Toxins are everywhere: Pollution in our lives
In 2004, Department of Fisheries and Oceans researchers found four types of BFRs (Brominated Flame
Retardents) in all samples of zooplankton, fish species, sediment, and water from the shores of Lake
Winnipeg, near Gimli.8 BFRs are neurotoxins linked to human behavioural problems, and learning and memory
disorders. They are widely used in many common household products.
Another study of BFRs in Manitoba showed BFRs altered the endocrine functions in juvenile lake trout,
indicating the same thing is likely happening in other wild fish stocks in Lake Winnipeg.
Dr. Gregg T. Tomy et al. Bioaccumulation, Biotransformation, and Biochemical Effects of Brominated Diphenyl
Ethers in Juvenile Lake Trout (Salvelinus namaycush)
Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Freshwater Institute, Winnipeg, Manitoba
Pollutants have many entrances into our lives, and their presence is taking a toll. In 2005 alone, the Canadian government allowed 4.7 billion kilograms of toxins to be released into our air and water, including known, proven cancer-causing chemicals.3
According to a 2007 study4, health problems associated with exposure to toxic chemicals are costing our health care system up to $9.1 billion and 1.5 million hospital days annually. The study further states that pollutants cause as many as 25,000 deaths, 24,000 new cases of cancer, and 2,500 low-birth-weight babies in Canada every year. One of the authors of the study, Trudeau Scholar David Boyd, notes that among the 30-country Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Canada ranks 28th for its environmental track record.
Sewage: Toxins’ Gateway to Lake Winnipeg
Toxins enter our lives and our bodies through consistent exposure, and they eventually reach our aquatic ecosystems when they are released from our bodies or discharged into the sewer. About a third of the city of Winnipeg is serviced by an antiquated combined sewer system that uses single pipes to collect wastewater from homes and industries, as well as surface runoff from snow-melt and rain. The combined sewer system is designed to discharge runoffs of raw sewage into the river system during periods of high flow, which happens about 18 times per year.5
Even the output from our wastewater treatment plants is of concern. Toxins, metals, hydrocarbons, pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs), fragrances, flame retardants, and perfluorinated compounds can not all be removed by water treatment plants. More research on advanced technologies is required.6 Getting our governments to take action and then implement new technology to properly treat wastewater is our collective responsibility.
On the bright side, Sweden and California recently became world leaders in producing “Bio-Gas” from sewage that now fuels cars, and generates power and heat.
Impacts from Industry
Compared to the unknown and unseen toxins pervading our daily lives, large sources of toxic industrial pollution in Manitoba are easy to identify. Situated just a few kilometers upriver from Lake Winnipeg is a coal-fired nightmare that has been operating since the 1920s. Tembec’s pulp and paper mill in Pine Falls discharges upwards of 4.5 million kilograms of pollutants every year. The worst industrial polluter in all of Canada is also right here in Manitoba—the Hudson Bay Mining & Smelting Company’s complex in Flin Flon. In 2007, parents in Flin Flon were advised not to let their children play outside without gloves on due to the excessive contamination in the soil.
A 2007 report found that more than half of Manitoba’s waterways failed Environment Canada’s pollution tests.7 Industry must share in the responsibility for keeping toxins out of our air, water and soil.
Beauty Products
During the 1600s ruby red cheeks and extremely white skin were considered beauty ideals in the court of Queen Elizabeth I. To achieve this look, women liberally applied white face paint made of lead and rouge derived from mercury sulphide — two toxins that slowly poisoned the user.
Today, 400 years later, people use beauty products with much greater confidence. But should they? Soaps, perfumes, nail polish, hair dye, skin lotions, baby shampoo and cosmetics may contain a variety of dangerous chemicals, such as formaldehyde, phenol (carbolic acid) and toluene, which are carcinogenic, mutagenic and/or can be readily absorbed through the skin.
Under the Sink
Many common household cleaning and home maintenance products contain toxic chemicals, including carcinogens and endocrine-disrupting chemicals. When the same products are used in the workplace, federal legislation requires that the hazardous ingredients be labeled, but there is no such requirement for consumer use.
Some detergents and toilet bowl cleaners, for example, contain ethoxolated nonyl phenols, endocrine-disrupting chemicals that can interfere with reproduction in marine and other species. Some laundry detergents contain trisodium nitrilotriacetate, listed by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as a possible human carcinogen.
The CancerSmart 3.0 Consumer Guide, published in French and English by the Labour Environmental Alliance Society (LEAS), is a useful reference to check the ingredients in common consumer products and to find alternatives. You can also call the 1-800 number listed on many products and request a Material Safety Data Sheet that lists product ingredients.
