The provincial government will fund a health study examining the effects of air pollution on the residents of Sarniaâs Chemical Valley following a Star investigation into industrial leaks in the area. The government will also take further steps to improve air quality in the area, Environment Minister Chris Ballard said Monday. Read more: In Sarniaâs Chemical Valley, is âtoxic soupâ making people sick?Outrage, calls for health study after Chemical Valley spills investigationâWe are committed to funding a health study to understand the localized impact of air pollution on Sarnia residents, and will be working with the communities in the coming weeks to determine how best to do that,â Ballard said in a written statement.The study is estimated to cost about $1.7 million, said Progressive Conservative Leader Patrick Brown.Mondayâs announcement comes after a joint investigation by the Star, Global News, the National Observer, the Michener Awards Foundation and journalism schools at Ryerson and Concordia universities revealed a troubling pattern of potentially toxic leaks and secrecy in the Chemical Valley. Although residents of Sarnia and the nearby community of Aamjiwnaang First Nation have asked both the provincial and federal governments to fund such a study for nearly a decade, none has ever been done. Though benzene levels in Sarnia have dropped significantly in the last 25 years, documents obtained by the investigation revealed how refineries in the area release three to 10 times the annual limit of the carcinogen. There are 57 industrial polluters registered with the Canadian and U.S. governments within 25 kilometres of Sarnia. In question period at Queenâs Park Monday, Brown and NDP Leader Andrea Horwath slammed the Liberal government for what they said were its failures to protect those who live near the Chemical Valley. Brown also called for an inquiry into the Liberalsâ âmishandlingâ of healt ...
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