June 9, 2005, Novae Res Urbis, Greater Toronto Area Edition

GTA communities reveal dirty air samples

Air quality experts joined City of Toronto councilor John Filion yesterday to present the snapshot results of urban air quality sampling undertaken on May 30 in five GTA locations. The sampling was undertaken to increase awareness of the negative effects of air pollution on health and as context for the 2005 Smog Summit scheduled for today in Toronto.

“The testing demonstrated that poor air quality is both a local and regional problem,” said Clean Air Partnership executive director Eva Ligeti.

Local communities have a specific and powerful role to play in reducing levels of ultra-fine particulate matter all year round, Evans said, by encouraging efforts to reduce or eliminate car use.

“The general public must be informed of the economic and health related effects so that we make decisions and take action to protect the air we breathe,” said councillor Filion. University of Toronto engineering students, professor Greg Evans and mayors and councillors at various locations—including Caledon, Oshawa, Richmond Hill, Vaughan and Toronto—undertook a one-day testing of the effects of vehicular traffic on air quality.

The sampling found that ultra-fine particulate matter is more subject to local variations, such as community traffic volume and patterns. Local air pollution from vehicle emissions typically rises during the morning rush hour, in combination with the sun.

“Particulate matter is the least understood component of air pollution,” Evans said. “Fine and ultrafine particulate matter impacts us at all times of the year, unlike smog, which we literally see as a summer problem. This sampling series gave our engineering students a chance to use their knowledge to raise local awareness of the problem of particulate matter in vehicle emissions.”