• Today's Air Quality (MOE link)

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How good is the air we breathe?

 

Air pollution comes from many different sources.  Factories, power plants, cars, even dust and waste from farms, all create pollution and contribute to the overall quality of our air.  Environment Canada states, "the electricity sector in Ontario accounts for 15% of Ontario’s NOx emissions, 25% of SO2 emissions and 11% of GHG emissions. While the transportation, a mobile source of emissions, accounts for 64% of NOx emissions, 29% of VOC emissions, 10% of PM emissions and 27% of GHG emissions."

from Air Pollution Sources in Ontario, 

More and more information is becoming available on the web. For instance, the Great Lakes Region Air Toxic Emissions Inventory is a bi-national effort to measure the toxic air emissions that affect the air and water quality and the communities of the Great Lakes basin.  They have just posted a new web portal called CAROL - Centralized Air emissions Repository On-Line (CAROL). This website is still working out some bugs, but keep watching as it gets up to speed. The 2001 Inventory of Toxic Air Emissions provides excell files of county emissions. I have clipped the Halton Region Emissions xls. 

 

 

Links of Interest:

  

Regional Municipaltity of Halton Smog Page

Halton region has initiated and air monitoring project - hopefully the results will be posted here. 

Ontario Ministry of the Environment's Air Quality Ontario

This site provides smog alerts and forecasts for Ontario communities. 2001 Ontario Toxic Emissions Inventory  

Environment Canada's Clean Air Online 

This site provides information on air quality, climate change and actions locally, nationally and internationally. GTA Clean Air Online provides information tailored to the Greater Toronto Area including Halton.  Take Action on Clean Air

Illegal Air Pollution on the Rise in Ontario

The Sierra Legal Defence reports "illegal air polluters in Ontario nearly doubled from 1997 to 1998, and the total number of violations nearly tripled."

Illness Costs of Air Pollution 

ICAP is a report commissioned by the Ontario Medical Association (OMA), which advances the OMA's long-standing record of advocating for substantial reductions in Ontario's air pollution. (June 2000)

The Health Effects of Ground-Level Ozone, Acid Aerosols & Particulate Matter. 

Ontario Medical Association (OMA) published this in 1998

Clean Air Partnerships

The Clean Air Partnership presents GTA residents with information on clean air and climate change information and actions including 20/20 The Way to Clean Air

Ontario’s Clean Air Action Plan: Protecting Environmental and Human Health in Ontario

Source for air pollutant data

Ontario Clean Air Alliance

The Ontario Clean Air Alliance is a coalition of 

Canada’s Emissions Outlook

Natural Resources Canada, December 1999, greenhouse gas emission data.

Clear the Air

Clear the Air is a national public education campaign to improve air quality by reducing emissions from coal-burning power plants.

No Room to Breathe

This is a project from Greater Boston Physicians for Social Responsibility. Their goal is to educate about the health effects air pollution

Clean Air Coalition

This site provides a useful air pollution glossary and helpful links.

Health House

This interactive website produced by the Children's Health Environmental Coalition provides ways to reduce children's air pollutant exposure.

Clean Air Technology Center

This is an EPA site that serves as "a resource on all areas of emerging and existing air pollution prevention and control technologies, and provides public access to data and information on their use, effectiveness and cost."

Buyers Guide to Cleaner Cars

Created by the California Air Resources Board, this guide can help you select a car that produces less pollution.  See also the EPA on Auto Emissions.

EPA sites:

Protecting Our Children provides information on airborne pollutants and describes their heath effects. 

The Toxic Release Inventory contains information on toxic chemical releases and other waste management activities reported annually by certain covered facilities.

The Technology Transfer Network  provides information on air monitoring and an excellent link to toxic air pollutants. 

Air Pollution Fact Sheet

This sheet lists the following suggestions for reducing air pollution:

• Avoid high speeds.
• Buy a vehicle with high miles per gallon.
• Do not overfill or top off your gasoline tank.
• Do not refuel on high ozone days — try to refuel after dark.
• Drive a newer vehicle; the new models generally pollute less.
• Drive alternative vehicles or alternatively fueled vehicles, such as electric vehicles.
• Drive smoothly and avoid lengthy idling.
• If the vehicle is a pre-1995 model, have a professional convert the air conditioning from the dangerous CFC R-12 to the safer R-134a to reduce your contribution to the ozone hole.
• Keep your car well maintained, especially the emissions control system.
• Keep tires properly inflated.
• Maintain your vehicle's air conditioning system — do not allow it to leak.
• Make fewer trips in your vehicle — plan routes to avoid traffic.
• Reduce fuel use as often as possible — a vehicle's shape and design features can affect its fuel use.

Here are other actions individuals can take to reduce air pollution:

• Defer lawn and gardening chores that use gasoline-powered equipment on high ground-level ozone days.
• Eat organically grown food, or at least less pesticide-dependant foods.
• Limit dry cleaning.
• Postpone using oil-based paint and solvents on high ground-level ozone days.
• Reduce consumption of electricity — conserving reduces emissions of SO₂, NO_x, VOCs and particulate matter into the air.
• Start charcoal with an electric or chimney-type fire starter instead of lighter fluid.
• Reduce, Reuse, Recycle — less consumption of products will reduce all types of air pollution!

 

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