I attended the 11/14/12 and 11/15/12 US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Grasse River Superfund Site clean-up meetings in Massena and Akwesasne with the intention of questioning government environmental health scientists on the subject of failure to provide the populations which reside in the vicinity of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) contaminated sites in the St. Lawrence River Valley with a warning of the POPs exposure health hazard constituted by contamination of the mainstream food supply. The first one of these meetings turned out to be a party attended by ALCOA, local politicians and government employees. Everyone was smiling and much laughter could be heard in the board room of the Massena Municipal Building. I felt offended by this showing of disregard for the suffering of wildlife and human beings that had been caused by the poisoning of the Grasse River and the much resisted effort to initiate clean-up of the site. During the hour prior to the start of the second of these meetings, which took place in the Massena High School, I danced and spoke out in protest against the corporate/government culture deceptions that were being promoted at this event. I concluded my protest performance once the meeting began. Many Massena business people and politicians spoke in favor of the limited clean-up that was being proposed by EPA and promoted by ALCOA. There were nearly 200 people at this meeting. Only four people, including myself spoke on the subjects of the less than acceptable clean-up that was being proposed or expressed any concern for better protection of public health.
The two meetings that took place at Akwesasne were very different. These were meetings attended by considerable numbers of First Nations people. The First Nations participants outnumbered the whites in attendance. The energies of these two Akwesasne meetings were absolutely wonderful to feel. These meetings were all about people standing up for the protection of Earth and the inhabitants of the Earth. The goodness and strength of character of the people of Akwesasne made these meetings powerful steps upon the path of bringing an end to the abuse of the Earth by greed driven corporations and their government underlings. The people of Akwesasne were unified in their demand that the industrial contaminants be totally removed from the Grasse River and the surrounding lands.
With such wonderful people to share energy with, I spoke the words of bringing out the Truth about federal government deceptions concerning POPs exposure and disease. I questioned the EPA scientists and the New York State Department of Health (DOH) public health educator on the subject of the educational outreach that had been conducted at Akwesasne describing the harm that is associated with the presence of the PCBs and other industrial contaminants in the environment. I established the fact that this educational outreach had been limited to elucidating the PCB exposure health risk associated with consuming fish from the Grasse and St. Lawrence rivers. I asked for an answer to the question of why no educational outreach had taken place on the subject of mainstream food supply POPs contamination, considering the loss of local wild caught fish as a food source. The less than truthful government people who attempted to answer this question took the position that they were not the proper people to be discussing this matter due to their lack of expertise and that their particular agencies were not responsible educating on the subject of mainstream food supply contamination. I countered this by stating that the EPA risk assessment scientist, Dr. Marion Olsen possessed expert knowledge on the subject under discussion and that the mandate of both EPA and DOH was to protect public health.
After much argument, it was conceded that we held diametrically opposed views of the matters in question. I believe that my words moved the human race forward upon the path of achieving full awareness of the deceptions perpetrated by corporations and government involving the role of chemical exposure in disease causation. The Truth is coming out about the poisoning of the Earth and the inhabitants of the Earth. The Truth is coming out about the efforts of corporations and government to hide the Truth about the disease epidemics that have been caused by this poisoning. These great Truths will serve as the foundation of a worldwide environmental revolution. This revolution is already swirling around us. Yes!
Cancer Action News Network Donald L. Hassig, Producer 315.262.2456
Please feel free to re-broadcast. Credit as above.
00:43:33
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Nov. 15, 2012
St. Regis Mohawk Elementary School, Hogansburg, New York, USA
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