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WHEREAS,
methylmercury is a potent developmental neurotoxin to which the human fetus, nursing babies, and young children are most at risk, such that even small amounts of mercury
38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56
damage developing brains; 19 and
WHEREAS,
a Minnesota Department of Health study found that 10% of newborns in the Minnesota portion of the Lake Superior basin have blood methylmercury levels greater than 5.8 μg/L (the U.S. EPA Reference Dose for methylmercury), a level associated with loss of
IQ; 20 and
WHEREAS,
sulfate and other pollutants generated by sulfide-ore copper mining is projected to
continue for centuries; 21 now therefore be it
RESOLVED,
that the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Legislative Caucus recognizes the environmental challenges posed by proposed sulfide-ore copper mining in the St. Louis River Watershed and elsewhere in the Great Lakes Basin to human health and the restoration
and protection of the Great Lakes; and be it further
RESOLVED,
that this resolution be submitted to appropriate state, provincial, and federal officials.
___________________________ 57 1 EPA. 2010 Toxics Release Inventory National Analysis Overview. In 2010, the industry was responsible for 1.6 billion pounds of 58 toxics disposed of or released, which amounted to 41 percent of the total for all U.S. industries for the year. Retrieved at 59 https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/documents/2010_national_analysis_overview_document.pdf. 60 2 EPA Office of Water. Liquid Assets 2000: America’s Water Resources at a Turning Point. EPA-840-B-00-001. 61 3 Id. 62 4 Earthworks. “U.S. Copper Porphyry Mines: The Track Record of Water Quality Impacts Resulting from Pipeline Spills, Tailings 63 Failures and Water Collection and Treatment Failures.” July 2012. 64 5 Earthworks. “Predicting Water Quality Problems at Hardrock Mines: A Failure of Science, Oversight, and Good Practice.” 65 December 2006. 66 6 Robertson, A. M. 2011. Mine Waste Management in the 21st Century: Challenges & Solutions Beyond Incremental Changes. 67 7 Earthworks. “False Promises: Water Quality Predictions Gone Wrong; Large Mines and Water Pollution. 6 pp. 68 8 Earthworks. 2004. “Hardrock Mining: Risks to Community Health. 47 pp. 69 9 Earthworks. 2013. “Polluting the Future: How mining companies are contaminating our nation’s waters in perpetuity. 52 pp. 70 10 Wisconsin DNR. April 2012. Surface Water Quality Assessment of the Flambeau Mine Site. 71 11 EPA 6-25-2014 approval letter of Wisconsin’s 2012 303d list. See p. 66, at bottom. 72 12 Kuipers & Maest. 2006. Comparison of Predicted and Actual Water Quality at Hardrock Mines. 228 pp. 73 13 Stillwater Mining Company form 10-K Feb. 2-2011 and Stillwater Mining Company form 10-K Feb. 16-2017. 74 14 EPA. 2006. Final Report_Hg Transport & Fate Throughout a Watershed. 75 15 Scudder Eikenberry, B. C., K. Rive-Murray, C. D. Knightes, C. A. Hourney, L. C. Chasar, M. E. Brigham and P. M. Bradley. 2015. 76 Optimizing fisher sampling for fish–mercury bioaccumulation factors. Chemosphere 135: 467-473. 77 16 Minnesota Department of Health: Health Risks of Eating Contaminated Fish. Via 78 http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/eh/fish/faq.html. 79 17 Mead, M. N. Contaminants in Human Milk; Weighing the Risks against the Benefits of Breastfeeding. Environmental Health 80 Perspectives 2008 116:10 pp. 427-434. 81 18 Stern AH, Smith AE. 2003. An assessment of the cord blood- maternal blood methylmercury ratio: implications for risk 82 assessment. Environ Health Perspectives 111:1465–1470. 83 19 Trasande, L., et al., Public Health and Economic Consequences of Mercury Toxicity to the Developing Brain. Environ. Health 84 Perspectives. 2005 May. 85 20 Minnesota Department of Health. Mercury Levels in Blood from Newborns in the Lake Superior Basin. Final Report. Nov. 2011. 86 21 MN DNR (PolyMet/NorthMet SDEIS), page 166 [a.k.a. 3-5]; and FEIS, page 101 [a.k.a. ES-35]. 87
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