Clinton News Record, 2016-06-15, Page 9(QM! Agency)
Study with University of
Waterloo a possibility
CONTINUED FROM > PAGE 8
However on May 24, an announce-
ment was put on the website that
said, "The investigation into potential
health effects of wind turbines by the
Huron County Health Unit is on
pause until further notice:'
The board said the study was put
on hold to look into other studies
being done to ensure they were not
duplicating work already being
done. They also were unsure of how
much the study would cost, and
they were concerned that they don't
have the resources to ensure the
study is done effectively and is
actionable.
At their monthly meeting on June
2, the gallery was full of residents,
just like the meeting in May. Dr.
Miriam Klassen, who is the MOH for
the Perth unit, had temporarily
filled in the position of acting MOH
after Dr. Owen's departure. Klassen
was asked to look into the IWT issue
and present her findings at the June
2 meeting.
Dr. Klassen met with Dr. Ray
Copes who is Public Health Ontar-
io's Chief of Environmental Occupa-
tion and Health, and he advised
against doing the study.
There is a provincial health study
which Dr. Klassen suggested that
residents submit their complaints
to. However this study is not about
IWTs, though it could encompass it,
which Dr. Klassen pointed out.
"There may be a lot of good infor-
mation that comes out of it, but not
for a long time and it's not very
helpful in the short term," Dr. Klas-
sen admitted.
In another direction, she said
there is an opportunity that has
arisen with the University of Water-
loo (UW). The health unit received a
notice from Jane Wilson, who is the
president of Wind Concerns
Ontario, about this opportunity as
they were interested in the study.
UW is well resourced academically,
and Dr. Cotes thought the idea was
"very interesting':
Dr. Klassen acknowledged that
they know there are health concerns
resulting from IWTs. She said her
concern is if a study will change
anything or lead to anything action-
able, and they want to take the time
to make sure they do the study in
the right way where it can be most
effective. She suggested UW could
be an avenue to do this.
Both Jane Wilson and a represent-
ative from UW will be invited to
Board of Health meetings in August
or in the months following.
Hessel noted that residents can
always file complaints to the Ministry
of Health and Ministry of Environ-
ment. However it comes down to a lot
of provincial mandates. For this rea-
son, Hessel stressed that it's impor-
tant to "let your local MP know and
likely your local Liberal MP know
[your concerns]. At the end of the
day, it's the provincial government
that's implicating the wind turbines.
[...] We don't have control, but we are
the first place people come to when
there is a concern:'
Hessel went on to say that he is
excited about potentially working
with the University of Waterloo.
"The big concern is if you rush
something like this and you don't fol-
low a process, it's pretty easy to beat
up the research," said Hessel. "If we
are going to do this, we want to do it
correctly!'
clintonnewsrecord.com
Wednesday, June 15, 2016 • News Record 9
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