State of Environment Reporting

Which Communities are Most at Risk from Fine Particulates?

Health Risks from Fine Particulates (Dark Portions of the Pie Graphs Show Percentage of Time Concentrations Were Above 25ug/m³ in 2000)

SOURCE: BC Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection, Air Resources Branch, 2001. Air Data and Monitoring System Database. NOTES: The dark portion of the pie graphs shows the percentage of time in 2000, at each sampling station, that PM₁₀ exceeded 25 micrograms/m³, (i.e. levels above which health effects can occur). The green pies represent data taken from continuous samplers and the grey pies represent data taken from non-continuous samplers, (i.e., one sample every six days). The delineations on the map show the 10 ecoprovinces of British Columbia, based on Ecoregions of British Columbia, 1993.

Annual Mean PM₁₀ Concentration for British Columbian Communities with Continuous Sampling Stations in 2000

SOURCE: BC Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection, Air Resources Branch, 2001.

Which communities are most at risk from fine particulates?

• Recent scientific evidence indicates that negative health effects from PM₁₀ can occur when outdoor concentrations rise above 25 micrograms per cubic metre.
  
  
• Concentrations of air pollutants, such as fine particulate matter, can vary greatly among communities that are fairly close together. Topography, air circulation patterns, settlement patterns and the location of industries all affect the concentrations of fine particulate matter in local airsheds.
  
  
• Communities in the southwest of British Columbia, including Vancouver Island, were exposed to health risks from fine particulates from less than 1% to 11% of the time in 2000. Communities in the rest of the province were exposed to health risks from fine particulates from less than 1% to 40% of the time.
  
  
• On average, PM₁₀ concentrations were greater
  in communities in the interior than within the Lower Fraser Valley and Greater Vancouver Regional District.