Mining Town of Rouyn-Noranda Demands Government Uphold Environmental Standards
On September 23, the mining town of Rouyn-Noranda organized a march on the occasion of the Global Climate Strike actions to demand that the Quebec government uphold environmental standards to protect the population from arsenic emissions. One of the main demands is that the Quebec government compel the Anglo-Swiss mining/metallurgical giant Glencore to reduce arsenic emissions at the Horne smelter to three nanograms per cubic metre, the official standard in Quebec. The march followed a series of mass actions led by community organizations, including public meetings where residents have been speaking out, making their voices and demands heard.
Workers' Forum spoke with Nicole Desgagnés, spokesperson for the ARET Committee, prior to the September 23 action. ARET is a committee of parents of children in the Notre-Dame neighbourhood, located very close to the smelter. Nicole explained the purpose of the September 23 march of which her committee is one of the main organizers and addressed the problem the people in Rouyn-Noranda face.
Nicole Desgagnés: The
September 23 march is a demonstration for the planet, in connection
with climate change. It is also related to environmental injustices. We
consider the situation we are experiencing here an environmental
injustice. We know that everything we are
experiencing with regard to climate change has more of an impact on the
poorest and most vulnerable, the poorer countries in particular.
We feel that in Rouyn-Noranda we are also facing environmental injustice in the sense that Quebec standards are not being applied here. One of the important themes of the march is attaining the three nanograms per cubic metre of arsenic in the air which is the official standard in Quebec as well as that of the World Health Organization.
Several community organizations are involved in organizing the march, including the Regroupement d'éducation populaire de l'Abitibi-Témiscamingue, La planète s'invite au parlement Abitibi-Témiscamingue, ARET and Mothers at the Front in Rouyn-Noranda. Other situations of environmental injustice also exist in Quebec, in particular amongst First Nations communities.
The mass mobilization in the region to protect the population's health is very strong. Personally, I have never seen doctors as mobilized as they are now. We're witnessing a convergence of many groups within the population. Unions have been mobilized, business people as well. Everyone knows each other here.
WF: You do not agree with the government's proposal and that of Glencore to reduce ambient arsenic emissions at the Horne smelter to 15 nanograms per cubic metre within five years. Can you tell us more about this?
ND: We find the proposal insufficient. In 2004, an opinion released by INSPQ [Quebec National Institute of Public Health] experts on health and the environment recommended that the smelter reduce its arsenic emissions to 10 nanograms per cubic metre within 18 months. These specialists made this recommendation because we had just gone through a period where it had increased to 1,000 nanograms per cubic metre, sometimes for a number of years.
Despite this, between 2007 and 2017 the Quebec government allowed emissions of up to 200 nanograms per cubic metre. And in the government certification that covers 2017 until next November, the government has authorized 100 nanograms per cubic metre.
Research, which has continued to expand since then, reveals that the standard is insufficient. It has shown that we have a lot more lung cancer in the region than in Quebec as a whole, even though we are not heavier smokers than elsewhere. It has also shown that babies weigh less at birth, and some are born with intrauterine growth retardation. Babies have developmental delays. There are a lot of metals here and we need to look into the synergy of these metals. Not many studies have been done regarding the synergy of air emissions of different metals, such as arsenic, lead, cadmium and nickel.
If the standard was 15 nanograms per cubic metre and it only had to do with arsenic, maybe that would protect the neurotoxic situation of children. However, what the scientists are saying is that when we are in a situation with the synergistic effects of metals, we face much greater impacts.
We are saying that the 15 nanogram standard for arsenic could
be a step, but not one to be attained in five years. It must be
achieved immediately. We must reach the 15 nanograms very quickly, and
set a timetable for meeting the three nanogram per cubic metre Quebec
standard as quickly as
possible.
Residents speak out at a
town hall meeting July 8, 2022, demanding the government compel
Glencore to cut its toxic emissions.
The proposal of the Minister of the Environment and Glencore means that we would be living with an emission of over 15 nanograms per cubic metre for five years. During that time, cadmium and other metals would also be higher than the Quebec standard. We're asking that the 15 nanograms for arsenic emissions be reached in the first year. It's possible because already on some days, between 15 and 30 per cent of the time depending on the year, the 15 nanograms level is attained. What increases the emissions are the inputs, the products that are processed by the foundry that are rich in arsenic.
We also know that the earlier you are exposed in life, the more you are at risk later on. We are mortgaging people's lives and we know that our life expectancy is on average two to five years lower than other cities, as well as Quebec's average.
We don't appreciate the government's position either that when we reach 15 nanograms, a part of the city -- around 85 per cent -- will have emissions of three nanograms per cubic metre. The rest, such as the most affected neighbourhood which is located near the smelter, will continue to have emissions of 15 nanograms. This is a divisive argument that is not acceptable.
The government announced an online consultation on arsenic to begin on September 6. We've gone through the consultation on nickel in Quebec, and the reports were unanimous, even from public health, and yet the government did not listen to the scientists. It dramatically increased the nickel emission limit .[Last April, at the express request of Glencore, the government decided, by regulation, to allow a nickel emission level in Quebec that is five times higher than the emission limit in effect at the time - TML Ed Note.] This leaves us skeptical about the value of the public consultation that the government is undertaking in Rouyn.
The government is also proposing to hold a public meeting on the issue. This is a bit troubling. It will make things very emotional, with workers concerned about the possibility of losing their jobs. I think that the government cannot escape its own responsibility, which must be based on science. It has to take responsibility and do its job. That is why we did not approach Glencore directly with our concerns and demands. The Quebec government must take its responsibility.
In conclusion, we need the support of all of Quebec because I think that the struggle we are waging will have an important symbolic impact on all of Quebec.
This article was published in
Volume 52 Number 21 - September
30, 2022
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmld2022/Articles/D520215.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca