DATE: 9 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2006.

PLACE: Grand Ballroom of the Ashman Court Marriott Hotel, 111 W. Main St., Midland.

EVENT: Media are invited to attend a news conference where researchers will announce results of the University of Michigan Dioxin Exposure Study. The purpose of the U-M scientific study was to see whether elevated levels of dioxins in the environment are ending up in residents of the Tittabawassee River basin and whether these residents have higher levels of dioxins in their blood than people living in other parts of Michigan. The study also sought to identify pathways by which dioxins enter people’s bodies.

Dioxins are toxic chemicals that can be produced by industrial and combustion activities. Elevated levels of dioxins in the soil of the Tittabawassee River floodplain and nearby areas are believed to have originated from the Dow Chemical Co. plant in Midland. The U-M study was funded by a grant from Dow and was controlled and conducted entirely by U-M researchers. Results will be published.

Scientists conducting the U-M study will be available to answer questions, both during the press conference and afterward. The scientists are led by Dr. David Garabrant, professor of environmental health sciences, professor of epidemiology, and associate professor of emergency medicine. A summary of the study’s findings will be handed out in printed booklet form at the 9 a.m. news conference, and will be available online at 10 a.m. on the study’s Web site, www.umdioxin.org.

NOTE: Later in the day on Aug. 15, members of the research team will present their study results to a community meeting at 6 p.m. at Saginaw Valley State University, in the Conference and Events Center, Curtiss Hall, 7400 Bay Road. That event is also open to the public.

Related Link:

• Dioxin