1. Improving Air Quality

2. Government and Air Quality To help people understand and make decisions related to the health effects of air quality, Environment Canada, with the provinces and territories, has devised the Air Quality Health Index (AQHI).

3. The AQHI is based on the health risks linked to common air pollutants, including ozone and particulate matter. The AQHI uses the scale below to indicate the air quality and its associated high risks.

4. In Canada, the management of air quality is mainly the responsibility of the provincial and territorial governments. There is a federal environmental law (the Canadian Environmental Protection Act) that addresses national environmental standards. It commits governments to meet defined pollution reduction targets.

5. As mentioned yesterday, Saskatchewan also has their own laws in place regulating air pollution. The Clean Air Act - Protects Saskatchewan's air quality by regulating emissions that originate in the province.

6. Technology, Legislation, and Emissions Reduction Laws enacted by governments can require industries to limit emissions of air pollutants from their manufacturing plants and from their products.

7. We will discuss three examples of how emissions have been reduced from three major sources of air pollution: motor vehicles, particulate matter and power plants.

8. Motor Vehicle Emissions Motor vehicles release more CO, NO 2, and VOCs than any other activity or industry. Many engineering changes in cars and trucks have reduced the amount of VOCs that escapes from the gas tank and crankcase.

9. Better fuel efficiency and specially blended fuels that produce less CO and unburned compounds have also played a role. Catalytic converters help reduce emissions. These devices use materials called catalysts that convert potential pollutants into harmless substances before they enter the air.

10. Particulate Matter Emissions Guidelines are becoming stricter on industrial emissions. New devices have been developed to reduce the amount of particulate matter that escape from smokestacks. The first are: industrial filters, which trap fine particles. The filters act like the bags found in vacuum cleaners, allowing air to pass but stopping particles.

11. The second is: electrostatic precipitators, which are more expensive, but are extremely effective! Particulates pick up an electrostatic charge as they rise in a smokestack. The charged particulates are attracted to a plate that carries an opposite charge.

12. Power Plant Emissions The main pollutants associated with electrical power plants are particulates, SO 2, and No X. SO 2 emissions require different changes to the way electricity is produced:

13. 1. Coal burning power plants switch from high-sulfur to low- sulfur coal. This switch alone reduces the amount of SO 2 by 66%.

14. 2. Using scrubbers is another alternative. Scrubber are also very expensive. The compound calcium oxide (CaO) reacts with SO 2 to form a soil compound, calcium sulfite (CaSO 3 ), which can be washed away with water.

15. WHAT CAN WE DO???