Dr. Horacio Arruda, then director of public health, reportedly asked that data on the large number of cancer cases in Rouyn-Noranda not be made public.
This is an appendix that would have been removed from the report on the biomonitoring study carried out in the fall of 2018, in which appeared the figures for lung cancer cases, which are overrepresented in the Rouyn-Noranda region compared to the rest of Quebec.
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These data, reports Radio-Canada, were initially to be presented to the public.
The situation is well known, and had been the subject of studies several years ago.
“Scientists had reported in various studies in the 80s and 90s that there was a health problem that was possibly related to emissions from the Horne smelter,” explains Mireille Vincelette, from the Waste Stopping Committee. and toxic emissions from Rouyn-Noranda, on the air on LCN.
The latter feels betrayed, and “has the impression that many things are hidden from us, that information is censored”.
Several hypotheses are raised to explain this political choice, in particular that of the protection of the foundry, despite its public health impact. “It’s a major employer so we mustn’t harm its productivity,” suggests Ms. Vincelette.
“The Horne Foundry has the right to pollute. That is to say, it has the right to emit 33 times more arsenic into the air of Rouyn-Noranda than the rest of Quebec,” adds Émilise Lessard-Therrien, Québec Solidaire MP for Rouyn-Noranda. -Témiscamingue.
It is not the emission of arsenic from the foundry which is pointed out by the militants of the cause, but rather its over-emission.
“What we have to make sure is that this foundry meets Quebec standards because people’s health is far too affected,” asks MP Lessard-Therrien.
“The solution is not necessarily to close the smelter, but rather to moderate its emissions to meet the standard. We are talking about arsenic, but there is also lead, where we have overexposure,” concluded Mireille Vincelette.
Remember that Dr. Arruda left his post as director of public health on January 10.
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