{"id":777,"date":"2014-11-08T23:50:44","date_gmt":"2014-11-09T04:50:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/elyminnesota.com\/blog\/?p=777"},"modified":"2014-11-09T00:20:59","modified_gmt":"2014-11-09T05:20:59","slug":"frank-ongaro-argues-against-medical-doctors-recommendations-of-further-health-review-of-polymet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/elyminnesota.com\/blog\/frank-ongaro-argues-against-medical-doctors-recommendations-of-further-health-review-of-polymet\/","title":{"rendered":"Polymet Has a Reputation of Getting it Right the First Time-So No Further Health Studies Needed According to Frank Ongaro"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Recently Frank Ongaro, the Executive Director of Mining Minnesota took offense at a large group of Minnesota Doctors and Medical Associations who recommended review of health effects of Polymet&#8217;s project. \u00a0<\/strong> Mr. Ongaro&#8217;s response can be found on the Duluth News Tribune Website, the article was dated October 27, 2014. \u00a0His comments are basically pro-business arguments that he has been repeating since at least 2006. \u00a0The one thing missing from his newer rhetoric is the insistence that Polymet &#8220;has a reputation of getting it right the first time,&#8221; he used to state that boldly. He now insists they do have it right. \u00a0 But, it is obvious from Polymet&#8217;s failed Draft Environmental Impact Statement DEIS and the thousands of comments and recommendations elicited by the subsequent \u00a0Supplemental DEIS, that Polymet does not know how to do it right, they just want us to think they do. \u00a0And, that appears to be Mr. Ongaro&#8217;s main function in life, making people believe that somebody knows how and we should just leave them alone, don&#8217;t ask questions and don&#8217;t suggest further health review of the project.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Is this the reason Mr. Ongaro believes in<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"> 2014<\/span> No Further Health Studies are Needed?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/elXE7szE0o4\" height=\"315\" width=\"560\" allowfullscreen=\"\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>We all must insist that the State of Minnesota gets this right. \u00a0If the health of you and your family are being threatened by an industrial project, it is the right and the duty of health officials to say something, to ask questions, and if possible demand review. \u00a0To do otherwise would be professionally negligent. \u00a0I applaud and thank these professionals for standing up for us. \u00a0Personally, \u00a0I would rather take the recommendations of Medical Doctors, Medical Scientists and Medical Associations than those of a man with a degree in Business Administration and Executive Director of Mining Minnesota.<\/p>\n<p>This is the response by some of the Duluth Doctors Mr. Ongaro attacked in his response to the request for further health reviews, from <b>\u00a0<\/b>the Duluth News Tribune November 7, 2014\u00a0 titled,<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\u00a0<b>Doctors&#8217; view: On PolyMet, the priority is health<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>\u00a0<\/b>As Duluth doctors, our first priority is the health of our patients and community. We do not align ourselves with industry or with advocacy groups. Instead, we listen, communicate and ask questions.<\/p>\n<p>Just because we use a resource like copper in modern society does not mean we should refrain from asking critical questions of the industry. As physicians, we have serious questions about sulfide mining in Northeastern Minnesota and would not make statements without first educating ourselves and consulting with experts. We\u2019ve done extensive reading on the issue, have reviewed the PolyMet Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement and have met with the Minnesota departments of health and natural resources. Educating ourselves only has deepened our concern.<\/p>\n<p>Minnesota has no experience with sulfide mining for copper. To date, we\u2019ve been unable to identify any sulfide mine that has been developed, operated and closed without producing polluted drainage. This August, a tailings dam at a British Columbia copper and gold mine failed, sending 1.3 billion gallons of contamination into local waters. With 10 percent of the world\u2019s freshwater within PolyMet\u2019s watershed, our community has a lot at risk.<\/p>\n<p>We must be proactive in asking, \u201cHow will PolyMet affect the long-term health of our community?\u201d A health risk assessment for the PolyMet project is needed to answer this question.<\/p>\n<p>As Duluth doctors, our concern is shared by many other health professionals. The Minnesota Public Health Association, the Minnesota Medical Association and more than 150 individual health professionals and scientists have asked for an assessment of PolyMet health impacts. Considering that the PolyMet plan involves several of the 10 toxins of major public health concern as identified by the World Health Organization \u2014 mercury, lead, arsenic and air pollutants \u2014 we recommend a health risk assessment as part of the PolyMet environmental review to examine health risks in careful, scientific detail.<\/p>\n<p>PolyMet\u2019s Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement did not give us confidence that human health will be protected. We note that information on mercury release and the potential for mercury bioaccumulation is insufficient. Mercury, a toxic metal, affects the developing brains of infants and children. Studies have shown that exposure to low levels of mercury over time affects learning, attention, memory and IQ. We know this already is a problem in our region and that a Minnesota Department of Health study found that one in 10 newborns in Minnesota\u2019s Lake Superior basin was born with unsafe levels of mercury in the blood. This translates into behavior and learning problems for children. A recent study in the Lancet, a well-respected medical journal, discussed the rise of neurodevelopmental disabilities in children and pointed to industrial chemicals (including lead, mercury, arsenic and manganese) that injure the developing brain among the known causes for this rise in prevalence. Child and adolescent psychiatrists state that resources to address this already are strained.<\/p>\n<p>More information also is needed on PolyMet\u2019s release of arsenic, lead, manganese, mineral fibers and other air pollutants. The medical literature has established clear effects of air pollution on asthma, lung and heart disease. PolyMet\u2019s proposed mine project also will result in the release of significant additional air pollution from electrical power generation used to operate the mine.<\/p>\n<p>A growing number of doctors, nurses and professionals in Duluth and throughout the state want to make sure our community\u2019s health is protected before the PolyMet project is considered. We will all live with the consequences of the PolyMet project here in Northeastern Minnesota. Shouldn\u2019t we collectively expect better assurance that our health and the health of future generations is not placed at risk?<\/p>\n<p><b>Drs. Susan Nordin, Emily Onello, Jennifer Pearson and Margaret Saracino practice in Duluth.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Recently Frank Ongaro, the Executive Director of Mining Minnesota took offense at a large group of Minnesota Doctors and Medical Associations who recommended review of health effects of Polymet&#8217;s project. Mr. Ongaro&#8217;s response can be found on the Duluth News Tribune Website, the article was dated October 27, 2014. His comments are basically pro-business arguments [&#8230;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[185,51,5,152,230,160,200,119,3,70],"tags":[77,234,201,231,79,232,233,235,34],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/elyminnesota.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/elyminnesota.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/elyminnesota.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elyminnesota.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elyminnesota.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=777"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/elyminnesota.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":789,"href":"https:\/\/elyminnesota.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777\/revisions\/789"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/elyminnesota.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=777"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elyminnesota.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=777"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elyminnesota.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=777"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}