Glencore, the mining company that transships nickel in the port of Quebec, says it is the victim of a “witch hunt” and that the current standard on nickel creates in the population a feeling of “unjustified” risk.
The current standard of 14 nanograms per cubic meter (ng / m³) is “exceeded too often”, pleaded the director of public affairs of the company Amélie Rouleau, Thursday, during a presentation before the elected officials of the city of Quebec. “We point the finger at industries that have the best practices. There is a witch hunt. »
The city of Quebec held a plenary committee on Thursday to feed its reflection on the change of standard proposed by the Ministry of the Environment concerning the presence of nickel in the air. The ministry wishes to increase the daily norm allowed from 14 to 70 ng/m³ based on various studies showing that the current norm would be more severe than elsewhere in particular.
On Thursday, Glencore spokespersons said they had been lobbying the government since 2013 to change the standard.
The company’s head of government affairs, Alexis Ségal, said that in 2013 they “considered moving their terminal to the port of Quebec” but that Glencore decided to stay when the government created an interministerial committee to reassess the standard.
The company, which has been working in the Port of Quebec for 60 years, also believes that it has a “brilliant future” ahead of it. Thanks to the Raglan deposit that it operates in the port, it expects to continue its activities for another 20 to 25 years, in particular thanks to the development of the electric battery sector.
The scathing Regional Council for the Environment
Earlier, the Regional Council for the Environment (CRÉ) had urged elected officials to reject the new standard. “The port is to polluters what the Cayman Islands are to Bermuda and to tax evasion,” denounced its president Alexandre Turgeon. “The port’s attitude is that they don’t have to play by the rules because they’re on federal territory. This is extremely problematic for us”.
Invoking the precautionary principle, the CRÉ questions the ability of the Ministry of the Environment to enforce its current and future standards. “There has to be a change in the attitude of the port and its users for there to be social acceptability. »
Earlier, the city’s director of environmental prevention, Matthieu Alibert, pointed out that with the current standard, the levels of nickel in the air are exceeded between 7 and 10% of the time, whereas this would occur from 1 to 5% of the time with the new standard. He said he fears the new standard will mean that issuers have less incentive to improve.
Mr. Albert also demanded that the Regional Department of Public Health (DRSP) update the 2013 and 2015 studies conducted on the impacts of nickel on air quality.
These studies had concluded that the impact of this mineral on health was negligible and Thursday, the director of the DRSP, André Dontigny said he had no reason to believe that the situation was different today.
Mr. Dontigny also said that nickel was “a small element” of concern “among other more important ones” with regard to air quality. However, he said he was concerned about “the accumulation of risks”, nickel being added to other polluting factors already present in the air.
The Marchand administration has until February 20 to decide on the new standard as part of the consultation of the Ministry of the Environment.