Arsenic releases in Rouyn-Noranda | Virgin land already contaminated

Near the Horne Smelter, soil levels of arsenic and other contaminants exceed standards. The rehabilitation of land, even virgin land, therefore becomes an obligatory step in residential construction, an issue in a city already facing a housing shortage.

Jean-Thomas Léveillé
The Press

“It hinders development”

Even virgin land is contaminated in Rouyn-Noranda, which is hampering residential construction in a city already hard hit by the housing crisis.

The level of arsenic in the soil exceeds in certain sectors of the city the limit authorized in Quebec for residential use of 30 parts per million (ppm), which forces owners to rehabilitate their land before building homes there.

“It is in the corridor of the prevailing winds”, which carry the contaminants released into the air by the Horne Foundry, that the soil must be rehabilitated, says Richard Mercier, owner of an excavation company.

“We know that the contaminant was not there before, the grounds were brand new,” says Richard Mercier.

The rehabilitation of four virgin lots located in Rouyn-Sud thus cost $100,000 to a company which then built residential buildings there.

“It was forest before! “, explained to The Press a company official who does not wish to be identified.

“It’s not much use to [réhabiliter les sols]because it will be contaminated again in a short time”, worries the man, for whom the origin of the problem is not in doubt.

Vast project affected

Soil contamination has had repercussions on the Domaine boréal project in Noranda-Nord, a 300-lot subdivision that appears to be the largest in Abitibi-Témiscamingue.

“When we made our streets, we had contaminated soil that we had to get rid of,” explained to The Press real estate developer Steven Janhevich.

This resulted in “significant” costs and a substantial increase in the price of the land, says the businessman, who points out that these costs would have been considerably higher if the foundry had not accepted to receive the contaminated soils on its site free of charge. ground.

The Horne Smelter uses these contaminated soils as cover material in its tailings pond, explains its spokesperson, Alexis Segal.

In addition to receiving contaminated soil from construction companies in the region, under specific agreements with them, the Horne Foundry receives others as part of a voluntary land rehabilitation program in the Notre- Lady, neighbor of its facilities.

Canceled sales and delays

Steven Janhevich says he informed all the buyers of his land of their contamination, offering them to take charge of the transport of the contaminated soil to the Horne Foundry site.

Some took fright and gave up their purchase, he confides. “But at least I was honest. »

Beyond the financial aspect, soil contamination causes a lot of delays, deplores the property developer.

“If we don’t have all our necessary permits, we can’t start, we can’t put a shovel in the ground,” he says.

Shortage of housing

Soil contamination is “one more constraint” to residential construction, deplores real estate developer Martin Rivard, who also had to rehabilitate the soil of a subdivision where he plans to build 50 single-family residences.

“We are told that there is a lack of housing in Rouyn-Noranda, but everyone should work in the same direction,” he says.

The housing vacancy rate in Rouyn-Noranda hit a historic low of 0.3% in 2021, according to the most recent data from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

The Horne Foundry should assume all the costs related to the rehabilitation of contaminated soils, estimates the member for Rouyn-Noranda–Témiscamingue Émilise Lessard-Therrien.

In addition to facing a housing crisis, Rouyn-Noranda is grappling with a labor shortage, underlines the MP.

“Housing, places in CPE, it’s not badly the two main obstacles to people coming to settle with us”, now with the issue of pollution, she says.

Having to pay to rehabilitate soil contaminated by smelter waste “contributes to artificially inflating the cost of building houses and rents,” she laments.

However, the situation does not worry the City of Rouyn-Noranda.

“It’s a fact that promoters have always dealt with and which has not put a brake on the development of Rouyn-Noranda,” responded to The Press Jessica Lesage, City Spokesperson.

“Rather, it is the current economic situation with an explosion in the cost of materials, the shortage of labor to carry out the various construction projects and the constant rise in interest rates which are the main elements that are holding back projects. of housing construction in Rouyn-Noranda,” she added.

The Ministry of the Environment and the Fight against Climate Change (MELCC) had not communicated to The Press the details of the obligation to sample the soils of certain sectors of Rouyn-Noranda at the time of writing these lines.

Documented provenance

“It is undeniable that the Horne Foundry has contributed to the contamination of the soil on the outskirts of it,” wrote the Public Health Department of Abitibi-Témiscamingue (DSPu-AT) in the Report of the preliminary characterization of soils with arsenic, cadmium and lead in the urban perimeter of Rouyn-Noranda, published in November 2020. The company is “the only source emitting these three contaminants at the same time in large quantities” in the region, specifies the report, which adds that “isotopic analyzes” have revealed in particular that the lead present in the studied soils came from past activities of the foundry. The study showed that almost a quarter of the 156 plots sampled – on which there were already buildings; no virgin land surveyed – exceeds limit for cadmium, versus 6% for arsenic and 3% for lead. However, the foundry rejects responsibility for the contamination of the soil. “The proof is not made, there were other industries in Rouyn-Noranda”, declared its spokesperson, Alexis Segal.

The danger… of gardening

The morning sun shines its first rays on Johanne Alarie’s pepper, ground cherry and tomato plants in downtown Rouyn-Noranda.

But the amateur market gardener is now wary of what grows in her vegetable garden, due to toxic waste from the Horne Foundry, on the other side of Lake Osisko.

“It’s a little shocking, because everything is organic, but we live in a municipality that pollutes us,” she says, showing the fruit of her labor to The Pressat the beginning of July.

“Before, I was independent all year for certain vegetables, I froze a lot”, says this native of Amos established in Rouyn-Noranda for 25 years, referring in particular to kale.

But leafy greens absorb the most contaminants, she explains — followed by root vegetables, then fruits.

Johanne Alarie therefore gardens less now, and follows the recommendations of Public Health, which recommends that people in Rouyn-Noranda grow in pots in new earth.

Expected test results

Johanne Alarie experiences a feeling of anger for having eaten vegetables probably contaminated with metalloids for more than two decades.

“Would it be in my interest to get my fruits and vegetables from the grocery store rather than from my own garden? asks the woman who is also active in the association Mères au front.

To find out for sure, last year she took part in a study on the presence of contaminants in the city’s garden vegetables; researchers took samples of his carrots, lettuce and tomatoes.

The results of the study are expected this year, but she is under no illusions, pointing out that a soil analysis she had done herself a few years ago had revealed high levels of arsenic and lead.

Johanne Alarie is also worried about the wild blueberries she picks around Rouyn, in the corridor of the prevailing winds, which in particular carry arsenic dust, a known carcinogen.

The metalloid contamination of the air and soil of Rouyn-Noranda also causes heartbreaking dilemmas, says Johanne Alarie, who sometimes feels far from her two adult children, who have gone to live outside the region.

“But I don’t feel like possibly having grandchildren in Rouyn-Noranda,” she says. Because we know that children are particularly affected. »