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Tuesday, June 24, 2014 X Volume 27 No. 73
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DOUBTS ABOUT DOCTORS’ AIR-QUALITY REPORT Despite assertions from physicians, stats show air quality has not deteriorated in decade By Andrea Klassen
ment sometimes evaporated some of the pollutants it was meant to test, particularly during colder andrea@kamloopsthisweek.com weather, artificially lowering communities’ PM2.5 number. A group of Kamloops doctors say Kamloops’ Kamloops is among the first communities to air quality can’t bear another polluter like the proreport data from the new instruments, but Adams posed Ajax copper and gold mine, but a fact sheet said the experience here is not uncommon. published to back their arguments appears to mis“In Interior communities, where it’s cold in winrepresent some key data. ter and there’s lots of wood smoke, we tend to see In a new pamphlet, Kamloops Physicians for a much higher values coming out,” he said. Healthy Environment points out the city has levels “We’ve been running both instruments side-byof PM2.5 — fine particulate matter that can cross side and there’s no evidence that, with from lungs to bloodstream when the exception of the [wild]fires, there’s inhaled — above the provincial target been any change in the air quality in of eight micrograms per cubic metre. Kamloops over the last 10 years.” PM2.5 has been linked to heart Dr. Jill Calder, spokeswoman disease and various forms of cancer. for KPHE, told KTW she believes The World Health Organization desigKamloops’ air quality has been worsennates it as a class-one carcinogen, the ing for years, which she attributes in part same class given to tobacco smoking. to “our increasing industrialization.” However, Kamloops’ PM2.5 levels Looking at a chart on her group’s fact There’s no evidence are below Canadian, U.S. and internasheet, that would appear to be the case. that, with the tional thresholds. exception of the The city’s PM2.5 concentration went According to a report from the [wild]fires, there’s from 7.64 in 2011 to 7.96 in 2012, to B.C. Lung Association released last been any change 8.84 this year. week, Kamloops levels were at 8.9 in the air quality in But, Adams noted, the group left out micrograms in 2013. Kamloops over the data from 2010, when Kamloops PM2.5 The Canadian government sets last 10 years levels were at 10 micrograms in part due the national threshold for PM2.5 at — RALPH ADAMS to wildfires, and said the group appears 10 micrograms annually, as does the MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT to be artificially creating the illusion of World Health Organization. The U.S. an increase. and European Union both set the “Realistically, given that these instruthreshold much higher, at 15 and 25 ments have an error of probably plus or micrograms respectively. minus 25 per cent and that we expect In 2013, the B.C. Lung association inter-annual variability on the order of 10 reported the city was ranked fifthto 15 per cent, there is no statistical difworst in the province for PM2.5. This ference between those.” year, it is ranked third — though data Adams said he advised the group of from two of the communities that the change to data-collection methods when KPHE had higher concentrations of the particulate than wrote in asking for the city’s air-quality records, Kamloops in 2013 hasn’t been reported at all this but never had a response to his offer to explain how year. to interpret the ministry’s numbers. However, comparing Kamloops to other comWhile the city’s air may not have dramatically munities — or even comparing old and new airworsened in the past few years, Dr. Meen Biagtan, quality data — is complicated by a change in the project manager for the B.C. Lung Association, way the government monitors PM2.5. said the province’s PM2.5 guidelines mask the fact In 2012, B.C. began switching out its old monithat any level of particulate is unhealthy. toring equipment for newer, more accurate instru“There is no safe threshold. There’s no safe ments. level for any of the pollutants,” she said. Ralph Adams, an air quality meteorologist with Environment Canada, said the older style of equipX See HVC A12 STAFF REPORTER
PM2.5 THRESHOLDS
B.C.: 8 micrograms per cubic metre Canada: 10 micrograms per cubic meter World Health Organization: 10 micrograms per cubic metre U.S.: 15 micrograms per cubic metre European Union: 25 milligrams per cubic metre
PM2.5 READINGS WORLDWIDE
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Kamloops’ 2013 PM2.5 reading was 8.9, which is above the B.C. threshold. but below the thresholds set by Canada, the U.S. and the World Health Organization, and well below the threshold set by the European Union. The graph below shows how Kamloops’ PM2.5 readings in 2013 compare to 2011 data in various cities worldwide, according to Environment Canada. 28.6
SOFIA, BULGARIA 19.9
BERLIN, GERMANY 17.2
PARIS, FRANCE
15.0
LONDON, ENGLAND MADRID, SPAIN
13.3
PHOENIX
13.2
CALGARY
10.9
BOSTON
10.3 10.1
MONTREAL EDMONTON
8.6
SEATTLE
8.5
DENVER
7.6 6.5
TORONTO 4.1
VANCOUVER
As noted in the accompanying story, B.C. began installing new monitoring equipment in 2012. Older equipment, if used in the above-noted cities’ readings, would tend to result in lower readings than would be captured in newer equipment.
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