Lead, cadmium and arsenic: Levels of toxic pollutants in the air at Rouyn-Noranda near the Horne foundry far exceeded Quebec standards last year, raising health risks as Quebec prepares to tighten the screw.
Posted at 5:00 am
Airborne arsenic levels averaged 68 nanograms per cubic meter (ng/m3) between January 1 and mid-January at the sampling station in front of the foundry, a stone’s throw from the first homes in Notre-Dame. November 2022 – the latest available data.
This is nearly 23 times higher than the Quebec standard of 3 ng/m3 but less than the 100 ng/m3 limit currently in place at the Horne Foundry, a threshold Quebec is in the process of lowering has committed to the company’s next five-year approval, which is due to be published shortly1.
This is a rate close to the 74 ng/m3 recorded in 2019 at the same sampling station owned by the Department of Environment, Climate Change Mitigation, Wildlife and Wildlife Parks (MELCCFP), but lower than in 2019 20212 measured value of 100 ng/m3.
Air lead levels outside the Horne Foundry averaged 468 ng/m3 from January 1 through mid-November 2022, almost five times higher than the Quebec standard of 100 ng/m3 but less than the 527 ng/m3 3 measured in 2021.
Cadmium levels averaged 13.5 ng/m3, almost four times higher than the Quebec standard of 3.6 ng/m3, a result comparable to 12.4 ng/m3 in 2021.
Finally, nickel grades averaged 27 ng/m3, above the annual standard of 20 ng/m3, a similar result to 2020’s 30 ng/m3 – no data available for 2021.
The Horne Foundry, under its current ministerial approval, is not required to meet Quebec standards for these pollutants.
These exceedances are described as “shocking” by Maryse Bouchard, Canadian Research Chair in Environmental Pollutants and Public Health, professor at the University of Montreal and researcher at the Center de recherche du Center hospitalier universitaire Sainte-Justine.
I find it very disturbing to see the foundry emitting so many toxic pollutants.
Maryse Bouchard, Canadian Research Professor of Environmental Pollutants and Public Health
Health Effects
Professor Maryse Bouchard is particularly concerned that Rouyn-Noranda has exceeded the ‘very high’ level of lead concentration in the air.
“Given the very high toxicity of this metal, we should be going towards zero for lead emissions,” she said.
Lead can cause intellectual delays and learning difficulties in children and has been linked to behavioral problems, explains Ms Bouchard, who mentions “serious effects on brain development with long-term effects”.
Highest lead levels in 2022
- 14 Sep: 6320 ng/m3
- May 17: 4460 ng/m3
- June 22: 2340 ng/m3
- April 17: 2050 ng/m3
- April 26: 1550 ng/m3
Default: 100ng/m3
Source: Ministry of Environment, Fighting Climate Change, Wildlife and Parks
Lead is also linked to health problems in adults, including cardiovascular problems, she adds.
These risks are in addition to those related to arsenic and cadmium, both of which have been linked to an increase in lung cancer, Ms Bouchard says.
With all these transgressions, the risks for the population of Rouyn-Noranda are increasing.
Maryse Bouchard, Canadian Research Professor of Environmental Pollutants and Public Health
pollution peaks
Government data shows that high peak levels of air contamination were recorded at different times of the year in 2022.
On May 17, the lead content measured in the air in front of the Horne smelter reached 4460 ng/m3, that of arsenic 534 ng/m3 and that of cadmium 117ng/m3.
Highest arsenic levels in 2022
- 14 Sep: 565 ng/m3
- May 17: 534 ng/m3
- March 27: 381 ng/m3
- April 17: 360 ng/m3
- June 22: 332 ng/m3
Default: 3ng/m3
Source: Ministry of Environment, Fighting Climate Change, Wildlife and Parks
On September 14, lead levels rose to 6320 ng/m3, arsenic levels to 565 ng/m3 and cadmium levels to 90 ng/m3.
These spikes are higher for lead than those recorded in 2021, but lower for arsenic.
Airborne pollutant concentrations decrease with distance from the Horne Smelter, but the state sampling station near Notre Elementary School still recorded an annual average of 17 ng/m3 and a peak of 151 ng/m3 -Lady quarters.
For lead, the annual average was 112 ng/m3 with a peak of 1600 ng/m3.
Other contaminants under control
Other pollutants are present in the air around the Horne Smelter at levels below Quebec standards, such as: B. Antimony, which averaged 9 ng/m3 observed in 2022, well below the standard of 170 ng/m3.
This is a similar result to the 10 ng/m3 measured in 2021.
Beryllium and thallium are even below the detection limit of measuring devices.
Mercury and manganese are not measured at this sampling point.
“We do not wish to comment on this as the foundry fully respects this [autorisation ministérielle] which imposes targets on its legal position,” Alexis Segal, spokesman for Glencore, the Anglo-Swiss multinational that owns the company, told La Presse.
The Minister for the Environment, Combatting Climate Change, Wildlife and Parks, Benoit Charette, reiterated in a statement sent by his cabinet that the Horne foundry would soon be subject to stricter requirements, “particularly in relation to arsenic, other metals, healthy environment and sanitation “.
“Legal” dates follow
The data officially establishing the contaminant concentrations from Horne Smelter’s discharges are undisclosed data from the Company’s sampling station on its property. This law station is located four meters from the government station, which is also the old law station. The results from the two stations generally show different results because sometimes data is invalid due to a defective device or a problem with a sample in the laboratory, and the invalid data is not the same from one device to another, explains the Ministry of Health Environment, Fight Against climate change, wildlife and parks.
Limit value violations for several pollutants*
- Arsenic: 23 times the Quebec standard of 3 ng/m3 (68 ng/m3)
- To lead : 5 times the Quebec standard of 100 ng/m3 (468 ng/m3)
- Cadmium: 4 times the Quebec standard of 3.6 ng/m3 (13.5 ng/m3)
* Annual averages
Source: Ministry of Environment, Fighting Climate Change, Wildlife and Parks
Learn more
1927 Year of the start of the activities of the Horne smelter, which also had a mine until 1976
Source: Horne Foundry