Environment | National

Superfund site still poses a theat for St. Regis Mohawk Tribe

Monday, March 26, 2012

The St. Regis Mohawk Tribe. of New York continues to deal with pollution from a Superfund site along the St. Lawrence River.

A study 20 years ago found high levels of PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, in in the breast milk of mothers. Now the PCBs are showing up in adolescents.

PBC levels remain high in turtles and fish in the river. The tribe will conduct another study this summer to test for pollutants.

"We expect that levels will be lower," Ken Jock, the director of the tribe's environmental division, told the Associated Press. "But we aren't sure about how much or whether we're going to get to safe levels for Mohawks to consume."

The pollution is caused by an old General Motors factory. Tons of toxic waste have been removed but tons more remain, including some in a landfill that one Mohawk man started to dig up in protest of federal inaction at the site.

Larry Thompson, whose Mohawk name is Kanietakeron, says the waste should be removed. He has been charged in state court for digging up the site.

The Environmental Protection Agency says the landfill is safe.

Get the Story:
NY Mohawk fights to get toxic GM landfill moved away from tribal lands on St. Lawrence River (AP 3/26)