Ambient PM10 Monitoring, Sechelt BC: 2002 Update
In September 2002, the Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection (WLAP) released a report summarizing results of PM10 sampling undertaken in Sechelt, British Columbia (BC) between 1999 and 2001. In addition to providing results of PM10 sampling, the report discussed PM10 and potential human health impacts associated with PM10 exposure, detailed the PM10 sampling methodology utilized in Sechelt, compared Sechelt PM10 sampling results with provincial Ambient Air Quality Objectives and federal Reference Levels, and compared Sechelt PM10 sampling results with PM10 sampling results from other communities in BC. This report is an update to the 1999 - 2001 report. This report summarizes PM10 data collected in 2002, compares 2002 data to provincial Ambient Air Quality Objectives and federal Reference Levels, compares 2002 data with previous years of PM10 data from Sechelt, and compares 2002 PM10 sampling with 2002 PM10 results from other communities in British Columbia.
Between January and December 2002, 54 PM10 samples were collected. Ambient 24-hour PM10 concentrations during this 12 month period ranged between 4 and 25 µg/m3 with a mean 24-hour PM10 concentration of 8.5 µg/m3. The Federal/Provincial Working Group 24-hour PM10 Reference Level of 25 µg/m3 and the Provincial Ambient Air Quality 24-hour PM10 Objective of 50 µg/m3 were not exceeded in any of the samples.
PM10 sampling results indicate ambient PM10 concentrations in Sechelt increased in 2002, but the increase was not statistically significant (p>0.05). The mean 24-hour PM10 concentration increased from 8.2 µg/m3 in 2001 to 8.5 µg/m3 in 2002, with a corresponding increase in the 95-percentile PM10 concentration from 12.2 µg/m3 to 15 µg/m3. Similar to results from 2000 and 2001, the 2002 sampling results indicate ambient PM10 concentrations are generally lower in Sechelt relative to other areas such as Squamish, Langdale, Vancouver and Chilliwack.
The Ambient PM10 Monitoring, Sechelt BC: 2002 Update report is available here
(PDF/285KB/14 pages).
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