July 18, 2018
Province Planning to Install New Mobile Air Monitoring Unit in St. Boniface
– – –Committed to Transparency, Province Releases Soil Sampling Results: Squires
The Manitoba government is preparing to unveil a new, mobile air monitoring station that will be set up near the St. Boniface industrial park in an effort to address long-standing resident concerns about air quality, Sustainable Development Minister Rochelle Squires announced today.
“We have met with concerned residents, will consult with them on the placement of this new monitoring station and continue to share results from the scientific testing, including the new particulate monitoring that will be done,” Squires said. “Our government is being transparent by releasing these results and we’re committed to ensuring the protection of the environment, while at the same time recognizing this has been an industrial area for more than a century.”
The University of Manitoba collected soil samples from yards and gardens throughout the area in the fall of 2017. The majority of those samples (150) have now been analyzed, and the results of the testing have been shared with the affected residents.
“Lead was the most prevalent contaminant in the samples,” said University of Manitoba professor Francis Zvomuya. “While we cannot attribute the source of contamination based on these samples alone, past and ongoing emissions from industrial sources, and the historic use of lead in fuel and paint are common sources of lead in urban environments.”
The majority of samples (84 per cent) fell within the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) soil quality guidelines, however some samples contained increased levels of heavy metals in the soil.
There were 24 properties with levels that exceeded the CCME guidelines, including some samples containing more than one exceedance. These metals (zinc, copper, nickel and chromium) do not pose a health risk at the levels present in the soil samples. A breakdown of the number of samples which exceeded CCME guidelines for heavy metals includes:
- lead: 18 (10 properties, six gardens and two with no addresses, likely boulevards);
- zinc: six;
- copper: four;
- nickel: one slightly over recommended plant-based levels and lower than human health guideline;
- barium: one slightly over the recommended level for soil quality; and
- chromium: one slightly over the recommended level for soil quality.
As a result of these elevated levels, letters were hand-delivered to residents with exceedances in their soil. The province will work with affected property owners who have concerns about the soil sample results.
There can be some risks associated with eating food grown in soil with high lead content and, as a result, additional information about gardening was shared with affected residents. Provincial lead fact sheets about gardening and soil contaminants offer information for all Manitobans on how to manage the risk of lead in gardening soil. More information can be found at www.gov.mb.ca/health/publichealth/environmentalhealth/home_gardens.html.
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