Independent Expert Review Panel Convenes in Sudbury

SUDBURY, ON – Toxicology Excellence for Risk Assessment (TERA) of Cincinnati, Ohio, will host a one-hour public briefing on Monday, March 5, at 7:30 pm, to kick off two days of expert panel discussions on the Sudbury Soils Study Ecological Risk Assessment (ERA) draft report. Dr. Christopher Wren, project manager for the Sudbury Area Risk Assessment (SARA) Group, will provide a public presentation on the status of the report that will undergo scientific peer review by the panel.

The Independent Expert Review Panel (IERP) is comprised of six internationally recognized scientists from across North America, selected by TERA for their expertise in environmental science, toxicology and risk assessment. The panel will spend two full days in closed technical meetings to assess the scientific principles and approaches used in the ERA draft report. Members of the Sudbury Area Risk Assessment (SARA) Group will be present to provide input and respond to questions posed by the panel.

Event: Public Briefing: International Expert Review Panel (IERP) Date: Monday, March 5, 2007 Time: 7:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Location: Auditorium, Collège Boréal

The Public Briefing is open to the general public and media representatives, and will focus on the scientific peer-review process. Study findings and conclusions are currently in draft form, and will not be discussed at this briefing. With input from the expert panel, the SARA Group will complete the ERA and expect to release the report in late 2007. The Sudbury Soils Study is being directed by a Technical Committee (TC) that includes CVRD Inco, Xstrata Nickel, the City of Greater Sudbury, Ontario Ministry of Environment (MOE), Sudbury & District Health Unit (SDHU), and Health Canada First Nations & Inuit Health Branch.

Background information on the panel members will be available at the briefing. Please direct all requests for interviews and information to the contacts provided below.

Sudbury Soils Study (SARA)
Dr. Christopher Wren
1-866-315-0228
questions@sudburysoilsstudy.com

General Information
TERA (Cincinnati, OH)
IERP process and meetings
Jacqueline Patterson
1-513-521-7426
patterson@tera.org

Sudbury PAC Public consultation
John Hogenbirk
675-1151, ext. 3435
jhogenbirk@laurentian.ca

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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.