Air quality at the Rush Lake Thermal Facility was a hot topic during a recent public meeting.
Read more: VIDEO: No timeline on Rush Lake solution
The meeting addressed a leak, reported on May 7, that has residents concerned over smells emitting from the site.
The Saskatchewan Ministry of Energy and Resources says there is no risk to public health, but it isn’t releasing the testing data.
“The Ministry of Energy and Resources continues to fly drones to monitor air quality and detect Hydrogen Sulfide gas (H₂S) levels to verify data being collected by Cenovus,” they said in a statement.
“The verification work conducted by the Ministry of Energy and Resources, along with other Government of Saskatchewan entities, has detected no risk to public health.
“Once the incident has been resolved, the data will be used for further evaluation as part of the ministry’s investigative process.”
Residents believe the well is leaking H₂S and Benzene, which are dangerous to human health. People reported strong smells, headaches and nausea in June.
According to national safety standards, safe levels for H₂S over eight hours are one part per million (ppm) within a 15-minute window and the limit is five ppm.
Benzene has safety levels of 0.5 ppm over eight hours and 2.5 ppm over 15 minutes.
Saskatchewan treats Benzene as a Category 1 carcinogen and uses exposure limits from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Safe levels are 0.1 ppm over eight hours and 1 ppm over 15 minutes.
According to Cenovus, the leak was reduced on July 17.
Read more: VIDEO: Rush Lake full press conference
