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Two NCHD Employees Receive the 2011 Notable Achievement Award for Outstanding Environmental Justice

Congratulations to North Central Health District employees, Christine Buffington and Michael Slaton, for their involvement with the Woolfolk Community Engagement Team.  This team won the 2011 Notable Achievement Award for Outstanding Environmental Justice from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Michael Slaton is the Environmental Health Lead for the Peach County Health Department.  Christine Buffington is currently the Environmental Health Lead for the Houston County Health Department, but during her service on the Woolfolk Community Engagement Team, she was a risk communicator for the Chemical Hazards Program. 

The award read, "For demonstrating a sustained and thorough understanding of Environmental Justice concerns, creating strategies to identify and reach out to low-income and minority communities, and providing opportunities for the Woolfolk community to play a meaningful role in the environmental decision-making process."

The Woolfolk Chemical site is located in Fort Valley and is a 31-acre designated as a Superfund site to clean up pesticides found in the soil.  Other team members were:  Charles King, Angela Miller, Karen Singer, Ray Strickland, Carl Blair, Abena Ajanaku, and Michael Elster.