Officer at the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne was the first invited guest speaker,

The manufacturing giants of days gone by; Reynolds Metals Company, Aluminum Company of America (ALCOA) and General Motors flourished for over forty years on the low-cost electricity produced by the hydro-electric project flanking the western portion of Akwesasne. In direct contrast, as the manufacturing giants prospered, Akwesasne bore the brunt of the first silent assault of toxic, hazardous chemicals that pollutes our air, our water, our soil – our life. All three giants used a human made chemical which has become somewhat of a household name - polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). This infamous chemical was banned in 1978. After effectively wreaking havoc on our three rivers (the St. Lawrence, Racquette and Grasse River) the PCB's by illegal dumping or through industrial waste water or spills, the PCB"s ended up in our systems. And let's not forget the mercury and mirex that was discharged by Domtar, a pulp and paper mill located just north of Akwesasne.

First to speak, after the Words that Come Before All Else, was Henry Lickers, Environmental Science Officer at Mohawk Council of Akwesasne has spent his career overseeing and directing the environment division on its long course of action starting with effects of fluoride on cattle raised on Kawehnoke. This first study completed in the early 70's was to be the first in a long line of studies and research. Lickers, holding a wealth of information, history and knowledge of Akwesasne told the large crowd who gathered that evening of the changes in the entire ecosystem from the ospreys, eagles and golden eagles (fish eaters) and as much as he has seen progress with the return of the eagles, they are now finding new compounds in the water such as metformin, Prozac and other medications. "What is the effect of these compounds on the community? There will be very hard decisions to make in the near future. We will spend the rest of our lives making sure the contaminants (from ALCOA, Reynolds, and GM) are removed safely and properly". Lickers encouraged people to go back to our old ways of fishing and gardening.

Dr. Larry Schell, from the State University of New York at Albany has conducted research in Akwesasne since 1995. Dr Schell produced three major studies (among others) in Akwesasne with eleven results presented that evening.

Among them;

1. In 10 to 17 year olds, the levels of toxicants.

2. Regarding the thyroid gland in 10 to 17 year olds.

3. Among 10 to 17 year old girls, sexual maturation is related to levels of PCB's and lead.

4. Among 10 to 17 year old boys, level of testosterone is decreased in relation to PCB level.

5. Among 10 to 17 year olds; height, weight, obesity, etc.

6. Regarding diets among 10 to 17 year olds.

7. Among 10 to 17 year olds – cognitive tests included 13 subtests, long term memory, and long term comprehension.

8. Among 10 to 17 year olds cognitive tests – effects of persistent vs. / less persistent congeners and of dioxin-like and non-dioxin-like congeners

9. Among young adults, levels of PCB's are significantly higher than levels of age-comparable US levels,

10. Among young adults; persons with elevated anti-thyroid peroxidase have elevated PCB levels. This effect is evident only among those who had been breast-fed.

11. Among young adults; those who said they had consumed locally caught or produced foods in the past year had higher levels of PCBs, especially persistent ones. Those who said they were likely to perform many activities did not have higher levels of PCB, specifically trapping in the dry lands, medicine picking, medicine picking in wetlands, farming, gardening, berry picking, fishing, swimming, wading, boating in the river and using traditional medicines.

As well, these finding were stated; Menarche started early for females of Akwesasne, PCB's has an effect on testosterone, PCB's had an effect on girls weight gain and later overall weight gain on both males and females leading to obesity.

Joan Newman spoke next on the effect of PCB on memory and cognition, attention deficit, sustained attention and non-attention. Interestingly enough, but not surprising, her studies found Mohawks had higher visual processing but lower scores in delayed recall and long term memory.

Georgia Burke, PHD, UA ED Psych, presented her studies showed breastfeeding had more PCB's but this did not affect the cognitive results and stated the benefits of breastfeeding outweigh the negative of higher PCB's levels.

Gail Skawenniio Morse presented a study which she carried out with Judy Hemlock and Rosemary Bonaparte. She found higher levels of PCB in our elders, specifically in the male population.

David O. Carpenter, MD University of Albany, stated PCB's cause diabetes and obesity. He also found PCB's affect the level of testosterone in men, resulting in lower levels of this male hormone. He also stated there are other studies with the same results of PCB causing obesity and diabetes. As more meetings occur, he will share more results with the community of Akwesasne.

The end of the meeting was filled with compelling and pertinent questions from the crowd. Most importantly – where do we go from here? More meetings are being planned and additional studies will be presented or reviewed again if necessary. The last to speak and the most passionate was organizer Danaleigh Thompson who stated we cannot continue like this, for the love of her children and grandchildren we must step up and demand environmental justice not only for this generation but for the next seven generations.

The next meeting date was not set at press time. Please listen for future announcements for the time and date for the next meeting.