The 2013 Lac-Mégantic tragedy: The public health response then and now

The BCCDC/NCCEH Environmental Health Seminar Series provides an opportunity for learning and knowledge exchange on a variety of environmental health topics. The seminars can be attended in-person or online.

Speaker: Dr. Mélissa Généreux, Director, Estrie Public Health

Abstract: As the head of Estrie Public Health, Dr Mélissa Généreux led the public health response during and after the Lac Mégantic train derailment tragedy on July 6, 2013. She retrospectively conducted a comprehensive analysis of direct services provided by her team during the first weeks (i.e. emergency response operations) and months (i.e. recovery operations). During this session, she will share lessons learned from the Public Health response during and after the tragedy. As the Principal Investigator of a large public health survey conducted in 2014 and 2015 in the Estrie region involving more than 10,000 subjects, she will also highlight the long-term psychological impacts of the Lac-Mégantic tragedy.