Creighton Coping With Contaminated Soil Concerns

Creighton Coping With Contaminated Soil Concerns

Friday, October 05, 2007 at 13:50

 

 

An official with Saskatchewan Environment says it is still too early to know for sure if the health of Creighton’s residents has been affected by contaminated soil.

 

A recent study commissioned by the department and Manitoba Conservation found soil in both Flin Flon and Creighton have levels of harmful metals that could pose a risk to human health.

 

The metals include arsenic, lead and mercury and are linked to the nearby mine and smelter that has been operated by HudBay Minerals for decades.

 

The situation has been deemed serious enough to prompt health officials to warn the public to monitor kids’ exposure to sandboxes and other places where they might ingest the soil.

 

But Saskatchewan Environment spokesman Rob Kidd says even though the level of the metals found in the ground exceeds the recommended guidelines, it still has to be determined if that has negatively impacted anyone’s health.

 

Kidd says the company has hired a consultant to carry out a human health risk assessment.

 

He also notes a community advisory committee is being set up to deal with the follow-up to the report.

 

(includes files from the Winnipeg Free Press)