By Nancy Miller Chenier
More than fifty years ago, Lowertown became the site of a key data collection centre for air pollution. In 1969, a Canada-wide National Air Pollution Surveillance Program was established, and Macdonald Gardens was chosen as the Ottawa site. At that time, the Ontario Ministry of the Environment chose the location because it was central, close to a dense population, and well situated with respect to the direction of prevailing winds.
The Ottawa Downtown Air Quality Index (AQI) Monitoring Station, located in a small brown building near Wurtemburg Street, holds the sophisticated technology needed to regularly measure pollution and generate air quality indexes. It contributes to a network of similar structures in Ontario that provide real-time air pollution data. Its work involves measuring ambient levels of substances such as ozone (O3), particulate matter (PM), and nitrogen dioxide (NO2).
Ongoing climate research points out a link between air quality and accelerated climate change. For example, the particulates dispersed by wildfires land on white glaciers, turning them grey or black. The glaciers then absorb rather than reflect the sun’s heat, causing melting and increased ambient temperatures.
The historic and current data collected at Lowertown’s air monitoring station can identify trends related to the rise and fall in levels of certain substances. This can support the development of strategies to reduce air emissions and manage the cumulative effects on the wider environment. And, some of the mitigation strategies can come from us. For example, if ozone levels are high with a risk to respiratory systems, this could be related to pollution from industrial facilities, but it could also be related to our personal motor vehicle use (exhaust and gasoline vapours) or chemical solvents used in our homes.
Lowertown’s air quality monitoring station is one part of a larger national effort to protect our climate. From our local perspective, it is hoped that tackling airborne pollution can improve our health, make our community more liveable, and fight climate change all at the same time. And just maybe, if we can reduce air pollution in Ottawa and elsewhere, we can help prevent further thawing of glaciers in western Canada and the Arctic.
