Both the Ministry of the Environment and the Regional Public Health Department of the Capitale-Nationale have heard of the stinking odors emitted by the new factory and both promise to keep an eye on it.
At the end of two sampling campaigns, the investigation by the City of Quebec finally led it to identify the source of the nauseating odors that citizens of Maizerets and Limoilou have been complaining about since the spring.
New municipal organics processing equipment releases a smelly scent during the waste maceration phase, when a technical system is activated for an extended period of time.
A “normal” situation for an installation of just over a year, argues the City, which says it is working “as a priority” to remedy these incidents.
Increased vigilance
In the meantime, the new plant on Chemin de la Baie de Beauport, which was commissioned in April 2023, will soon be the subject of an examination visit by the Ministry of the Environment.
Reports of odors were also sent to him during the most recent stinking waves, in September.
Without saying they are concerned by the odors recorded so far, the environmental authorities are committed to being vigilant.
“Following the identification of the source of the odor, the ministry follows up with those responsible for the biomethanization center and ensures that the necessary measures are put in place. The necessary interventions will be carried out, including an inspection soon, so that the corrections can be made by the City,” plans spokesperson Frédéric Fournier.
The Ministry of the Environment does not rule out taking action against the municipality, which must rely on its own odor management plan “with regard to the measures to be taken”.
“Now that the source of the odor has been identified, the ministry will be able to act quickly in the event of a new report of odor in the Limoilou sector.”
— Frédéric Fournier, spokesperson for the Ministry of the Environment
The government of Quebec will in fact report “breaches of the regulations and will take appropriate recourse in accordance with the Directive on the handling of breaches, if necessary”.
“Nuisance” to quality of life
The CIUSSS de la Capitale-Nationale had also been made aware of the situation at the biomethanization center, during a presentation by the vigilance committee for the management of residual materials of the City of Quebec for this purpose, maintains the spokesperson. words Mariane Lajoie.
The Regional Public Health Directorate also says it is “aware that bad odors are nuisances which can affect the quality of life of the population”.
This is not the first time that health authorities have closely monitored the air the population breathes.
In Lévis, in the summer of 2023, the CISSS de Chaudière-Appalaches said it was “concerned about the bad odors emitted by the company” Sanimax. The rendering plant, singled out every year by citizens from neighboring neighborhoods, has been in the public health spotlight for more than 20 years.
In 2002, doctors concluded that the Charny company was the cause of “a significant odor problem in this locality” and that the latter represented a “nuisance” that could lead to “acute symptoms”, without necessarily be a “risk of a toxic nature”.
In this opinion, the Regional Public Health Department then recommended the implementation of odor mitigation technology at the Alex-Couture company, since known under the name Sanimax.