Sunday, December 26, 2004
JEREMIAH STETTLER THE SAGINAW NEWS
MIDLAND -- Matthew Zwiernik is searching the treetops for dioxin.
Hidden amid the branches are the newest consumers of a potentially polluted Tittabawassee River diet.
Zwiernik, an assistant professor for the Aquatic Toxicology Laboratory at Michigan State University, is leading a $5 million study to determine dioxin's impact on floodplain wildlife.
He began with worms, crayfish, mice and other shore-going delectables last fall to gauge how much contamination lurks in popular prey.
A more intensive study of predators started this year, sending scientists into the treetops to sample the blood of great horned owls, bald eagles and other fowl that frequent the floodplain. They also will study land-legged creatures such as mink and shrew.
Zwiernik hopes to interject more science into a debate that has divided Tittabawassee River residents and spurred litigation.
"Our ultimate goal is to advance science," Zwiernik said. "We're scientists. We are the quiet voice of reason. "
Dow Chemical Co., the manufacturer negotiating with the state to clean up the polluted floodplain, is the grant-giver -- a tie that Zwiernik believes will not compromise the integrity of his investigation. The scientist said his research is conducted entirely independent of Dow.
"We like to stay away from everybody," he said. "It's a credibility issue."
Zwiernik claims neither a financial relationship with Dow -- the money was awarded as a lump sum at the study's onset -- nor any ongoing discussions about his research with company officials.
Robert McCann, spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Quality, said his agency has not taken a position on the study. Officials have seen raw numbers, but have received no detailed information to put that data in context.
"At this point, it is difficult for us to say what we think about it," he said.
Zwiernik's investigation will probe the potential health effects of dioxin on Tittabawassee River wildlife.
A smaller-scale study was commissioned by the state Department of Environmental Quality last fall, which suggested that elevated dioxin levels in fish may cause low fertility and higher rates of embryo death in the critters that consume them.
Zwiernik wants to know if that's true, but finding out will take several years of research and hundreds of samples.
The latest phase of his investigation focuses on mink, shrew, wood ducks, tree swallows, kingfishers, great horned owls and other animals that find their food along the Tittabawassee River.
Scientists will trap and kill some of the animals. They plan to sample eggs and harvest a vile of blood from others.
The latter technique is particularly useful for animals such as the great horned owl, which has an expansive forage range. Instead of sampling the adults, which may have ventured far outside the floodplain, scientists are taking blood from the nestlings. Those birds likely have consumed an exclusively Tittabawassee River diet, Zwiernik said.
In each case, researchers hope to determine how much dioxin resides in animals' bodies -- information they could use to calculate the risk of dioxin-related ailments.
Scientists ultimately will examine reproduction in the floodplain. They will consider how many eggs hatch, how nests are built along the river and how many nestlings leave their nests.
The study will span five years and take place at locations upstream and downstream of Dow's Midland plant. Zwiernik has promised intermittent data, but said he will not provide any interpretation of the results until the study is complete.
"We're not in the business of interpreting the data until it all comes in," he said. v
Jeremiah Stettler is a staff writer at the Saginaw News. You may reach him at
776-9685.
© 2004 Saginaw News.
For additional articles like this one, go to the Tittabawasse River Watch web site www.trwnews.net for complete coverage of the Tittabawassee River Dow Chemical dioxin contamination saga. . The Newspaper / Media page of our site contains an extensive archive of media articles dating back to January 2002. The source organization's web site link is listed to the right of the article, visit often for other news in our area. The Newspaper / Media page may be accessed by scrolling down to the bottom of the CONTENTS section and clicking on the Newspaper/Media link.