Back to Sustainable development

Voluntary Arsenic Biomonitoring Program

For Horne Smelter employees, their families and associates
Share
posted:20/02/2025

As part of our commitment to being a responsible employer and neighbor, we are announcing the launch of a voluntary Arsenic Biomonitoring Program for all Horme Smelter employees, their families and associates.

The initiative will be led by the independent firm Intrinsik, which has extensive experience in similar biomonitoring studies. The company's role will be limited to funding the Program, to ensure the neutrality of the approach. The Biomonitoring Program Protocol was reviewed and approved by an independent peer review committee last January.

Visit Intrinsik's website

Eligibility

Participation in the Program is voluntary.

To be eligible, participants must have lived in Rouyn-Noranda for at least the last 6 months and be at least 9 months old.

  • Horne Smelter employees
  • Families of Horne Smelter employees
  • Associates of Horne Smelter employees

Although this Program is intended for our employees, their families and associates, any member of the community is eligible for the Program and can participate if they meet the eligibility criteria mentioned.

To register for the Program, you must contact the Intrinsik project team by e-mail or by telephone at 819 608-0422.

The programme will start in April 2025 and run for a period of 10 months. A total of 5 urine samples, 1 toenail sample and a series of soil and indoor dust samples will be collected from each participant who agrees to participate, according to a specific schedule.

  • April 2025

    First urine collection

  • July 2025

    Second urine collection

  • September 2025

    Third urine collection and soil/dust sampling

  • November 2025

    Fourth urine collection

  • January 2026

    Fifth urine collection and toenail collection

  • April 2026

    Presentation of the final report

Frequently asked questions

  • Over the past 5 years, we have repeatedly requested that a new biomonitoring study, based on a scientifically recognized methodology, be carried out to gain a better understanding of the actual exposure of the Rouyn-Noranda population.

    Such a biomonitoring study is long overdue. The Horne Smelter has therefore taken the initiative of commissioning Intrinsik, a qualified third party with experience in similar biomonitoring studies, to provide the people of Rouyn-Noranda with the answers they deserve.

    Our goal is to provide our Horne Smelter employees, their families and associates with an arsenic biomonitoring Program that meets the highest scientific standards and provides them with answers as the Rouyn-Noranda community seeks more information about its arsenic exposure.

  • The Program will begin in April 2025 and run for 10 months. A total of 5 urine samples, 1 toenail sample and a series of soil and indoor dust samples will be collected from each participant who agrees to participate, according to a specific schedule.

    Ambient air will also be sampled using a number of mobile stations located throughout the territory, in order to take account of the variability of arsenic concentrations in the air and to enable correlations between arsenic measured in urine and toenail samples and arsenic measured in ambient air.

    Participants will be mailed a copy of their urine and/or toenail and/or soil/indoor dust results after each round of sampling, if they have consented to it. An anonymized community report will also be produced by Intrinsik and presented to participants and the wider community at the end of the Program in 2026.

  • To be eligible for the Program, participants must:

    • Have lived in Rouyn-Noranda for at least the past 6 months
    • Be at least 9 months old

    Although this Program is intended for our employees, their families and associates, any member of the community is eligible for the Program and can participate if they meet the eligibility criteria mentioned above.

    Please note that employees working in the smelting sector who are already subject to the Occupational Health Surveillance Program are not eligible for the Arsenic Biomonitoring Program; however, their families and associates are.

    Participation in the Program will be on a voluntary basis. The decision of each potential participant whether or not to participate in the Program will be communicated by the participant directly to Intrinsik and will be kept strictly confidential by Intrinsik, who will not share this information with the Horne Smelter.

  • To register for the Program, please contact the Intrinsik project team at PBARN_RNABP@intrinsik.com or 819 608-0422.

    Interested participants will receive a participant file from Intrinsik, which will contain an overview of the Program, information and consent forms, questionnaires, collection instructions for urine and toenail samples, the sampling schedule and contact details for further information about the Program.

    You are welcome to share Intrinsik's contact details with anyone in your family or community who is interested and eligible to take part in the Program.

  • All data collected by the Intrinsik team, including participants' identities (whether or not you have decided to participate in the Program), personal information, personal biomonitoring results and responses to questionnaires will be kept confidential. Intrinsik will keep this information strictly confidential and will not share it with anyone other than Intrinsik's local physician and participants' family physicians, if they have given their consent. In particular, Intrinsik will not share any of this information with the Horne Smelter.