Be Heard. Be Respected.

Has our community been suffering from PCB contamination for over 30 years?

Are You Sick Because of PCBs?

Get Involved and Have Your Say:

1) Volunteer for the Ministry of Environment PCB Community Liaison Committee - Deadline Aug.29.08

2) Volunteer for the London Health Unit Blood Testing Survey Committee - Deadline Sept.5.08

3) Review the Facts, Follow the News, Spread the word!

IMPORTANT UPDATES:

Dear friends,

It appears that our hard work and persistence are beginning to result in positive action from the Ministry of Environment (MOE) and the London Middlesex Health Unit (LMHU). Fifty years after PCBs first began contaminating our community it was announced yesterday that the LMHU has submitted a proposal to the Ministry of Health to gain funding for wide scale PCB health testing (for residents AND former employees). More information can be found in articles at the following two links:

Health Unit Urges PCB Tests

PCB London Test to Include Former Westinghouse Workers, Families

Also, TIna Dufresne of the MOE sent me this email, shown below, outlining some of the steps her Ministry has recently taken. The RFP for the decommissioning of the storage site has now been posted and members of the public are encouraged to provide comments through the newly created website. The MOE has also decided to expand the membership of the Community Liaison Committee and is now accepting applications from interested community members.

Lastly, thank you for all that attended the City Council Environment and Transportation Committee meeting.

As always, thank you all for your support and hard work!

Ali Haidar

London PCB Watch

Tina Dufrene - London District Manager, Ministry of Environment Email

Dear Mr. Haidar;

In response to comments that the ministry has received, we have taken a number of steps today that are aimed at addressing the community's concerns and creating an ongoing dialog.

This afternoon, we launched a website to provide ongoing access to information about the Pottersburg project. The address for the website is http://www.ene.gov.on.ca/en/land/pottersburg.

We have posted the Request for Proposals for the project on the MERX website. At the same time, we have posted a copy of the proposal on our new website. For the month of August, we are asking the public to provide their comments on the RFP. In September, we will work with the Community Liaison Group to incorporate those comments into the final proposal.

And thirdly, we are proposing to expand the community membership of the Liaison Group to include up to four new community members. Applications will be accepted through until the 29^th of August. If a large number of people apply, we will work with the Group to select the additional members.

Now that the RFP has been posted, any need for confidentiality has passed and future meetings of the Community Liaison Group will be open to the public.

The application form for the additional members and the comment form for the RFP are available on the website. We're also making copies available at City Hall (8^th flr, 300 Dufferin Ave.) and at the East London, Crouch and Beacock libraries.

I look forward to your comments and suggestions as we move forward with the project.

Thanks and have a good weekend,

Tina Dufresne

District Manager

London District Office

Ministry of the Environment

733 Exeter Road

London ON N6E 1L3

(519) 873-5031

1-800-265-7672

fax (519) 873-5020

tina.dufresne@ontario.ca