Canadian Urban air quality

Monitoring air quality
The National Network of air pollution monitoring (NAPS) monitors and evaluates the quality of ambient air in cities and municipalities in Canada. It was established in 1969 as a joint initiative of federal, provincial and municipal governments. The coordination of operations is provided by the Division of analysis and air quality Environment Canada. Most stations NAPS monitor the five common air pollutants, which are sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), carbon monoxide (CO), ground-level ozone (O3) and particulate airborne. The readings of sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and ground-level ozone are averages for an hour and are taken every hour during the year. Those of carbon monoxide are the averages of the moving average over an interval of eight hours and are also taken every hour during the year. Readings on suspended particulates are the results of sampling periods of 24 hours made all six days at each station. The NAPS monitors contaminants currents to 173 stations across Canada.

{mosgoogle center}Environmental standards and human health
The bodies responsible for federal, provincial and municipal governments have jointly developed objectives national ambient air quality for the five air pollutants. These objectives include three levels which are defined by the concentration of pollutants: desirable, acceptable and permissible (Table 9). No Canadian health standard has yet been established for concentrations of benzene and PM10/PM2, 5 in the air. However, Canadian standards setting targets concentrations in ambient air and / or reductions targets for these contaminants are being developed, as well as for ground-level ozone. These standards should be approved by the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) in autumn 2009.
Reliable data
The representativeness of a sampling site particularly in relation to the air of the city is also to consider. It is not always possible to characterize the air quality of a city based on data from a single station, where the warning that accompanies the results NAPS: "Readers will doubtless tried 'Draw comparisons between the levels of pollution in different cities. On this point, it must be careful, data representing only the air quality near the sampling stations, not necessarily in the entire city. That said, a uniform time series based on measurements taken at the same place can give a good indication of changes in the absence of a perfectly accurate representation of the air of the city as a whole.

Sunday, 27 April 2008
Monitoring air quality The National Network of air pollution monitoring (NAPS) monitors and evaluates the quality of ambient air in cities and municipalities in Canada. It was established in 1969 as a joint initiative of federal, provincial and municipal governments. The coordination of operations is provided by the Division of analysis and air quality Environment Canada. Most stations NAPS monitor the five common air pollutants, which are sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), carbon monoxide (CO), ground-level ozone (O3) and particulate airborne. The readings of sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and ground-level ozone are averages for an hour and are taken every hour during the year. Those of carbon monoxide are the averages of the moving average over an interval of eight hours and are also taken every hour during the year. Readings on suspended particulates are the results of sampling periods of 24 hours made all six days at each station. The NAPS monitors contaminants currents to 173 stations across Canada. {mosgoogle center}Environmental standards and human health The bodies responsible for federal, provincial and municipal governments have jointly developed objectives national ambient air quality for the five air pollutants. These objectives include three levels which are defined by the concentration of pollutants: desirable, acceptable and permissible (Table 9). No Canadian health standard has yet been established for concentrations of benzene and PM10/PM2, 5 in the air. However, Canadian standards setting targets concentrations in ambient air and / or reductions targets for these contaminants are being developed, as well as for ground-level ozone. These standards should be approved by the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) in autumn 2009. Reliable data The representativeness of a sampling site particularly in relation to the air of the city is also to consider. It is not always possible to characterize the air quality of a city based on data from a single station, where the warning that accompanies the results NAPS: "Readers will doubtless tried 'Draw comparisons between the levels of pollution in different cities. On this point, it must be careful, data representing only the air quality near the sampling stations, not necessarily in the entire city. That said, a uniform time series based on measurements taken at the same place can give a good indication of changes in the absence of a perfectly accurate representation of the air of the city as a whole.
Last Updated ( Tuesday, 17 February 2009 )