Air pollution in British Columbia
An important recent consideration is the nearly complete replacement of the TEOM (Tapered Element Oscillating Microbalance) pollution measurement instruments once relied on by BC with newer SHARP FEM (Federal Equivalency Method) monitors.
It is worth noting that the government only recently began addressing air quality when the problem was increasingly associated with health issues and generated complaints about smog and poor visibility.
Toxic substances form part of these pollutants such as tetrachloroethylene and trichloroethylene as well as nitrogen monoxide and sulfur dioxide, which Canada seeks to minimize through caps and its tradable permit system.
[5] Mount St. Helens has been a significant external natural source: although located entirely in the United States, its eruption created air pollution in parts of British Columbia.
Other human-caused sources include: Industrial, agricultural (e.g. manure spreading), commercial operations (e.g., dry cleaners and gas stations) and home heating appliances (furnaces, fireplaces).
As such, pollution law in British Columbia is divided among local, regional, provincial, federal and international jurisdictions, each with its own focus and, at times, overlapping concerns.
Environment Canada and other agencies are working to better understand and address this issue, which is increasingly important due to growing international trade.
British Columbia is a participant in the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME), which includes processes for fine particulates and ground-level ozone.
The precautionary principle embodied in international agreements is gaining recognition in Canada and BC as a guide to interpreting pollution law.
Its exact application is uncertain but it is cited in the preamble to the Canadian Environmental Protection Act as a principle guiding the Government of Canada.
Generally speaking, respiratory and cardiac effects are the most significant, but there is increasing evidence that air pollutants play a role in cancer and genetic mutations, some of which can be inherited.
In the early 1990s, the province commissioned Dr. Sverre Vedal, then a researcher at the University of British Columbia, to investigate air pollution in BC, and to assess and to rank its health impacts.
Other important air pollutants are oxides of nitrogen and of sulphur, volatile organic compounds of various kinds, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, dioxins and furans.
The BC Lung Association has commissioned work in this field, including a 2003 analysis by Dr. David Bates and others, Health and Air Quality 2002—Phase 1.
[11] The second phase of this report was to deal with health effects of fine particulates in northern BC communities, where biomass combustion is arguably the most important source.
[citation needed] On a national and regional scale, the Canadian Medical Association in 2008 quantified the illness costs of air pollution.
From air quality monitoring to health risk communication and community engagement, local partners are responsible for the vast majority of work-related to AQHI implementation.
Originally launched as a pilot project in the British Columbia Interior and Nova Scotia in 2005, it is currently implemented in 49 locations across Canada.
As it is now known that even low levels of air pollution can trigger discomfort for the sensitive population, the index has been developed as a continuum: The higher the number, the greater the health risk and need to take precautions.
