Dam site monitored for mercury level

Page 5

Mercury levels of members of the Peigan Reserve will be closely monitored to ensure their health isn't endangered by the construction of the Oldman River Dam.

Dams can lead to mercury pollution as happened in Quebec when giant dams were built at James Bay an in northern Manitoba.

Health and Welfare officials will take hair samples of Peigan Indians before the Oldman area is flood to measure mercury levels I their bodies, said Dr. Harold Hodes, the

department's assistant regional director of community health programs.

Further studies will be conducted after the dam is completed to see if there's been an increase.

Maurice Aked, regional director of the medical services branch, said he doesn't believe there'll be a "terribly significant" increase.

Whether there's considerable pollution depends on if there's a substantial amount of mercury in the rock and sand in the area of the dam, Holdes said.

"It (construction of a dam) frees up the natural mercury."

Mercury poisoning is "extremely rare," he said.

"You need very high levels to get that," he said. "It can cause skin conditions and it can cause blood conditions."

Everyone has a certain amount of mercury in their bodies already, Hodes explained.

A nutritional study by Health and Welfare is also planned to determine what role fish play in the diet of the Peigan.

"The general logic is if mercury has increased in the fish population and people eat the fish, the mercury will build up in the people," said Art Murphy, regional environmental health

officer for Health and Welfare.

Alberta Environment studies indicate mercury pollution won't be a problem, said spokesman Janice Richter.

"We're going to be skimming all the top soil in the reservoir to eliminate some of the possible problems with mercury," to take extra precautions, Richter said.

The Alberta Research Centre is examining the environment department's studies, she said.