To the editor:

Southern Wind Power stands ready to dredge a channel in nearby Narragansett Bay to lay a cable to bring wind power to Brayton Point power station in Swansea, Mass. This matter was reported to the Bristol Harbor Commission at yesterday’s meeting. The entire Advisory Commission was alarmed at this news, and it is our duty to advise the public of what this means for us.

We want to thank the representatives of Heritage Marine Company in Bristol who brought this matter to the attention of the Harbor Board and Advisory Commission.

In the absence of any ecological impact study or potential environmental damage report, I can assert from personal experience that this dredging activity can potentially poison the shellfish beds and oyster farms in the entirety of the Bay, causing serious lifelong illness to all who consume these products.

An unusual outbreak of rare Guillaine Barre Syndrome occurred in 2009 in Bristol, causing at least three victims, including myself, who were paralyzed and bedridden for periods of six to 12 months and leaving lifelong residual mobility issues. This is a disease that only occurs in 1/100,000 hospitalized cases.

After extensive laboratory testing and neurological research Rhode Island Hospital physicians concluded that this outbreak of an extremely rare disease had a common cause of toxins from eating poisoned shellfish. The symptoms take from 7 days to 14 days to manifest themselves, so tracking the direct cause is sometimes difficult. In this case it was blatantly evident that it was caused in all three local cases by eating usually harmless shellfish.

This information was not widely publicized at that time to avoid causing a panic and closing down popular fish markets and restaurants in Bristol, but now there is a more imminent threat of the same disease becoming widespread in the area if this dredging is allowed to occur.

The Bristol Harbormaster and Bristol Harbor Commission were informed of this threat at the meeting last night, but it will take a concerted effort by the Town Councils and the residents of all neighboring communities to join in the fight to halt this disaster before it occurs.

There is an upcoming conference on the dredging issue scheduled for March 14, 2024 to be held at the Rogers Free Library in Bristol.

Please be there to hear more about this threat and write or contact your local State and Federal representatives to help halt this threat to our health and our shellfish industry.

George Burman
Bristol Harbor Board Advisory Commission