A clearer picture on the different sources of pollution is needed to improve ambient air quality in the Red Deer region, said the Parkland Airshed Management Zone's (PAMZ) executive director.
“Before you start adjusting approvals for industrial facilities, you want to make really sure that that's your source, and if you do reduce that source that it's going to have a measurable outcome,” Kevin Warren told the Gazette.
The Alberta government recently announced that it is releasing a plan to help ameliorate the Red Deer region's ambient air quality. Between 2009 and 2013, the ambient air quality in that area exceeded Canadian standards for fine particulate matter. The goal is to bring the ambient air quality back in compliance with national standards, said a press release.
“Our government is committed to reducing the amount of air pollution across the province and we are taking steps that will improve air quality, which is vital to the health of all Albertans,” said Shannon Phillips, minister of environment and parks, in the release.
Among the major sources of air pollution are coal-burning plants. Those emissions are harmful to the health of Albertans and cost the province hundreds of millions of dollars in additional health-care costs and lost productivity. Under Alberta's Climate Leadership Plan, all coal pollution in the province will be phased out by 2030, said the release.
“The Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment celebrates these actions to reduce air pollution's health effects in the central Alberta region. In particular the ongoing phase out of coal-fired electricity will do much to decrease the impact on Albertans' health,” said Dr. Joe Vipond, Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, in the release.
The response action plan is multi-layered, including work developed and implemented by area stakeholders, as well as a broader provincial plan that builds on and complements local efforts.
Among those stakeholders is PAMZ, which has and will continue to monitor ambient air quality and work with other local stakeholders to better understand the issue. To contribute to this effort, the provincial government is providing the organization with a $250,000 grant to bolster the work to identify the different sources of pollution, said the release.
On top of a new air monitoring station in Red Deer, an additional $560,000 will be made available to refine monitoring in the area. Specifically, this will provide for more detailed particulate matter monitoring for Central Alberta, which will result in a more precise identification of pollution sources, it said.
“We're very supportive of the plan and we will be quite involved,” said Warren.
Fine particulate matter is smaller than 2.5 microns. To put that in perspective, a human hair is 60 microns. The government and stakeholder groups like PAMZ are interested in those particles “because they're able to get all the way into your lungs and bloodstream just because of their size,” he said.
When asked whether the provincial government's plan to address ambient air quality in Central Alberta is adequate, falls short or goes above and beyond, Warren said the steps taken so far have been “really laid out quite well.”
“One of the things we need to do before we go too far down the path is just have a really good understanding of what are the sources of the particulate matter that we're seeing,” he said.
See next week's Gazette for the rest of this story.
