“So ugly that it’s beautiful …”
For today’s sewer chronicle, a flight over an asbestos halde near Thetford Mines, in boiler-appalaches. This photo was taken in the fall of 2024.
A HALDE is a huge bunch of debris made up of the waste of a metal mine. The Thetford Mines region has around fifty of these giant piles, which would contain some 800 million tonnes of asbestos residues.
“I call toxic beauty. It’s a bit sad, but that’s it. In somewhere, it’s so ugly that it’s beautiful… ”Philosopher Pierre Lahoud.
“Curiously, this photo that should be desperate is hopeful.”
— Pierre Lahoud, historian, author and photographer
“I remember a report on a firm that invented and is producing a breeding ground on which nature can be allowed to regenerate from asbestos residues. And it works! ” he rejoices.
“I recently stolen above Thetford Mines and we are quietly starting to see a few trees that manifest each other. It means that, despite everything, there is hope for the mining sites, he continues. Even if some of these sites are undoubtedly lost and irrecoverable, as long as me, as in the case of Schefferville. It’s so huge and discouraging. ”
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“At least, in the regions of Quebec, Thetford Mines and even in the Eastern Cantons, we make efforts to revitalize all this. Let’s say there is hope! ” concludes Mr. Lahoud.
Interview by Francis Higgins
Info: pierrelahoud.com
What are the most polluted places you had the sad opportunity to see? Share your experiences in the comments section at the bottom of this article.