Quebec Environment Minister Benoit Charette will travel to Rouyn-Noranda on Tuesday to discuss arsenic emissions from the Horne smelter.

"I will be in Rouyn-Noranda tomorrow to meet with local stakeholders. Our priority is and will remain the safety of citizens," wrote Benoit Charette on Twitter Monday afternoon.

In addition, the Normanda Mine Workers Union (STMN-CSN) is asking Glencore, the owner of the smelter, to agree "as quickly as possible with the government on a precise timetable that will allow for the greatest technically possible reduction of arsenic in the air."

Kevin Gagnon, vice-president of the Fédération de l'industrie manufacturière, said that by "combining several emission reduction measures, it is possible to continue operations at the Horne Smelter while achieving much greater control of arsenic emissions than is currently the case."

This would allow, according to him, to maintain "thousands of jobs related to the smelter while improving the quality of life of the citizens of Rouyn-Noranda."

A study by Quebec's public health institute, the INSPQ, published last Wednesday, indicated that over a period of 70 years, between one and 14 citizens of Rouyn-Noranda would develop cancer if Glencore does not reduce the concentration of arsenic in the air produced by the Horne Smelter.

The faster and more significant the reduction of arsenic emissions in the air of Rouyn-Noranda, the greater the gain for public health, according to the INSPQ.

33 TIMES THE PROVINCIAL LIMIT

Under an agreement with the previous government, the Horne Smelter can release up to 100 nanograms of arsenic per cubic metre (100 ng/m3 ) into the air, 33 times the limit recommended by public health.

Premier François Legault believes that the Horne Smelter should never have been allowed to release such a high concentration of arsenic. Quebec's public health director, Dr. Luc Boileau, also found the situation unacceptable.

However, neither public health, nor the premier, nor the environment minister, have yet to comment on what would be an acceptable threshold for arsenic emissions.

"If public health tells us that we must be at 30 nanograms (10 times the provincial standard) in the next certification period, it will be 30 nanograms. Once again, we are not specialists on the impact on people's health, and that is where the work is done in collaboration with the Ministry of Health," said Minister Charette last Wednesday.

The agreement between the previous government and Glencore ends in the next few months, so the Ministry of the Environment must negotiate a new arsenic emission target and renew the smelter's certificate of conformity this fall.

According to the INSPQ, at the turn of the century, the population was exposed to emissions that sometimes reached 1000 ng/m3, 330 times higher than the current provincial standard.

-- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on July 11, 2022.