On this putrid air day the World Health Organization announced that air pollution is a carcinogen.
Well the people of Prince George didn't need the WHO to tell us that, we already knew.
What we don't know is how to get governments to act to improve our environment.
Between March 2011 and June 2012 residents in the downtown area took air samples on their own time because it was felt that what we were breathing could possible be harmful. The test results came in the spring of 2013 but it wasn't until August that the Ministry of the Environment released the results. August of course is the month that everyone leaves town so the results reach very few people.
The tests showed the presence of Acrolein in our air shed in concentrations higher than acceptable levels. This should have triggered the MOE to hunt down the source but instead they stated if enough people requested it, they would do further testing. Acrolein has an intensive acrid odour, just like what we are smelling today, It also has its own hazardous substance fact sheet.
I hope the Ministry of the Environment sees fit to track down the source of this harmful substance and requests that the offender find a way to eliminate it from our air shed.
Further information can be found on the PACHA website http://www.pachapg.ca/ The Sweet Acrid Poison Acrolein
WDM Barteluk
Prince George
