The outcry caused by the relaxation of the standards on nickel in the air did not shake the determination of the Minister of the Environment Benoit Charette. On Tuesday, his cabinet indicated that it would move forward in earnest and that the standard will be adjusted starting April 28.
From this date, the tolerance threshold of the Ministry of the Environment will be 5 times higher than it is now, the maximum standard per day increasing from 14 to 70 nanograms per cubic meter (ng/m3). The new regulations also provide for the addition of an annual reference standard of 20 ng/m3.
This decision was formalized recently by the Council of Ministers, announced the Ministry of the Environment in a press release.
It was taken in particular to accommodate mining companies engaged in an economic sector for the development of electric batteries for cars.
The City of Quebec had clearly come out against the reduction of the standard. “Raise the standard [viendrait] add to the contaminants in the air, which are already quite dense,” said Mayor Bruno Marchand.
To see in video