As a resident living in this…

As a resident living in this community with already high exceedances in our air quality, there are some concerns in regard to another mine/facility releasing the following contaminates into our air - total suspended particulate; arsenic; cadmium; chromium; copper; lead; products of combustion such as nitrogen oxides. Timmins is not on the Air Quality Health Index and there have been occasions where the air quality has been poor and residents do not know until a quarterly report is released. I, personally, only knew of two friends who had cancer. Since moving to Timmins, it appears that this is the norm. I was advised that the rate of cancer in children is higher in Timmins than any other community in Ontario. This is on my list to research since children should not get sick from their environment. I attended a women's dinner last Christmas. A pastor stood up and starting to talk about her cancer. To my surprise, each woman around the table took turns to talk about their personal cancer stories as well. People in my neighborhood have cancer including pets. In some cases, they have rare cancer which surprises the doctors down South. This should be a sign that there is a problem with our environment. If all mines are given approval for releasing contaminates in the air then a combination would increase the exceedances which we are breathing in. We may receive data from one mine who is self monitoring (fox in hen house scenario) but what about all of the mines in our community combined? This is concerning since priority does not appear to be focused on human life but on money/minerals. If we should open our windows during a nice day, we can expect to get a fine grit on our furniture, floors, etc. You can feel it but you can't see it. This was the case on October 4, 2023. It was a beautiful Fall day so I opened all of my windows and door then I went outside to work in the yard. When I entered my home at the end of the day my house was completely engulfed in grit. I could not see what it was so I took a paper towel and wiped my dinner table. Attached is a photo of the results. I never had a problem sleeping, however, three years since moving to Timmins I was advised that I needed a cpap machine. When I received the call as to where I wanted my prescription to be sent I was given a choice of five places. This was surprising as well since we have a population of 42,000 people. When I went to pick up my machine, there was a long line up with people doing the same. I had changed the filter in my machine the week before and on October 4th I checked it due to the amount of grit/dust which entered my home. The filter was a dark gray. What are we breathing in and why is this being permitted? I can understand that we are a mining town, however, procedures in to be put in place so that the public and industry can work together in a safe environment. I will be checking to see if this paper towel can be tested to see what may be in this grit/dust since we spent the whole day outside breathing this in. A similar incident occurred on May 10, 2022. The air monitoring report showed high exceedances. If government cares about public health and safety then these circumstances should be taken into consideration before approving permits which can impact communities where the mines are operating.