Environmental standards are rules that compel companies to produce without destroying natural resources in order to protect the environment. Standards are also established to protect populations.
Posted at 12:00 p.m.
In the case of carcinogens, aim for the lowest possible exposure according to the “as low as reasonably achievable” principle. The precautionary principle must guide actions.
So why continue to authorize, even temporarily, companies to have higher environmental discharges than the Quebec standard? Are we not sending the message that non-compliance with environmental standards is not so serious and that industrial environmental pollution is tolerable?
If a standard exists to minimize health impacts, the objective is to respect it.
Politics can sometimes afford a decision of mitigation or compromise, this falls within the sphere of politics. And public health recommendations must be based solely on the risk to the health of the population.
And if the ultimate goal with the Horne Foundry is to reach an emissions threshold of 3 ng/m3 annually, it goes without saying that the sooner this threshold is reached, the better off the population will be.
Insecure
Pushing the 3 ng/m target3 annual is not without impact. In addition to the effects of the polluted environment, the psychological impacts must be apprehended. People who develop symptoms possibly attributable to heavy metals and contaminants will always have doubts about the cause of their discomfort until environmental discharges are completely safe. In the meantime, the inhabitants are forced to live in insecurity for their health and that of their children.
For Rouyn-Noranda, the National Institute of Public Health of Quebec (INSPQ) concluded in August that the temporary tolerance of a threshold of 15 ng/m3 would reduce the risk of lung cancer from 2028. The transition to 15 ng/m3 would constitute an “acceptable” medical risk. The question is whether this risk is also acceptable for the population of Rouyn-Noranda. Especially since Minister Benoit Charette is leaving five years to get there…
Especially since this temporary threshold of 15 ng/m3 is not perfect. It was defined according to studies carried out on the neurocognitive effects of arsenic on vulnerable populations, mainly pediatrics. Arsenic and other pollutants identified (or not) nevertheless carry other health risks for exposed populations, for example kidney disease or respiratory disease.
A dangerous cocktail
In addition, the accumulation of contaminants to which the population of Rouyn-Noranda is exposed (cadmium, lead, nickel, etc.) is also a source of concern and uncertainty. At best, a cumulative effect can be anticipated. At worst, the possibility of multiplicative health effects must be considered. The INSPQ recommends supporting the intermediate target of 15 ng/m3 other rules such as daily maximum concentrations of lead and cadmium, and compliance with annual standards for lead, cadmium and nickel. This is essential.
Once again, the precautionary principle should apply, and we should even speak of prevention, the effects being well demonstrated or strongly suspected.
At a time when we are trying to prevent diseases in order to relieve the health system and reduce its costs, public health must ensure vigilance on industrial pollution data and aim for rapid compliance with safe thresholds for health. , in particular for the most exposed populations around the foundry.
Some will argue that zero risk does not exist. But exposure to hazardous and polluting materials is undeniably part of the risks to the health of populations. If we know the risk factors, the contaminants and their source, intervening with the deployment of measures to reduce toxic emissions is a must. And it is our role as public health physicians to protect the health of populations and reduce social inequalities in health.