In the past, public health was neglected in Asbestos; today, that of the people of Rouyn-Noranda is neglected.
Not so long ago it was said that Alberta oil was dirty oil. Why don’t we now say that the heavy metals treated at the Horne Foundry are dirty metals and that we don’t want them in Quebec? Indeed, heavy metals are as harmful to human health as tar sands oil is to environmental health.
It is very important to remember how polluted the air is around the Horne Foundry. Indeed, it is in Rouyn-Noranda that we find a staggering percentage of contaminants in the air, compared to the rest of Quebec. This Abitibi city alone receives 43% of cadmium emissions, 60% of nickel emissions and, an eminently sad record, 97.8% of all arsenic emissions in Quebec. Note that the three heavy metals just mentioned are all carcinogenic. In addition, one last piece of data is very surprising: 89% of all lead emissions in Quebec are in Rouyn-Noranda. It’s amazing when you know that this contaminant causes irreversible disorders of the nervous system. Who, among us, would agree to live in such an environment?
We must show solidarity with our compatriots in Rouyn-Noranda and demand that our government enforce the standards concerning heavy metal emissions that have been in place for several years. We must also ask Public Health to conduct an in-depth study on the additive and possibly multiplier effect of these poisons. And that it makes this study public, because our concern is health above all!
It is up to us to act individually and collectively while there is still time, because in five years it will be too late. How many people are sick or dead from cancer because of contaminants in the air to take action?
Let Quebecers from all regions of Quebec stand up and say, together and in every way: enough is enough!
To see in video