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Timmins residents should be pleased to know as a result of recent legal submissions, the Ontario Ministry of the Environment is currently reviewing safety precautions surrounding Tembec’s application of non-essential chemical herbicides in the Romeo Malette Forest, which encompasses Timmins.
Concerns which are to be addressed by the ministry include: Source water protection for the Mattagami River which is the primary source of drinking water for the city of Timmins, source water protection for water bodies supporting tourism employment opportunities, and safety precautions to protect the health of hunters who may be eating chemically contaminated wildlife.
In regards to source water protection for Timmins, while the ministry review is underway, non-essential chemical herbicide usage by Tembec will be prohibited within five kilometres of the Mattagami River (upstream of the Timmins municipal water intakes) and two kilometres from all feeder streams which flow into this water body.
As per the ministry’s buffer zone guidelines for aerial application of pesticides in Crown forests of Ontario, the most onerous buffer zone for chemical herbicide application by the forestry industry is 120 metres, and less cautious spray buffers are not uncommon.
Chemical herbicide contamination of Ontario’s water bodies can occur via runoff, spray drift, and groundwater perculation.
Fortunately, for Northern residents (and others downstream of the chemical plume), there are several effective alternatives to chemical herbicides.
In Quebec, herbicide usage has been banned for health and safety reason.
Therefore, Tembec Quebec relies on the following modalities to achieve the same ultimate goals as chemical herbicide application:
An additional socio-economic benefit from manual and mechanical tending is a vast increase in local forest tending employment opportunities in remote communities.
Protecting the headwaters that supply municipalities with their drinking water is the only logical approach to keeping Ontario’s citizens healthy.
Even large and expensive water filtration plants, such as those used in Ottawa and Toronto, are ineffective to remove chemical herbicides and pesticides from drinking water before being delivered to the public.
Thus, it is imperative that these chemicals not be introduced into the drinking water supply, as they cannot be effectively or cost efficiently removed prior to delivery for human consumption.
In regards to hunter safety, chemically contaminated wildlife (which may not pass federal and provincial safety standards) is being unknowingly consumed by tourists, Aboriginals, Métis, and all other peoples who hunt, fish, and gather food from the Romeo Malette forest.
The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs has published a document on herbicide safety precautions titled, Publication 75, Guide to Weed Control.
The guide indicates that animal grazing and slaughtering restrictions are required in situations where livestock is permitted to enter areas sprayed with glyphosate and 2,4-D herbicides, as used by the forestry industry.
Grazing restrictions are legally required to protect the health of the animals.
Slaughtering restrictions are legally required to protect the public.
As the forestry industry takes no precautions to restrain wild animals from entering and feeding in sprayed areas, there is a significant possibility that many wild animals will be harvested in 2009 that will contain chemical herbicide residues grossly in excess of government safety standards.
As wildlife can travel many kilometres in a single day, signage alone may not protect the children of hunting families from harmful chemical exposures.
The public is encouraged to submit their comments regarding the application of non-essential chemical herbicides by the forestry industry to the Ontario Minister of the Environment John Gerretsen.