HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1998-05-06, Page 5uron s dge
by Ellen Douglas
The Huron's Edge, an
anti -pollution group, is.
planning a $1 -billion class
action suit against the
provincial ministries of
energy. and agriculture, and
the Ontario pork industry.
A recentstudy by
SOLVE, a group made up
of Huron's Edge, farm
groups and municipalities,
foundthat much of the E -
coni bacteria in Lake
Huron is resistant to one
or more types of antibi-
otics. (and conservation
authorities, health units)
Bacteria becomeresis-
tant to antibioticswhen
they are exposed to low
doses for long periods- of
• time. As a result antibi- •
odes can become ineffec-.
tive for .treating people
infected by thebacteria.
foe Gi"eason, founder of
the Huron's Edge, .said in
an interview that while the
hog industry may not be
the only source of bacte-
ria, he believes it may be a
large source. ;
There were eight types
of antibiotics lookedat by
SOLVE to try to pinpoint
the source of the bacteria,
said Gleason.
Four of these antibi-
otics are used on animals
and. fourwere thought to
be • mainly used on
humans.
The bacteria in the lake
seems to be resistant to
human antibiotics, be said.:
However, when the group
analyzed effluent from •
hog farms they found ;that
100 per cent 'of the.samr.
pies from every farm test-
ed contained -bacteria that
Was -resistant to human:
antibiotics.
ritC
Many farm samples had
bacteria with multiple
resistance to antibiotics
normally used on humans,
said Gleasen.
'T,his . is significant
because it means that the
hogs have been exposed to
human antibiotics. It also
means that it will`be diffi-
cult to tell where thebac-
teria are coining from. "
What's interesting, howev-
er, is that ,of all the control
samples taken from human
septic systems 47 per cent
had no resistance to any of
the antibiotics, .
Gleason said that while
it can't yet be proven that
the bacteria in the lake
come from hog farms, the
studies still: show that the
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3irthday GIut3
Brett Courtney
May 1, 1991
7 Years Old
Braden Carruthers
May'&, 1986
12'Years Otd.
Cameron Nicholson
,May 9,1994.
4 Years OId
Kass $molenaars
M.ay 7; .1999 •
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Melanie Elphick:
May 9„.1996.
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Bradley Ritchie
May 0, 1992
6 Years, Old
Rebecca King.'
May 9> 1991'
7 years Old ,
Trevor Ryon RichardMoore
May 9,1093
5 Years -Old
Jacob Scott
May 1994
4 Years QId.
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povetty, And it Mb feelh s of despair
and bepelessnssstor m $ion nt men,
women Ind chlidrdn around tie world,
CUDE's.Maki programa make
di6erence In developing programs, s.
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waste frons, these opera-
tions is. dangerous.
"This stuff truly is a
biohazard," he said.
The group budge,tedd.
$100,000 towards the law-
suit. This summer they
will attempt to find .a type
of antibiotic that is used
mainly on hogs and that is
present in .the lake: .
If the group wino• the
lawsuit, Gleason said the,
money,will go towards
monitoring, prosecution
and: cleanup,
"I know there are other
sources of the: problem,
'said Gleason, "But we
have to put it into perspec-
tive. One hog operation_ of
5,000 pigs produces.lar
more waste than. the town
Luck**et Sentinel, 'e aesday, NA*
of Ooderich.
"There are somewhere
around 450,000 to 500,000
hogs in Huron, versus
around- 60,000 residents.
People need io': be brought
back to comparing apples
to apples.
He added that if hog
effluent requires .00 treat-
mevn then municipalities
must bewasting millions
of dollars on sewage treat-
ment facilities,
John VanderBurgt, a
councillor with the Huron
County Pork Producers,
said that he does not dis-
agree'that hog farmers are
a part of the problem.
"But so are people !iv-
. ging in urban areas and so
are all livestock „lire -
998 -Paige r
billion lawsuit
ers, he said. "Are we'
going to slice off the lake
and say that this part has
more of a problem with
livestock and this part has
more of an urban. prob.
He added that this is.
not only a problem On
Lake Huron, but also on
Lake Erie and Lake
Ontario to name two.
. He said that •Gleason
has a right to laupch .a..
lawsuitas part of livint in
a free country, but he said
$1 billion dollars is an
amount most people can
noteven comprehend;
"SOLVE started out
looking for high bacteria
counts and: didn't see
them," he said, "in fact. •
the numbers were rather
low most of the time."
As for the resistant bac-
teria, VanderBurgt said it
is not health risk in
itself, but is a eoneern.
bes~ause it is an indicator
of the levels pf antibiotic
resistance in bacteria in '
general.
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a Difference
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