The presence of nickel in the air of Limoilou once again exceeded the reduced standard established in April 2022 by the government. On one occasion in recent months, the daily concentration exceeded the authorized daily measurement by almost two and a half times.
The Ministry of the Environment, the Fight against Climate Change, Wildlife and Parks (MELCCFP) presented Thursday the updated data collected by its sampling stations located in lower town of Quebec.
These results show that on November 16, the concentration of nickel in the air of Limoilou, a district exposed to discharges from the waste incinerator, industries, the Port and three highways, reached 171 ng / m³. The standard that came into force amid controversy, in April 2022, provides for a daily standard of 70 ng/m³, a limit five times greater than the previous rule.
This was the second exceedance to occur in 2023 – a marked improvement from the recent past, where “the current daily standard of 70 ng/m3 continued to be exceeded on approximately 1 in 30 days between 2018 and 2021,” according to the ‘study My environment, my health published last year by the Public Health Department of the Capitale-Nationale.
“The MELCCFP is closely monitoring the situation to ensure compliance with the standards and regulations in force,” the ministry indicated in a press release. Le Devoir questioned the ministry about the sanctions imposed on those responsible for this excess. At the end of the day, Thursday, the daily had received no response.
The nickel which enters the atmosphere of Limoilou mainly comes from the handling activities of the giant Glencore at the Port of Quebec, according to MELCCFP studies.
Public health indicates the risk inherent in the presence of nickel in the air of the lower town “is very low, but not zero, which justifies continuing efforts to reduce it. » In its press release, the MELCCFP suggests that to implement “its reinforced and evolving control plan”, its inspection team will carry out more frequent tours at the Port of Quebec and its surroundings.
The MELCCPF has changed its approach to exceeding the reduced standard. It was the media that first highlighted previous episodes of excess, even though the ministry had the data reporting them in hand.