The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
A string of recent media reports about Flin Flon's industrial pollution has brought to light an abundance of information. Our smelter spews more mercury and arsenic than any other plant in North America. Though the health risk has been deemed "most likely low," our soil contains high levels of certain metals. As companies in other communities improve, Flin Flon is moving up the list of major polluters. Amid such hard (though not entirely surprising) facts, however, rises an important revelation not about the smelter, but about us as a community. When asked what Flin Flonners should think of all of the pollution data surfacing, Dr. Elaine MacDonald, a scientist with an environmental advocacy organization, had a heartfelt answer. Without being fanatical, as environmentalists sometimes are, Dr. MacDonald said she hoped residents would become more involved in pushing, at all levels, for less and less pollution. Right now, we aren't, at least not on a very large scale. Instead, we appear all too willing to let the pollution reduction process play itself out on its own. Honestly, how often do we publicly raise pollution as an issue? How often do we ask our elected officials to keep this matter at the forefront? How often do we declare that being North America's largest emitter of mercury and arsenic is unacceptable? Don't get me wrong. I realize that some degree of pollution is a necessary cog in the mining and smelting machine that has kept our community alive for over seven decades. That's just a fact. It's also true that HBMS deserves credit for spending millions upon millions to enhance its environmental friendliness. If one compares pollution data from 20 years ago with that of today, the difference is quite amazing. But as HBMS freely and rightly admits, there is still progress to be made. Currently, the company has its sights set on 2015, or possibly sooner, at which time it will be required to meet stringent new emissions reductions targets set by the federal government. This promises to build on already drastic improvements. Is the process moving quickly enough? Are the anticipated results sufficient? Residents should make their voices heard on such questions rather than leaving everything up to the private sector and distant bureaucrats. Local Angle runs Fridays.
