Saultites cough it up for Health Canada

Sault Ste. Marie is one of several communities that Health Canada will be looking at over the next few months to see what sort of effect air quality has on Canadians.

Algoma University will be overseeing the Sault study.

The Sault's geography makes it an ideal test subject, says Stephanie Blaney, the assistant coordinator for the study.

Blaney and Algoma University President Celia Ross explained the project his week to Sault Ste. Marie councillors.

They said the university was an ideal fit to oversee data collection for the local part of the project because it now has the infrastructure and staff needed to carry out the needed research.

Study coordinators are using data from air-quality monitoring stations at Sault College, comparing them with data from another monitoring station on Bonney Street near the gates of Essar Steel Algoma.

This gives them an unusual opportunity to compare data on heart and lung function from people living and working in areas where industrial pollution is measurably higher than other areas.

The study will monitor heart and lung health in people 18 to 55 who are healthy, not on any medication for chronic illnesses, and in non-smokers living in non-smoking households chosen and paid well to participate, said Blaney.

Each study group will be adhering to some dietary restrictions such as reduced caffeine intake and avoiding alcohol during the time they are undergoing the medical tests aimed at evaluating their heart and lung function.

They will each participate in the study for a period of three weeks with the first and third weeks being study weeks and the middle week being a time off, Blaney said.

Data collection will wrap up in August and the information collected will be sent to Health Canada for analysis.

Ross said the research project is important to Algoma University because it gives the school additional credibility and respect in the scientific community.

It also offers the university more opportunities to cultivate and build partnerships and relationships in the scientific and industrial sectors, she said.

For participants, many of whom are students, it provides lucrative employment for a number of weeks in the summer.