Ford to consult with Minister of Environment after cancer-causing chemicals detected in Hamilton's air

Premier Doug Ford said he will consult with the Ministry of Environment after cancer-causing chemicals were detected in Hamilton, Ont. air.

“I’m gonna have to look more into that," Ford said when asked by reporters about the detection Tuesday. "I’ll speak to the Minister of Environment [David Piccini]."

For about two years, the City of Hamilton – with the help of Health Canada’s funding – has been monitoring the air quality through more than 60 air monitors attached to street poles across the city. The research found concentrations of benzo(a)pyrene, a carcinogenic chemical that exceeded the province’s air quality guidelines.

In response to Ford’s remarks, a spokesperson for Piccini said the government is committed to protecting Ontario’s air quality and people's health.

“We are actively working with industry in Hamilton to reduce emissions, including investments in the iron and steel industry to end coal use,” the minister’s spokesperson said in a statement on Thursday.

The minister said Hamilton’s air quality will “significantly improve” by electrifying operations to support the production of green steel.

According to the air quality expert coordinating the study, Matthew Adams, the pollution is comparable to "smoking one cigarette per day."

The chemical was detected throughout the city, the study found -- not just in areas nearby steel mills that typically emit such cancer-causing chemicals.

Manager of Health Hazards & Vector Borne Diseases with Hamilton Public Health Services, Matthew Lawson, told CTV News Toronto in a statement they haven't yet been provided with the study's findings. But, Lawson says they're requesting that the province "protect(s) the health of all Hamilton residents and work togeher with local industry to reduce emissions further."

ArcelorMittal Dofasco and Stelco, Hamilton’s steelmakers, are among the highest emitting benzo (a)pyrene emitters in Canada.

“We do know the [steel] industry emits this pollutant and that’s not up for debate,” Adams said. 

Lawson said the City of Hamilton is currently working with ministry staff to discuss the process the province uses to "set site specific standards for air quality emissions across Ontario and how the existing site-specific standards for air quality emissiosn are set within our community."

With files from CTV News Toronto’s Hannah Alberga