2016 Monitoring Results Harry Benders Network Manager

Map of the 2016 monitoring network 9 Continuous Stations are the yellow circles Green dots are the passive monitors. We have 57 passive monitoring sites

Continuous Station Passive Sampler I will be talking about the data from the continuous stations Stations measure 18 different substances and 9 different meteorological parameters. Not all substances or meteorology are measured at every station. But a subset depending on the purpose/monitoring objectives of the station Passives we measure for SO2 and H2S Passive Sampler

Big event for FAP in 2016 was the opening of our newest monitoring station at Gibbons. The station started reporting data in February but or Grand Opening was last June Thanks to the loan of a particulate monitor from Alberta Environment and Parks we are able to provide the AQHI for the community

Air Quality Health Index in 2016 Station Name Low Risk % Moderate Risk High Risk Very High Risk Bruderheim 99.75% 0.25% 0.00% Elk Island 98.65% 1.35% Fort Saskatchewan 93.96% 5.97% 0.06% 0.01% Gibbons 97.27% 2.67% 0.07% Lamont County 96.62% 3.18% 0.20% Edmonton 91.50% 8.39% 0.11% Air Quality Health Index is a means to report Air Quality as it relates to human health AQHI is reported on a sale of 1-10 and categorized as low, moderate and high or very high risk to health Percentages at the 5 Fort Air Partnership stations that calculate the AQHI and Edmonton in 2016 .

High & V. High Risk AQHI events Fort Sask. Lamont County Gibbons   Air Quality Event Dates High Risk Very High Risk Total Hours Air Quality Event Cause Jan 22 1 Wintertime inversion Feb 8 Local gravel pit operations May 12 3 Forest fire smoke May 18, 19, 20 6 1  4 17 Nov 11, 30 2 Brush burning Elk Island Park May 9, Jun 8, Nov 17 Undetermined 28

Substances shown today are used in calculation of AQHI Additional communities are plotted for comparison ANNUAL Averages Bars are 2016, Blue line is 2015 Green is 2014 added for reference

Results for SO2 shown in parts per billion Note the annual Alberta Ambient Air Quality objective line at 8 parts per billion.

Nitrogen dioxide in ppb Again - additional communities are plotted for comparison NO2 is combination of NO from combustion of fossil fuels reacting with O3 to form NO2. NO2 is a reddish-brown gas recognized as the "brown haze" over large cities. Note Annual AAAQO

Ground level ozone, in ppb Secondary pollutant from sunlight and hydrocarbons. Takes some time to form And often higher levels result downwind an urban area There is no annual objective for Ozone More detailed results are available in our 2016 Annual Technical Report

What is Data Used for? Compare to Alberta’s Ambient Air Quality Objectives Canadian Ambient Air Quality Standards (CAAQS) Hour by Hour: Calculate Air Quality Health Index for Fort Saskatchewan, Bruderheim, Lamont County, Gibbons and Elk Island Forecast the AQHI today/tonight & tomorrow Alberta Health – health advisories Weather Network US on AIRNOW website Emergencies Long term: Provincial & Environment Canada national databases Make air quality management decisions Hourly - by 20 minutes after the hour Alberta Environment and Parks Calculate AQHI Goes hourly to Montreal Weather Forecast center (36 hours) Alberta Health Services uses it to issue Air Quality Health advisories Weather network picks up the AQHI feed US AirNow website - apply the US index to Canadian sites Also : Minute by minute Used by incident investigation/tracking. A couple of companies have Direct links from data to real-time predictive modelling software that can predict plume, travel/breadth, concentration impingement Technical liaisons at major facilities can access the data directly to track should an incident occur. Also by emergency responders - Minute by minute access given to AEP should they need it in emergency situations –deploy monitoring resources, warn residents Important to know FAP works hard to ensure the data flying everywhere is good data.

Access to Air Quality Information Monitoring Data (available at fortair.org) FAP live data Air Quality Health Index hourly Annual reports and other statistics Validated data in Provincial Data Warehouse http://airdata.alberta.ca/ Data is available a few ways FAP website Raw un-validated data: Near real time – updated hourly AQHI by Alberta Environment and Parks Validated Annual reports with averages and summaries Archived data at Provincial Data Warehouse

Contact: Harry Benders Thank you Questions? Contact: Harry Benders FAP Network Manager Harry.Benders@fortairmail.org