The government has decided to follow the recommendations of Public Health: it will require the Horne Smelter to reduce its arsenic emissions to a ceiling of 15 nanograms per cubic meter within five years.
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This is an important first step in bringing the company to comply with the Quebec standard, which is 3 ng/m3, argued the Minister of the Environment and the Fight Against Climate Change, Benoît Charrette. , during a press conference in Rouyn-Noranda on Monday afternoon.
“We give ourselves five years to reach 15 ng/m3, but we do not lose sight of the fact that our objective is to reach 3 ng/m3,” he declared.
The Horne Foundry currently releases up to 100 nanograms of arsenic into the air per cubic meter, or 33 times more than the Quebec standard, set at 3 ng/m3.
Quebec also intends to impose on Glencore, the company that operates the Horne Smelter, only daily standards and intermediate targets so that emissions are gradually reduced.
The government will ultimately require the smelter to continue characterizing and decontaminating the land.
“The Foundry is not expressing wishes, these are conditions that will be imposed on them, and there will be consequences if it does not achieve these objectives,” said Benoit Charrette.
The Department, for its part, will see to the installation of new sampling stations in order to accentuate the air quality monitoring network.
Benoit Charrette recalled that the government does not rule out a plant closure if Glencore fails to comply with government requirements.
It should be noted that the Ministry intends to issue a decision on the renewal of Glencore’s ministerial authorization for the Horne Foundry by the end of November 2022.