Sudbury Soils Study Set to Launch Air Monitoring Program

SUDBURY – Air monitoring starts early next month at nine strategic locations within the City of Greater Sudbury, as well as one background location at Windy Lake Provincial Park as part of the Sudbury Soils Study. Air samples will be collected every six days over the next year, and will be analyzed for over 20 substances, including nickel, cobalt, copper, arsenic and lead. All monitors passed a mandatory Ministry of the Environment audit this week.

The monitoring stations are located in the areas of Copper Cliff, Falconbridge, Coniston, Garson, Hanmer, Skead, Walden, West End (Travers Street), and South End (Algonquin Public School). These sites were chosen because of proximity to residences, schools, agricultural areas, and smelting operations. The background site will provide information about air quality not affected by smelting operations.

The Ministry of the Environment currently operates a number of air quality stations in the Greater Sudbury Area as part of their province-wide network. Information collected over the next year at the new air monitoring stations will be combined with data from the existing MOE stations, to provide comprehensive coverage for the Human Health Risk Assessment.

This information will be used to help researchers understand exposures of residents in the Sudbury area to metals in the air they breathe. The toxicologists will determine if there are any potential risks to the communities where the monitoring is taking place.

“An important part of the Sudbury Soils Study is to determine how residents of the Sudbury area are exposed to metals in their environment. The air monitoring study is critical to this understanding,” says Dr. Chris Wren, director of the SARA Group undertaking the Sudbury Soils Study.

The Sudbury Soils Study is a partnership between the City of Greater Sudbury, the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Health Canada, First Nations and Inuit Health Branch, Sudbury & District Health Unit, Inco Limited, and Falconbridge Limited.

Final results of the overall study will be available in 2005. However, results of the various components of the study will be presented to the public as they become available.

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For more information, contact:

Dr. Chris Wren
SARA Group – ESG International
Toll-free: 866-315-0228