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Needles discarded behind Louis Street an ‘escalating issue’, says resident

A little girl was pricked by a needle in the area in mid-July

In mid-July a girl was pricked by a discarded needle that was left on a path near Louis Street, in Sudbury’s Flour Mill area.

A local resident said it was not the first such case for the area.

“It’s been an ongoing issue and it just seems to be escalating,” said Elizabeth Davis, a member of the Louis Street Association.

Davis said drug users in the area often congregate along a path behind the street that follows Junction Creek.

“That trail by the Ukrainian church and the creek is a very high volume area for users,” she said.

Davis said local children often play along the path unsupervised, and sometimes venture near the areas where drug users leave behind their discarded needles.

A recent posting on the Spotted in Sudbury Facebook page garnered a lot of attention when it showed a large number of discarded needles where the young girl was pricked.

Davis said she told the girl’s mother to take her to the Sudbury and District Health Unit for testing, but has not heard what the results were from her bloodwork.

While the risk of infection from discarded needles is low, a prick can nonetheless put a person at a small risk of contracting a blood-borne disease like Hepatitis B or HIV.

Davis said police are aware the path is a problem area for drug users and discarded needles, and sometimes go there on patrol.

She said the city’s outreach workers are also aware of the area, but are rarely ever there.

“I haven’t seen much of them in that area,” she said.

Davis added the city’s needle exchange program, which the Sudbury and District Health Unit now administers, should require drug users to return their used needles before they get new ones.

“We hand out clean needles and the expectation is people will return their used needles,” said Brenda Stankiewicz, a public health nurse with the health unit. “I guess they’re not always returned.”

If a person finds a discarded needle on public property they should call 311, and the city will send someone to pick it up safely, Stankiewicz said.

If a needle is discarded on someone’s private property, Stankiewicz said it’s their responsibility to safely pick up the needle – wearing thick gloves and using tongs – and to place it in a solid container that won’t break.

Once the needle is in the container they should seal it, write that it contains a discarded needle, and bring it to the health unit’s offices – in the Rainbow Centre Mall or at 1300 Paris Street – for safe disposal.

Once a person has safely placed a needle in a container, they can also call the city’s “toxic taxi” at 705-560-9019, for pick-up at their property.

If a person is pricked by a discarded needle they should seek medical care immediately, Stankiewicz added.


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Jonathan Migneault

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