Demonstration to demand better air quality held in Rouyn-Noranda

A march was held Sunday afternoon in the Notre-Dame district of Rouyn-Noranda to demand better air quality in the municipality.

This was the second demonstration in the district, where 200 families have been told to relocate to create a 'buffer zone' near the Horne Foundry.

"We're back today with a second march for the love of the neighbourhood," said Johanne Alarie, co-spokesperson for Mères au front, the Rouyn-Noranda organization that organized the march.

The demonstration started at the Notre-Dame-de-Protection school. On March 7, residents reported that "black snow" was on the school grounds.

Analyses conducted by Environment Canada, published at the beginning of May, revealed that metal dust on the school grounds contained 4,130 milligrams of arsenic per kilogram.

That is 137 times higher than the concentration limit of arsenic in soil for residential properties in Quebec. However, the students continued to go outside for several days.

In response to the data, Glencore, which owns the Horne Smelter, said in a press release that "these results cannot be scientifically compared to the prescribed soil limits" because the snow samples were melted to remove the water and "the residual dust was analyzed in a laboratory, so it was a very concentrated dust sample."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on May 21, 2023.