The Horne Foundry in Rouyn-Noranda is leaving the committee created by public health to follow up on the study on arsenic exposure of children in the Notre-Dame district, Radio-Canada has learned. The factory, owned by the multinational Glencore, is no longer satisfied with the mandate.
Members of the Biomonitoring Study Follow-up Advisory Committee were notified Tuesday evening, and the company’s chair remained empty, three sources report.
On this committee sit public health representatives from Abitibi-Témiscamingue, CISSSthe municipality, the Quebec Ministry of the Environment, but also residents and citizen and environmental groups.
It is a place for discussions, in particular to listen to and respond to the concerns of the population, following the results of a study on the polluting discharges which “concern” the health authorities.
In the fall of 2018, Regional Public Health conducted lead, cadmium and arsenic screening among young children residing in the Notre-Dame neighborhood, adjacent to the smelter. The results indicate that these children are 3.7 times more exposed to arsenic, a known carcinogen, compared to children who are not exposed to industrial sources of arsenic.
” Extreme results, up to 40 times higher than the average of the control population and which could not be attributed to other environmental sources of arsenic than those originating from Glencore Smelter Horne, were also measured. “
Recently, the mandate of this committee was expanded to cover more health and environment issues, and the entire territory of Rouyn-Noranda, which did not please the company. The name of the committee will also change to be called Health and Environment Committee.
We recently became aware of the new mandate, explains Horne Foundry spokesperson Cindy Caouette. From now on, it wants to focus on other instances to communicate with its partners.
” As this committee no longer has the objective of following up on the biomonitoring studies in the Notre-Dame district, but of course on the health and the environment of the entire urban perimeter of Rouyn-Noranda, we have taken the decision to no longer sit there. “
It’s disappointing, because it still concerns themreacts Nicole Desgagné, spokesperson for the citizen committee Stop toxic discharges and emissions (ARET), which sits on the committee. It affects the entire population of Rouyn-Noranda the impact of the Foundry.
” They feel that the stars are aligned, they have pressure for emissions to be reduced. “
In Rouyn-Noranda, the percentage of chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases is higher than the provincial average, the incidence of lung cancer is significantly higher there and there are also more low birth weight births.
Controversy over data released 55 months late
The Horne Foundry has been making headlines this week, since Radio-Canada revealed that the publication of cancer data in Rouyn-Noranda has been postponed for two and a half years, at the request of the former national director of public health. , Horacio Arruda.
In September 2019, Dr Arruda attended the committee as Advisor to Minister Lionel Carmant and had taken the decision to prevent the dissemination of this data. They were only published in May 2022, 55 months later.
Horacio Arruda had met the Horne Foundry just before making this decision.
No concealment, assures the government
No information was withheldsaid the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MSSS) in a press release released Tuesday evening, while specifying that the public health authorities take very seriously the situation of the exposure of the inhabitants of the Notre-Dame district to various contaminants from the Horne Foundry.
” There was never any question of concealing or hiding any information from the public. “
The appendix withdrawn from the initial report, at the request of Dr. Arruda, concerned the incidence of lung cancer in adults, explains the MSSS, while the biomonitoring study concerned young children.
During the exchanges, Dr Arruda raised the fact that an appendix to the report should rather be integrated into another document.explains the MSSS.
” Although arsenic can cause lung cancer, the cases in Rouyn-Noranda cannot necessarily be attributed to arsenic exposure. It was therefore considered important to carry out further studies on this subject in order to make a more robust analysis. “
According to the MSSS, it is therefore false to allege that Dr. Arruda prevented the dissemination of data on lung cancer in Rouyn-Norandaand the Ministry recalls that the minutes of the meetings of the advisory committee for monitoring the biomonitoring study have been public since 2019.
Source: Radio-Canada
