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Proposed New Provincial Air Quality Criteria for PM2.5

Proposed New Provincial Air Quality Criteria for PM2.5. Prepared for Meeting of BC Lung Clean Air Network February 12, 2008. Purpose. Clarify purpose and application Summarize ministry’s intentions Discuss implications Address questions. What are Air Quality Criteria?.

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Proposed New Provincial Air Quality Criteria for PM2.5

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  1. Proposed New Provincial Air Quality Criteria for PM2.5 Prepared for Meeting of BC Lung Clean Air Network February 12, 2008

  2. Purpose • Clarify purpose and application • Summarize ministry’s intentions • Discuss implications • Address questions

  3. What are Air Quality Criteria? • Limits on the presence of contaminants in the atmosphere (not at the source) • Established to protect human health and the environment • Various terms used, but Air Quality Objectives (AQO’s) are primary management tools in B.C.

  4. How are They Used? • Gauge current/historical air quality • Guide decisions around assessments and approvals • Calculate the Air Quality Index (AQI) • Guide decisions around advisories • Guide airshed planning efforts • Guide regulatory development

  5. Need for Provincial AQO’s • Presently no PM2.5 objective to guide day-to-day air management in B.C. • Ongoing reliance on: • PM10 objective • Canada-wide Standards for PM2.5 • Provincial AQO’s needed to support approvals, advisories and airshed planning

  6. Process to Establish AQO’s • Review of science and regulatory approaches elsewhere • Early consultations • Ministry intentions paper • Consultation • Implementation

  7. Proposed Framework • 24-hour average objective • To address day-to-day management issues (e.g. burn bans) and guide approvals • Annual average objective • To support overall reduction in exposure • To facilitate reporting and guide approvals • Planning goal • Voluntary long-term goal to support continuous improvement and airshed planning

  8. Proposed Criteria • 24-hour AQO 25 ug/m3 • Annual AQO 8 ug/m3 • Planning Goal 6 ug/m3

  9. Implications of Proposed Air Quality Objectives • Most areas well below proposed AQO’s • Between 2004-2006, areas exceeding proposed objectives included: • Prince George - Vanderhoof • Quesnel - Williams Lake • 100 Mile House - Valemount • Revelstoke - Kamloops (wildfires)

  10. Implications of Proposed Air Quality Objectives [2] • Frequency of advisories may increase in woodsmoke impacted areas • May trigger more frequent bans on burning • Additional factors to consider in decisions on assessments and approvals

  11. Implications of Proposed Planning Goal • Approx. 50% of sites equal or exceed planning goal • Encourage communities to maintain good air quality and improve where possible

  12. Initiatives to Reduce PM2.5 Emissions • Provincial air initiative: • Cleaner buses and diesel vehicles • Beehive burner phase-out • Cleaner woodstoves • Cleaner industry • Review of Open Burning Smoke Control Regulation • Airshed planning

  13. Monitoring Challenges • TEOMs known to under-measure • Will be upgraded or changed out over time & reference samplers added • May result in higher measurements at some sites • Other provinces have same challenge • Province will use best available data

  14. Summary • 24-hour and annual AQO’s proposed to support day-to-day air management • Planning goal proposed to support continuous improvement and airshed planning • Supported by provincial air initiative and community efforts in airshed planning

  15. Comments? • Intentions paper and response form available online at: http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/air/airquality/ • Please send comments to cindybertram@shaw.ca by Feb. 29, 2008

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