The Ile Camera
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Grassy Island's future is still very much up in the air
By Mike Zielinski, The News-Herald
PUBLISHED: March 9, 2007
Ever since the International Wildlife Refuge (IWF) took over the Detroit River's Grassy Island, there has been heated dispute about the safety of recreational usage of the island by humans to include camping, fishing and hunting.
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A number of public discussions were held and both state and federal agencies waded in, computers blazing.
Usage of Grassy Island is apparently going to become a personal choice in the near future.
The government has identified the risks and said, in effect, "Here they are folks, you can decide for yourself on some of these."
My opinion is that if I have to monitor the amount of time my kid spends in the waters surrounding Grassy to prevent chemical absorption the same way one does when poaching an egg, I'm not going to do it.
Following are a few results of the latest report issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The island is still laced with huge amounts of heavy metal and chemicals, but the present cap seems to be doing the job for now. The federal agency concluded that the contamination on Grassy Island poses no apparent current public health hazard to persons who access the island no more than once a week.
Exposure to the average concentration of the various contaminants in the soil is not expected to cause adverse health effects.
However, if the island is developed for public use, some areas may have contaminant concentrations that are unacceptable, depending on the nature and degree of use. Therefore, the contamination poses an indeterminate future public health hazard.
There are physical hazards present on Grassy Island: steep dike walls, treacherous riprap, and dense vegetation with no established foot-trails.
The integrity of the dike walls remains in question, since the exterior six-foot dike was not built with engineering controls.
Eating game or waterfowl taken from Grassy Island poses an indeterminate public health hazard. Current contaminant levels in these animals are not known.
Eating fish taken from the Detroit River near Grassy Island poses no apparent public health hazard if people adhere to the advice in the Michigan Department of Community Health family fish consumption guide.
The agency recommends that the government continue to allow access to Grassy Island only to government agencies whose responsibilities extend to the island, such as U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Coast Guard and the Michiagn Department of Environmental Quality, until USFWS develops management and use plans for the island.
People may swim in the Detroit River near the island, except in or near the shipping channel due to physical safety, and may stand in the sediment while fishing.
The agency also recommends:
Continuing to cap the island with clean fill, establishing clean foot trails and prohibiting off-trail access.
Scheduling regular checks of dike integrity, including checking for seepage or erosion and establish a contingency plan should the dikes fail.
Prohibiting the hunting of game of waterfowl on the island.
Maintain the fish advisory, updating as new data become available.
Any citizen with additional information or health concerns regarding this health consultation, please contact Michigan Department of Community Health's Division of Environmental and Occupational Epidemiology at 1-800-648-6942.
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