Beachville's Air Quality Assessment Results Being Prepared

Tuesday, 18 August 2015 05:47

The results of Beachville's Air Quality Assessment will soon be available. An open house is planned to further discuss the findings.

BEACHVILLE - The results of an air quality assessment for the Beachville area will be discussed at the beginning of September.

Officials with Oxford County Public Health, Public Health Ontario, and the Ontario Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change will share their air monitoring results. Oxford County ordered the air quality tests after hearing community concerns about air quality due to the existing aggregate operations in the area, specifically the local lime quarry that is the proposed site of a private landfill by Walker Environmental Group.

Manager of Health Protection with Oxford Public Health Peter Haywood tells Heart FM the purpose behind these studies.

"So the purpose of this assessment is to provide information on which to base risk management decisions about air quality in the Beachville area. So once this study is completed we can review the results and then determine the next steps for Beachville air quality."

The list of presenters includes PHO Chief of Environmental and Occupational Health Dr. Ray Copes, who is part of the consultation team. Dr. Copes along with PHO Environmental Health Analysts will present air monitoring program results from the Beachville area. Rob Wrigley, London District Manager of the MOECC, will also be presenting air monitoring program results, independent from Public Health Ontario. Oxford County’s Acting Medical Officer of Health Dr. Douglas Neal, Manager of Health Protection Peter Haywood and Epidemiologist Deborah Carr will be making presentations on behalf of Oxford County Public Health.

Following the presentations residents will have an opportunity to ask questions of the presenters along with an outline of the next steps in the assessment. An advance copy of reports prepared for the meeting will be posted on Oxford County’s website by August 28.

The Open House will take place on Tuesday September 1st from 6:00 p.m to 8:00 p.m at the Colombo Club in Beachville