Quebec is conducting verifications to determine if the Horne Foundry has “respected the applicable environmental legislation” during a sulfur dioxide and trioxide gas leak that occurred on Monday. An equipment failure was the cause of the event which lasted about fifteen minutes.
In a press release published on Tuesday evening, the Ministry of the Environment indicates that it “is working to determine whether the company has complied with the applicable environmental legislation as well as its ministerial authorization” during the emission of sulfur trioxide. of May 22.
“In the event that breaches are observed, the ministry will ensure that it is followed up in accordance with its directive on the treatment of breaches of environmental legislation,” the government indicates.
According to the first information sent to the ministry, it was an “equipment failure” lasting “about fifteen minutes” which was the cause of the leak. “During the event, the factory would have been immediately shut down and a security perimeter was deployed for the employees of the factory”, affirms the Ministry of the Environment, which says it is “in contact with the company in order to understand the precise circumstances of these emanations”.
The Regional Public Health Department of Abitibi-Témiscamingue, for its part, claims to have been informed that “the operations of the Foundry were stopped following the event”. “According to the Foundry, it was a small quantity leak. This confirmed that the corrective measures were quickly taken, that the leak was repaired and that operations were able to resume”, indicated the CISSS of the region.
According to Public Health, “there has not been and there is currently no danger to the health of the population in connection with this gas leak”. “No preventive intervention is therefore required on the part of the population”, we are assured.
Nevertheless, sulfur trioxide (SO3) “is an unstable gas and very reactive with water”, recall the medical authorities. “On contact with it, a chemical reaction occurs and leads to the formation of sulfuric acid. This reaction causes, in case of contact, burns of the respiratory tract, lungs and eyes. A leak of this gas is to be avoided and must be controlled very quickly in the event of a leak, as was the case in the present situation,” they argue.
In early May, the City of Rouyn-Noranda also demanded explanations after the publication of analyzes carried out by the Ministry of the Environment on samples of metal dust on the grounds of a school in Rouyn-Noranda.
These analyzes showed an arsenic content of 4130 milligrams per kilogram in a sample collected in front of the school.
The whole thing was done after citizens of Rouyn-Noranda shared photos of “black snow” on social media, forcing the government to issue a notice of non-compliance to Glencore, owner of the smelter, for the broadcast. of contaminants without having “recovered the contamination”.