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Toxic chemicals found in Ottawa River: Memo
Posted By THE CANADIAN PRESS
Posted 1 day ago


Not only is raw sewage flowing into the Ottawa River, so are toxic chemicals.

In a memo sent to city councillors last week deputy manager for infrastructure services Nancy Schepers stated that recent testing found at least 10 chemicals, some of them toxic, in the river that serves as the city's main source of drinking water.

At least one chemical, perfluorobutane sulfonate, can result in birth or developmental effects, affect the brain and nervous system, cause cancer and affect reproduction and fertility.

Raw river water samples taken in April 2008 showed 10 compounds from a list of 51 compounds the city tested for.

Those detected include bisphenol A which was recently added by the federal government to Canada's list of toxic chemicals.

Scientists have expressed concern that the chemical has the potential to disrupt female biological processes controlled by estrogen.

The chemical is commonly used in food and drink containers, some baby bottles and many other products used every day.

Other chemicals found include as lasaloid A, used as an antibiotic for livestock, and perfluorooctane sulfonate, a key ingredient in some fabric protectors and stain repellents.

Earlier this month, Ottawa was ordered to pay a fine of $562,000 fine after one billion litres of raw sewage leaked into the Ottawa River in August, 2006.

The city's Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Isra Levy, said the detection of chemicals in the water is a classic case of science outstripping the ability to understand what the impact is on human health over the long run.

"In the long run we may conclude there are health effects or that there are no significant health effects," said Levy.

catch and release BABY!

I guess the question is what part of the Ottawa River did they take the water samples from?..from reading that report it sounds like samples were taken from the Ottawa area....could be one of the reasons why so many Ottawa beaches have closures throughout the summer......in order to try and understand where the source of these toxins are coming from, you would think that the Provinces, both Quebec and Ontario would take samples from their waterways.....Gatineau River, Rideau River, etc. as well as samples from various locations further up North on the Ottawa to see if the same 10 chemicals were present.

I guess that would just make to much sense

Here are a couple of valuable resources for anyone who eats the fish they catch;

http://www.mddep.gouv.qc.ca/eau/guide/z ... 04c4#liste

All in French, but easy enough to understand!

And the Ontario equivalent:

http://www.ene.gov.on.ca/envision/guide/

These are the guides to eating fish from our waters and how much is too much... Might be a good sticky!

Fishing 24/7 wrote:catch and release BABY!

Won't make an ounce of difference if there is no fish left to catch.

Personnally I'd like to see much stiffer fines on town's, cities, provinces, and companies that pollute our waters. Maybe it would curb some of the "CRAP" that goes into them.

A few years back I stumbled upon a HUGE diesel leak out of the Gillies mill. Called the coast gaurd, and local O.P.P, whom I had sean on the water earlier................Two weeks went by before an airplane took a picture of it and someone did something about it. NO FINES WERE LAID!!!! To me that is unacceptable.

In hindsight I should have lit it up......I am sure that would have got some attention.

It's a shame, I have seen the river detiorating and our government doesnt give a rats butt.

Personally, I would like some more information. What were the intensities of those chemicals and how do they compare to the levels of intensity from previous tests? Sure they found 10 of the 51 chemicals tested for, but how many were found in the last tests? 20? 50? 51 and some they weren't testing for? Or was it less? Where they test is very important. Testing at a drainage area (regular storm drain as chemicals wash in with rainwater) and those chemicals may seem troubling, but test downstream and the chemical indications may be negligable, or non-existant. The environment will absorb or even clean low doses of many of the chemicals that are found in water. Don't beleive me? Research limestone.

The environment is a very "hot button" issue right now with many competing interests. The author of this note left out some important information. Seems to me that maybe they were trying to be alarmist or might have some kind of anti-industry agenda. Can't say for sure without more info.

I'm not saying that chemicals in drinking water are not a factor. Clearly they are. I'm just not ready to allow myself to be scared without more concrete info. I'm definitely not going to be scared by someone who may have an underlying interest in publishing information negligently (think Al Gore and Michael Moore).

PS - I was talking about the Canadian Press author and not Priorguy.

this is bad........

there should be a lot more poepl watching that river...ottawa river keeper those a supserb job..but cant do it all.

they should be some real realy high..tickets for those people or company to dump that stuff in are water.

this is are water actualy its are children and there childrens water.

like the otttawa will have to pay a big price for that dumping they did.

but that monney will be spend how..it should go back all off it to that river.only.

its a geurgeous river and we should be proud off it.

and again we dont take care off it.

they should be more poeple looking for anything that is wrong on that river.

and those we seee in the papers are just a little %%%..a lot more we dont no or dont see..or dont want to see..

some people close there eyes and ears..


joco

oops

Not to worried, toxic chemicals are everywhere especially when you you look in the microgram/litre or smaller range.

I was just waiting for Iceman to respond. Now I know that it is okay to have my rye on the rocks, I've been drinking it straight for 2 days now!! Thanks Iceman for clearing that up , my liver will thank you forever!!!

mmmmmmmmm rye on the rocks.

Billy Dee... I knew you were refering to the author of the note and not me..

In most of my research on this one it all points back to not enough detail but just enough to sell papers and spark interest. I think your right we need more detail but you can be sure the politicians will hold this buttoned down until they have more concrete detail and it will not impact tu much of the already enviromental policies they have in place and police.

I still say the catfish trouble we had in the Arnprior area last year was a sure sign that there is more to all this than stress on fish... It's gonna catch up sooner or later and we will all have trout farms of our own....

Priorguy!

In 2005 this was known and other than clean up there was no follow up testing or reporting of exactly how much was being exposed.... To this day they have never retuirned to do any further testing... it was just cleaned up suposedly and not much made of it.. If you ask me I think there is another connection and they are not saying....

Toxic runoff from Parliament Hill enters Ottawa River
Tim Naumetz, Ottawa Citizen - Sunday, January 30, 2005
A government landfill beside Parliament Hill is contaminated with carcinogenic chemical compounds and toxic metals in concentrations up to 140 times higher than national and provincial standards for protection of the environment and human health, an internal government report says.

The report also shows laboratory testing found traces of carcinogenic chemicals in groundwater running through the landfill, into the Ottawa River, exceeding national standards for surface water contamination established by the federal government and the provinces to protect fish and other forms of aquatic life.

Despite the findings, a senior Public Works and Government Services department official described the water as “clean” in a brief the department prepared for distribution to mid-level officials in the House of Commons administration.

Everybody has been using all waterways as waste dumps for 200 years and we are surprised that there are toxics in Ottawa River???