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magazine / mj00
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May/June 2000 issue |
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Blowin’ in the wind
Canada’s smoggiest places
GET OUT YOUR GAS MASKS:
May is the beginning of smog season, which lasts until September.
Smog is caused largely by the burning of fossil fuels in power
plants, factories, homes and vehicles. It is made up of fine
airborne particles, which combine with sulphur dioxide and other
chemicals, and ground-level ozone, a colourless gas that forms
when nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds react in
sunlight. As our map shows, much of the pollution that causes
smog drifts north from sources in the United States. New research
suggests there is no safe level of exposure to airborne particles
or ozone at street level (as opposed to the ozone in the stratosphere
that protects us from the sun’s radiation).
Windsor to Quebec City
This region has the worst air quality in Canada. While much of
the smog is generated locally, about 50 percent of the ozone
comes from the Ohio Valley and the Cleveland and Detroit areas.
Canada is negotiating with the United States to reduce the cross-border
flow of air pollutants. The hot, stagnant summer weather in central
Canada is perfect for ground-level ozone formation, with smog
blanketing large urban and rural areas for several days at a
time. Ontario’s five coal-fired power plants are the province’s
largest industrial source of air pollution. |
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Atlantic Canada
Around the Bay of Fundy, southern New Brunswick and parts of
Nova Scotia southwest of Halifax, 50 to 80 percent of the smog
is caused by cross-border pollution from the northeastern United
States or emissions from central Canada. Smog is concentrated
around the Saint John, N.B., region, where local sources of sulphur
dioxide include a large petroleum refinery, two oil-fired generating
stations and several pulp-and-paper mills. |
Calculating the costs
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Approximately 5,000 people a year die prematurely as a result
of air pollution, according to a study of 11 Canadian cities.
Almost one in 12 of all non-accidental deaths in Canada can
be attributed to air pollution.
Air pollution increases the number of emergency-room visits
and cardiac and respiratory hospital admissions. Ground-level
ozone causes inflammation of the airways that can persist for
up to 18 hours after exposure, while airborne particles penetrate
deeply into the lungs, causing irritation.
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Most vulnerable to the effects of air pollution are the elderly,
anyone with an underlying illness and children, whose still-developing
lung tissue is more sensitive to pollutants.
More than half of all Canadians live where ground-level ozone
can reach unacceptable levels in summer. Every major Canadian
city has levels of airborne particles high enough to constitute
a health risk.
The Ontario Medical Association states that the components
of air pollution "pose a serious health risk to the people
of Ontario."
The health benefits from improving air quality in Canada
are estimated to be worth $8 billion over 20 years.
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Rank by amount
of ground-level ozone |
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Rank by amount
of particulate matter |
| 1 |
Kitchener, Ont. |
5 |
| 2 |
Toronto, Ont. |
7 |
| 3 |
Windsor, Ont. |
3 |
| 4 |
Simcoe. Ont. |
11 |
| 5 |
Hamilton, Ont. |
10 |
| 6 |
Egbert, Ont. |
4 |
| 7 |
Montréal, Que. |
1 |
| 8 |
St. Catharines, Ont |
6 |
| 9 |
Kejimkujik, N.S. |
7 |
| 10 |
Oshawa, Ont. |
22 |
| 11 |
Halifax, N.S. |
13 |
| 12 |
Québec, Que. |
18 |
| 13 |
Saint John, N.B. |
7 |
| 14 |
Vancouver, B.C. |
16* |
| 15 |
Calgary, Alta. |
11 |
| 16 |
Kamloops, B.C. |
1 |
| 17 |
Prince George, B C. |
22 |
| 18 |
Winnipeg, Man. |
15 |
| 19 |
Chilliwack, B.C. |
14 |
| 20 |
Kelowna, B.C. |
21 |
| 21 |
Nanaimo, B.C. |
18 |
| 22 |
Victoria, B.C. |
18 |
| 23 |
St. John’s, Nfid. |
17 |
| 24 |
Ottawa, Ont. |
24 |
* 1997 data, all else: 1998 data
Includes all locations for which ground-level
ozone and fine-airborne-particulate data (PM2.5) are collected.
(Canada Wide Standards)
SOURCES: NATURAL
RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL (BENCHMARKING AIR EMISSIONS OF ELECTRIC
UTILITY GENERATORS IN THE EASTERN U.S.); ENVIRONMENT CANADA;
HEALTH CANADA; ONTARIO POWER GENERATION; NOVA SCOTIA POWER; POLLUTION
PROBE; ONTARIO CLEAN AIR ALLIANCE; ONTARIO MEDICAL ASSOCIATION;
DAVID SUZUKI FOUNDATION
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