Port Hope Council has unanimously voted to support a proposed change to the arsenic cleanup criterion for the Port Hope Area Initiative (PHAI), raising the acceptable limit from 18 parts per million (ppm) to 50 ppm.
This decision followed a presentation by Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) during a Special Council Meeting held on October 2. CNL’s presentation highlighted findings from the Human Health and Ecological Risk Assessment, which demonstrated that the proposed change would have minimal impact on human health and the environment.
The community has been engaged in discussions about the arsenic cleanup criterion for some time. Save Our Trees Port Hope, a local non-profit organization, presented a deputation at the meeting, voicing concerns about potential environmental effects of increasing the cleanup limit.
Despite the concerns raised, Council opted to move forward with the change, passing the motion unanimously in a recorded vote. A letter will now be sent to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC), the regulatory authority responsible for making the final decision on the cleanup criterion.
As reported previously, the Municipality planned to continue discussions at the October 22 Committee of the Whole meeting. However, after hearing both presentations, Council chose to expedite the process and make a final decision immediately, leaving the final outcome in the hands of the CNSC.
(Written by: Joseph Goden)