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Friday, December 5, 2008
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P.G. tops B.C. with worst fine particulate air pollution |
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Written by GORDON HOEKSTRA
Citizen staff
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Friday, 03 October 2008 |
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WILLIAMS LAKENORTHERN HEALTH
In the lung association's fourth annual state of the air report, the city posted the highest daily values in 2007 among 30 communities in the province.
Prince George was also the leading community on the fine particulate list based on data from 2005 and 2004, but dropped to No. 3 based on data from 2006. While the city exceeded the federal government's Canada-wide Standard for fine particulates in 2004 and 2005, it did not in 2006 or 2007. The federal standard states that a community's level of fine particulates should not exceed 30 micrograms per cubic metre more than an average of seven days per year during a three-year period. (The city only exceeded this level one day in 2007, according to a recent B.C. Environment air quality summary report).
In the 2008 lung association report, other B.C. Interior communities also topped the fine particulate list, including Quesnel, Smithers, Golden and Williams Lake.
The community with the highest annual concentration was Grand Forks, followed by Golden, Prince George and Quesnel.
"The good news -- if you want to call it that -- from a Prince George perspective is perhaps that it lost out on having the highest annual average," University of B.C. air pollutant expert Ray Copes said Friday.
Copes, a clinical professor for UBC's new school of population and public health, said that even though all B.C. communities are meeting the Canada-wide Standard for fine particulates, it doesn't mean that human health is being protected. "Unfortunately, many communities are in the range where health effects have been well documented related to air pollution -- Prince George would be in that category," said Copes.
While communities like Prince George certainly don't have the kind of air quality problems as a place like Mexico City, there are still health benefits to be had from reducing pollution levels, added Copes. He said it's why he likes the lung association annual report -- it provides a benchmark for improvement.
Fine particulates -- microscopic dry and wet particles -- are considering the leading air pollutant in Prince George. The particles used in the B.C. Lung association report are 2.5 microns and smaller, normally called PM2.5 and about 1/20 the width of a human hair. These particles are considered a health risk because they can penetrate deep into the lungs. They have been associated with heart and lung disease, as well as conditions like asthma.
The state of air report noted that sulfur dioxide levels in Prince George have been dropping over a 15-year period, while ozone has increased. Copes cautioned that the ozone increase is believed to be a global phenomena from huge increases in ozone-related emissions including from countries like China.
While Prince George topped the lung association's fine particulate pollutant list, a B.C. Environment report on air quality in 2007 showed the annual level of PM2.5 downtown was the lowest since monitoring began a decade ago.
B.C. Environment official Mellissa Winfield-Lesk said it's hard to draw definitive comparisons between the two reports because there are many factors at work, including the impact of weather. In 2007, Prince George experienced rainier and windier weather than in 2006, which could have helped clean out the air.
That weather trend has been seen in a lot of communities in B.C., observed Winfield-Lesk, who is also chair of the Prince George Air Improvement Roundtable, which includes representatives of the municipality, industry, Northern Health and the public.
"We do have a decline emerging, but whether that's a long-term trend or not, I'd feel a lot more comfortable if that was a trend that had been in evidence since 1993," she said. "But it's clear that Prince George has high levels of fine particulate that require some airshed management."
In releasing the report, the B.C. Lung Association said the latest information shows the need for smarter public policy.
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Last Updated ( Friday, 03 October 2008 )
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Oh really? Must be all those woodstoves burning downtown.........