A new study suggests industrial discharge from a paper mill in northern Ontario is exacerbating mercury contamination in a nearby river system and its fish.
Researchers from the University of Western Ontario say that while the wastewater from the Dryden, Ont., mill doesn't contain mercury, the sulphate and organic matter in it contribute to the elevated production of methylmercury in the Wabigoon River.
The Wabigoon River is upstream from the Grassy Narrows First Nation, which has been plagued with mercury poisoning for more than 50 years. He says if the sulphate and organic matter going into the river are reduced, there could be a rapid decrease in mercury concentrations in fish, though that won't resolve the existing contamination in the environment.
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