s phosphorus, polychlorinated biphenyls and heavy metals. It is reported that the toxic chemicals in the Great Lakes basin are a health risk linked to brain damage, birth defects and cancer. All the predator species at the top of the food chain have shown health problems as a result of toxic chemicals building up in their bodies. Chemicals that exist in low levels in the air and water accumulate as they move up through the food chain. At present 35 million humans who live around the horridly polluted five Great Lakes face increasing health risks from environmental contaminants. Millions of people in the Great Lakes are exposed to hazardous chemicals. They drink them in the contaminated water, eat them concentrated in the flesh of the fish and breathe them in the air. Mulroney said that the risks are too high and that we cannot afford any more risks. He said pollution problems could be fought under a three-stage plan over the next decade: 1) A "toxic freeze" banning new polluters from putting up pipes or smokestacks in the region 2) An attack on "non-point sources" of pollution, such as run-off from streets and farms where groundwater is loaded with pesticides. 3) A crackdown on existing polluters when their smoke and sewer-discharge permits come up for renewal, requiring them to scale down their pollution. Consumers can also help by demanding pesticide-free food. International agreements have been made to clean up the Great Lakes. Canada's federal Conservative government has announced in 1989 to spend $125 million over five years on Great Lakes cleanup. By one estimate, it may cost as much as $100 billion to retrieve the purity of the Great Lakes once had. b) The treatment of water for drinking and water purifiers one can purchase-comments: As the people's uncertainty to the quality of our drinking water increases, many more people are buying water treatment devices and purifiers. Even though most treated tap water is fit to drink, peop...
