Lac-Mégantic - Fish near Lac-Mégantic are distorted

Lac-Mégantic - Fish near Lac-Mégantic are distorted

LAC-MÉGANTIC - Photos taken one year after the train blast in Lac-Mégantic show several fish of the Chaudière River with defects related to the oil spill occurred in July 2013.

those responsible for the explosions: the MM & A, Edward Burkhardt Chairman MM & A, the Government of Canada, Department of transportation Canada, no person has been convicted, except for small fish.

A report by the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Environment, which was only published last fall, 47% of fish from the contaminated area showed signs of erosion or deformation of fins.

"It was also demonstrated that the toxic sediments of the Chaudière river can prevent hatching, eg brown trout. Fish larvae sometimes have scoliosis, deformity of the spine, "said environmentalist Daniel Green.

We also observed a decrease of nearly 60%" funds of insects "important source of food for fish . The whole fish population has decreased in the contaminated area.

Health Consequences

The consequences would be limited, however, for the health of citizens.

The government ensures that cities that take their drinking water from the Chaudière River have nothing to fear. Even asserted that the fish is edible.

"We know that there is a real contamination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), a carcinogenic substance. Of course, do not want people to wade in the river without protection because the sedimentary zones remain toxic ", but warned Daniel Green.

The activist continues to require a thorough decontamination of the contaminated area. However, he asked that the bill not be passed on to citizens.

"It asks the companies responsible for the tragedy of undertake to pay for decontamination. There is talk of 20 to 30 km from contaminated and decontaminated so far we only have less than 200 meters. There is still much work to do and this is not the taxpayer to pay for, "he started.

Other samples were recently collected. The results should be published in a few months. Member of Parliament for Mégantic Ghislain Bolduc promises to follow him closely.

In turn, citizens are hoping that will also follow the lake side, which is also contaminated.

"Lake Megantic is our jewel, c ' is a natural lake. It is extremely beautiful. It does not has to be condemned. There are many fishermen and it even hurt tourism in the region, "stated the citizen and activist Robert Bellefleur.

Much more than 100,000 liters

Daniel Green believes that the amount of crude oil that was spilled in water during the explosion is not 100 000 liters, as suggested by the government

According to him, the damage would be three times higher than the figure put forward by the province.