The Sudbury Star is the City of Greater Sudbury’s daily newspaper.
Two years after tests by the Long Lake Stewardship Committee showed high levels of arsenic were entering the lake, the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines announced it is starting a three-year cleanup project.
“The stewardship began a program more than two years ago to have the arsenic problem addressed when Stewardship testing showed high arsenic levels was entering the lake from Luke Creek at the most westerly end of the lake,” the committee said in a release.
“Luke Creek leads directly from the old tailings of the Long Lake Gold Mine. The Ministry of Environment, at the request of the Stewardship, conducted independent tests in the fall of 2012 and confirmed that the arsenic levels in the last bay of the lake were a danger to humans.”
Last July, The Star first reported on the issue of arsenic showing up in the lake. At the time, Kate Jordan, a spokesperson with the Ministry of the Environment, stressed that the ministry had no concerns about the safety of Long Lake’s water.
According the release, a study conducted sometime this year by a contractor will determine the extent of the problem, and a plan of action to clean up the arsenic will be developed. The ministry will present the options to the committee and area residents to determine which plan best suits address the concerns.
In 2014, the MNDM will conduct an Environmental Assessment to address the environmental concerns of the proposed clean up method, and will accept public input. Cleanup will start in 2015, which could take years to complete.
For the rest of this article, please go to the Sudbury Star website: http://www.thesudburystar.com/2013/02/26/province-to-help-clean-up-arsenic-in-long-lake