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| York real 'big smoke': study
SUBURBAN SMOG WORSE THAN TORONTO, HAMILTON, ENVIRONMENT MINISTRY
REPORTS
Patrick Mangion, Staff Writer - Oct 23, 2004
Smog wafts up from bustling downtown Toronto to taint the pristine
suburban landscape of York Region, right?
Wrong, says the Ontario Environment Ministry.
Air quality data compiled by the ministry indicates smog levels
measured in York are higher than downtown Toronto and downtown
Hamilton, long considered among the province's largest polluters.
But ministry officials said that has more to do with weather patterns
and local pollution than big cities casting a long shadow over the
suburbs.
But it would be wrong to discount Toronto as a source of air
pollution, according to some environmental experts.
Ministry data revealed Newmarket, a predominantly residential town,
has had 48 days of less than satisfactory air quality due to smog so
far this year, including two days where air quality was considered
poor.
By comparison, Toronto had 39 days and Hamilton 44.
A rating of 32 to 49 is considered moderate, 16 to 31 is good.
Air quality in Newmarket was listed at seven, or very good, on the
ministry's website Thursday.
The ministry records smog levels at 37 locations across the province,
including Newmarket.
The peak season for measuring smog levels is from May to September,
ministry spokesperson John Steele said.
While most people may believe there is a clear correlation between big
cities and smog, that isn't necessarily the case, Mr. Steele said.
"We're seeing more localized effects. To say smog is coming up (to
York Region) from Toronto isn't correct. There's a lot of people
driving from Newmarket to Toronto," he said.
"Smog is not necessarily related to industrial towns."
But Greg Evans, a chemical engineering professor at the university of
Toronto, said Toronto certainly contributes its share of smog.
"Toronto is not the sole culprit, but they certainly play a role," he
said.
"There's less ozone is places where it's being produced. As you go
further upwind, the concentration of ozone increases."
People in the suburbs think the air there is cleaner, but it isn't,
Mr. Evans said.
Sometimes the highest concentrations of smog-producing ozone can be
found hundreds of kilometres from their origin and linger as far as
cottage country, he said.
Much of the problem is from warm air filtering its way from the
southern United States and passing over about 200 coal-fired energy
plants before settling throughout Ontario, Mr. Steele said.
Queen's Park is working to cut pollutants from southern Ontario
industrial centres, as well as its own coal-fired generating stations,
Mr. Steele said.
"We're forcing industry into compliance. The stuff coming out of the
stacks is far better than it ever was," Mr. Steele said, adding the
government intends to close coal-fired plants within three years.
While it's true commercial emission levels have dipped in recent
years, the growing population around the Golden Horseshoe means there
are more people driving and more energy demand; two of the biggest
triggers for smog, Mr. Evans said.
But the number of smog days in Ontario has been steadily decreasing
over the past four years, Mr. Steele said.
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