North Central Health District Team Wins Coveted Environmental Award

(L-R) Michael Slaton and Christine Buffington accept their awards for outstanding environmental justice from the Environmental Protection Agency

Congratulations are in order for North Central Health District employees, Christine Buffington and Michael Slaton, for their involvement with the Woolfolk Community Engagement Team. Ms. Buffington and Mr. Slaton were the public health representatives on a team made up of citizens, business owners and other stakeholders in the Woolfolk community. This team won the 2011 Notable Achievement Award for Outstanding Environmental Justice from the Environmental Protection Agency.

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 pair were honored “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, located in Fort Valley, is a 31-acre area 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.


-Story by Jennifer C. Jones, Public Information Officer, North Central Health District, District 5-2

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