Dump smoke could still harm unborn babies: health advisory

The Government of Nunavut is still telling pregnant women in Iqaluit to stay away from smoke from the ongoing fire at the city's dump.

The latest round of air quality tests monitored toxin levels, up until Monday. A health advisory released Thursday says conditions remain unchanged from tests two weeks ago.

According to those tests,the level of dioxins and furanscontinue to be above the health standard set by Ontario.According to information released by the territory, thestandard level is 0.1 pg/m3 (picogramsper cubic metre), while theaverage level over 24 hours in Iqaluit is 0.2 pg/m3.

At these levels, health officials say there could be a risk of fertility problems in unborn male offspring, but the government maintains that the risks are still low.

On July 20, an advisory called for all "women of child-bearing age" to keep out of the dump smoke. The latest advice from the territory narrows this down, since the danger is only to women who are pregnant, or become pregnant "while the dump fire is burning."

The elderly, young childrenand people with heart and lung disease or asthma should also take precautions.

People in those groups could become wheezy, short of breath, light-headedor dizzy. If they can't handle those symptoms of their own, health officials say they should get medical attention.

The advisorysayslevels of other toxinsdon't pose a health risk.