JERUSALEM (AP) — Standing in the

Lab results from samples of rivers, sea water, dust and shellfish from Kabaena taken by Satya Bumi, a nonprofit environmental organization based in Indonesia, in July and November showed hazardous levels of nickel, lead and cadmium — common mining byproducts.Nina, 33, a member of Bajau Tribe, poses for a photograph on Kabaena Island, Indonesia, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Yusuf Wahil)

Nina, 33, a member of Bajau Tribe, poses for a photograph on Kabaena Island, Indonesia, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Yusuf Wahil)A man walks above murky brown water near nickel mining activities on Kabaena Island, Indonesia, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Yusuf Wahil)A man walks above murky brown water near nickel mining activities on Kabaena Island, Indonesia, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Yusuf Wahil)

Exposure to these metals at the levels seen in the lab samples could lead to cancer, cardiovascular, kidney and other chronic diseases, said Kathrin Schilling, an assistant professor at Columbia University who researches molecular biology and reviewed the lab results.“If people on this island are using the river water as drinking water — which has higher levels of the metals — and then if they are also eating the shellfish and breathe the air ... you cannot escape basically any of the exposure to those toxic metals,” Schilling told AP.

People play soccer as heavy machines operate at a nickel mine in Torobulu, Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Yusuf Wahil)

People play soccer as heavy machines operate at a nickel mine in Torobulu, Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Yusuf Wahil)But those newcomers and summer tourists aren’t the ones relying on nature for food, and they aren’t the ones fighting for traditions that go back generations. As inland lakes warm with climate change, tribal members experience the effects first.

Carol Hanlon, left, and Renee DeBrot record the sex, size and type of fish at a station at a boat landing on Round Lake Saturday, April 13, 2024, near Hayward, Wis. (AP Photo/John Locher)Carol Hanlon, left, and Renee DeBrot record the sex, size and type of fish at a station at a boat landing on Round Lake Saturday, April 13, 2024, near Hayward, Wis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Kelly Martin, left, embraces Muriel Shirriff, as he drops off frozen fish he and his family caught Friday, April 19, 2024, in Hayward, Wis. (AP Photo/John Locher)Kelly Martin, left, embraces Muriel Shirriff, as he drops off frozen fish he and his family caught Friday, April 19, 2024, in Hayward, Wis. (AP Photo/John Locher)