SOILS STUDY COMMUNICATIONS EXPAND TO PHYSICIANS

SUDBURY – Beginning next week, the SARA Group will provide local physicians with medical information packages on the Sudbury Soils Study’s chemicals of concern - arsenic, cobalt, copper, lead, nickel and selenium. The packages include information sheets that physicians can provide to their patients. “While there are no immediate expected health concerns, we recognize that citizens may have questions about the metals being studied,” says SARA Group director Chris Wren. “We want to ensure that everyone in the community is well informed about the study.”

General information on the chemicals of concern will continue to be updated on the Sudbury Soils Study website. Other updates to the website continue, including a report from the November 25 Open House, and a detailed “Question and Answer” document based on public comments received since the start of the study.

The SARA Group will also be mailing letters in the next couple of weeks to participants in last year's Vegetable Garden Survey. The letters will contain specific soil fertility and nutrient information about each participant’s garden. The objective of the mailing is to provide information on how people can best fertilize their gardens for the upcoming growing season.

At yesterday’s Technical Committee meeting, SARA representatives reported on their participation at last month’s Sudbury Restoration Workshop at Laurentian University. SARA Group director Chris Wren spoke at the plenary session, and a team of SARA scientists conducted a morning workshop on the Study’s Ecological and Human Health Risk Assessment.

The Technical Committee’s (TC) February meeting was the first to be open to the public for a portion of the meeting time. In addition to two members of the public who made presentations, representatives from the United Steel Workers of America Locals 6500 and 2020, and Mine Mill Local 598/Canadian Autoworkers also attended the meeting.

The next Public Advisory Committee (PAC) meeting will be held next Tuesday, March 16, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. at the Koski Centre, Cambrian College. Members of the public who wish to make a presentation and would like consideration on the agenda of TC and PAC meetings are asked to contact Ivan Filion at 705-566-8101, ext 7909 or via e-mail at iafilion@cambrianc.on.ca, or the SARA Group at 1-866-315-0228 or via e-mail at questions@sudburysoilsstudy.com

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For more information, contact:

For more information please contact
SARA Group director, Chris Wren at
1-519-766-1039 or 1-866-315-0228.