
Air and Water quality worsened: StatsCan CBC \|\| December 15, 2005 Related - Study find pollutants in Canadian blood samples and Pollution debate born of Chemical Valley's girl-baby boom Canada's air quality got much worse, especially in southern Ontario, Statistics Canada says in its first annual report on three environmental indicators. It also says water quality guidelines are being violated "at least occasionally, at most of a selected number of monitoring sites across the country" and greenhouse gas emissions are increasing. The report, released with Environment Canada and Health Canada, measures ground-level ozone to assess air quality. Levels of "one of the most common and harmful air pollutants" rose 16 per cent between 1990 and 2003, with the highest levels and fastest growth occurring in southern Ontario. Ground-level ozone is often produced by burning fossil fuels, such as gasoline in cars and coal in thermal power plants. It has been linked to minor respiratory problems, as well as emergency room visits and hospitalizations and also contributes to absenteeism, StatsCan said. Information on the city of Toronto website indicates that the air quality trend may be continuing downward. There were 48 smog alerts in 2005, compared with a previous high of 20, reached in 2001. Article Posted at www.KnowledgeDrivenRevolution.com 100,000 tonnes of pollutants About one in four of the 345 sites where water quality was monitored, most in southern Canada, exceeded guidelines for the allowable amount of pollution, either frequently or by a wide margin. "At least 100,000 tonnes of toxic pollutants were directly discharged to Canada's surface waters in 2003" by industries, institutions and households, according to the report. The guidelines measure surface water as it affects plants, invertebrates and fish. They don't assess the quality of drinking water. Quality at 44 per cent of the sites was pretty good, rarely failing to meet recommended limits for pollutant levels. At 31 per cent, the water exceeded guidelines occasionally. Cities and agriculture are the main polluters, followed by mines (including oil sands), pulp mills and acid rain, according to water experts. Economic growth raised greenhouse emissions Greenhouse gas emissions rose 24 per cent from 1990 to 2003, with Alberta and Ontario reporting the highest levels in 2003. Canada is getting more efficient, with emissions per unit of economic activity falling 13 per cent from 1990 to 2003, but the economy grew so quickly that the total increased. The report was the first produced after the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy recommended in 2003 that the federal government establish a set of easily understood indicators so Canadians could monitor the state of the environment. About KDR \| \| Home \| \| Weekly Features Archive	Weekly Weekly Features Archive
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Air and Water quality worsened: StatsCan

CBC || December 15, 2005

Related - Study find pollutants in Canadian blood samples and Pollution debate born of Chemical Valley's girl-baby boom

Canada's air quality got much worse, especially in southern Ontario, Statistics Canada says in its first annual report on three environmental indicators.

It also says water quality guidelines are being violated "at least occasionally, at most of a selected number of monitoring sites across the country" and greenhouse gas emissions are increasing.

The report, released with Environment Canada and Health Canada, measures ground-level ozone to assess air quality. Levels of "one of the most common and harmful air pollutants" rose 16 per cent between 1990 and 2003, with the highest levels and fastest growth occurring in southern Ontario.

Ground-level ozone is often produced by burning fossil fuels, such as gasoline in cars and coal in thermal power plants.

It has been linked to minor respiratory problems, as well as emergency room visits and hospitalizations and also contributes to absenteeism, StatsCan said.

Information on the city of Toronto website indicates that the air quality trend may be continuing downward. There were 48 smog alerts in 2005, compared with a previous high of 20, reached in 2001.

Article Posted at www.KnowledgeDrivenRevolution.com

100,000 tonnes of pollutants

About one in four of the 345 sites where water quality was monitored, most in southern Canada, exceeded guidelines for the allowable amount of pollution, either frequently or by a wide margin.

"At least 100,000 tonnes of toxic pollutants were directly discharged to Canada's surface waters in 2003" by industries, institutions and households, according to the report.

The guidelines measure surface water as it affects plants, invertebrates and fish. They don't assess the quality of drinking water.

Quality at 44 per cent of the sites was pretty good, rarely failing to meet recommended limits for pollutant levels. At 31 per cent, the water exceeded guidelines occasionally.

Cities and agriculture are the main polluters, followed by mines (including oil sands), pulp mills and acid rain, according to water experts.

Economic growth raised greenhouse emissions

Greenhouse gas emissions rose 24 per cent from 1990 to 2003, with Alberta and Ontario reporting the highest levels in 2003.

Canada is getting more efficient, with emissions per unit of economic activity falling 13 per cent from 1990 to 2003, but the economy grew so quickly that the total increased.

The report was the first produced after the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy recommended in 2003 that the federal government establish a set of easily understood indicators so Canadians could monitor the state of the environment.

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