Program Review Report (2000)

As the Trail Community Lead Task Force worked toward delivering a package of recommendations to the BC Minister of Environment by the end of 2000, it consulted with the broader local community and also with a panel of international experts who were invited to a review session in Trail. The experts included academic, government, industry and lead exposure prevention program leaders from the USA and Australia. Each had extensive experience with risk assessment and remediation in smelting and mining communities. The international expert panel, along with Task Force members and staff, plus additional visiting experts from BC and Mexico, reviewed the work that had been done in Trail over the previous decade, and put together a proposed ‘package of actions’ for the Task Force to consider. The actions recommended included continuing to monitor lead in children’s blood and the environment, continuing case management and education, further reducing smelter emissions and addressing bare soil. The panel also recommended that community involvement in oversight of the ongoing monitoring and remediation actions be continued, through some entity similar to the Task Force.