The results of the Sudbury Soils Study have been published as a textbook entitled “Risk Assessment and Environmental Management: A Case Study in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada.”Edited by Dr. Christopher Wren and published by Maralte Publishing of the Netherlands, the book represents a synthesis of the major technical reports that made up the Sudbury Soils Study, which was carried out between 2001 and 2009.The book is written for practitioners and students of risk assessment and includes14 chapters that describe the human health and ecological risk assessment, the public consultation process and risk management activities undertaken as part of the study.
Each chapter is written by different individuals involved with the study.
“Condensing several thousands of pages of reports into one book under 500 pages in length was a major undertaking,” said Wren, who was supported in the endeavor by the Sudbury-based research organization, MIRARCO - Mining Innovation.
The book helps fulfill a commitment of the Sudbury Soils Study to make both the study process and results available to a broader audience.
“The Sudbury Soils Study was one of the largest and most comprehensive studies of its kind in North America,” said Wren. “We have received great interest in the work conducted here in Sudbury from around the world.”
Approximately 8,500 soil samples from various locations in the Sudbury area were analyzed for over 20 parameters to determine the levels of nickel, copper, cobalt, selenium, lead and arsenic in local soils. Researchers performed additional sampling to obtain detailed, site-specific measurement of metal levels in outdoor air, home-grown vegetables, indoor dust, drinking water, blueberries and fish from local lakes to calculate the exposure of Sudbury residents and ecological receptors to metals in the environment.
The Sudbury Soils Study was overseen by a technical committee that included representatives from the City of Greater Sudbury, the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, the Sudbury and District Health Unit, Health Canada, Vale and Xstrata Nickel.
Abstracts of each of the book’s chapters can be viewed online at www.maralte.com. Electronic copies of the book can be ordered online through the publisher, while hard copies can be purchased at amazon.ca.
