Air Quality in Kamloops: The Present State, and Prospects for Improvement

Douw Steyn

Department of Earth and Ocean Sciences The University of British Columbia

Presentation in Kamloops: January 31, 2010 

Outline

1) Air Pollution in Kamloops (topography and meteorological interactions; monitoring; present status and trends).

2) An Air Quality Management Plan for Kamloops. (components of a plan and suggested approaches; a plan what to avoid deterioration and achieve further improvements; government and citizen actions).

3) Some thoughts about incineration.

Air Pollution in Kamloops:

Most important emissions source categories are:

Industry (various processes involving combustion); Transportation (cars and trucks); Space Heating (NG, oil and wood); Mineral Dust (Suspension); Forest Fires.

Most important pollutants are: CO, NO, NO2, O3, PM, SO2, TRS, VOC, (Odour, CO2).

Ambient pollutant concentration depends on emissions strength, meteorology and topography/meteorology interaction.

Air pollutants will accumulate to reach elevated concentrations when:

1) Wind speed is light2) Vertical mixing is limited by temperature inversions3) Horizontal mixing is limited by topography

Unfortunately these conditions are common in Kamloops (and all BC interior valley locations) in winter time.

Human settlements tend to be in places of complex terrain (valleys, basins, foothills, …) for reasons of aesthetics and transportation. Homes tend to be on mid to lower elevations, while industries are often at valley bottoms.

Dispersion and dilution of emitted pollutants are limited by topography, and homes are often in the worst places possible!

Welcome to Kamloops! The symbolism is all wrong, even if it is mainly water vapour.

Pollution trapped under temperature inversion, plume penetrating inversion, falling back downwind.

Generalized pollution (fine PM) haze. Probably multi-day inversion with continuous emissions.

Even when there is vigorous mixing, ambient pollution levels can be unacceptable.

Air Quality in Kamloops is measured at the Mayfair Street monitoring site in Brocklehurst.

One AQ monitoring station for population of 93,000 is not unusual in a network, but given the very constrained basin, more stations are justified.

TARGETS

Targets for air quality as measured at the central monitoring station are noted below. These targets may evolve in accordance with adjustments to provincial and national air quality objectives and standards:

• Sulphur Dioxide – annual ambient level of 25 μg m-3; • Nitrogen Dioxide – average annual level of 60 25 μg m-3; • Ground Level Ozone – 130 25 μg m-3 as measured by the 4th highest

daily maximum of the eight-hour average concentration; • Particulate Matter (PM 2.5) – 8 25 μg m-3 measured as an annual

average, and 25 μg m-3 measured as the 98th percentile; • Air Quality Health Index – within the low level health risk threshold

100% of the time.

From: “City of Kamloops; sustainable Kamloops plan, information package on air quality”

Annual average Air Quality Health Index in BC interior cities, 2000-2006O3, PM2.5 & NO2

From: “City of Kamloops; sustainable Kamloops plan, information package on air quality”

Averaging over a large number of values that have a skewed distribution, such as air pollutants, will lead to an impression of lower values.

A year has 8766 hours

CWS compliance for ground level ozone in BC interior cities

From: “City of Kamloops; sustainable Kamloops plan, information package on air quality”

98th %ile of PM2.5 in BC interior cities

From: “City of Kamloops; sustainable Kamloops plan, information package on air quality”

Summary of Kamloops Air Quality

Air quality is substantially degraded due to significant sources in a topographically constrained basin subject to frequent wintertime temperature inversions.

Care must be taken to ensure that further degradation does not occur, and that air quality in the Kamloops basin is improved.

This can only be achieved by a comprehensive Airshed Management Plan.

The plan must balance the two aims of the city motto:

Salus et Opus (Health and Wealth)

Components of an Air Quality Management Plan:

Statement of Vision

Cleaner and Healthier air for current and future generations in Kamloops

Statement of Goals

• Reduce ambient concentrations of PM and ozone in Kamloops Airshed.

• Improve visibility in Kamloops Airshed.• Reduce Odours in Kamloops Airshed.• Minimize Kamloops’ contribution to Global Climate Change.

Statement of Guiding Principles

• Shared responsibility• Continuous improvement• Pollution Prevention• Achieving Co-Benefits• Innovative Approaches

Statement of strategies for achieving goals

• Work with BC government, local industries and citizens’ groups to consistently manage air quality in Kamloops Airshed.

• Reduce emissions from all source categories.• Enhance understanding of air quality in Kamloops

Airshed.

Statement of specific actions within each strategy.

To Incinerate or not to incinerate?

From an air quality perspective alone, we should not incinerate, but should do all we can to reduce emissions of pollutants and their precursors.

This is particularly true in the Kamloops Airshed since it is already unacceptably polluted.

Society incinerates as one possible means of disposing of waste. If you must incinerate, it is logical to capture and utilize the heat generated. However, it is not logical to argue for incineration because of the energy that can be produced.

Garbage (MSW or used rail ties) is not a fuel!

Apart from the incineration, I am also very concerned about fine particle emissions from the chipping process that precedes incineration.

This is unacceptable, and should not be tolerated.