What actions are being taken?
In June of 2000,
the federal, provincial and territorial governments, except Quebec, signed the Canada-wide Standards (CWS) for Particulate Matter (PM) and Ozone.
These standards are an important step towards reducing the
risks these pollutants pose to human health and the environment. The signing governments agreed to
significantly reduce particulate matter and ground-level ozone by 2010.
Built into this agreement are provisions for "Keeping Clean Areas Clean and Continuous Improvement".
To ensure that these provisions were met, the Clean Air Strategic Alliance (CASA) developed a
management framework entitled
Particulate Matter and Ozone Management Framework. Alberta Environment has taken the right step in managing PM and ozone in the province before the Canada-wide Standards are exceeded. The CASA Framework assures that levels are monitored and managed before they approach the Standards. Alberta Environment has been working with stakeholders to develop air quality management plans for particulate matter and ozone in the Edmonton, Red Deer and Calgary regions. These air quality management plans will be implemented in 2009. For more information, please visit Alberta Environment’s Particulate Matter and Ozone website.
In 2007, Alberta Environment adopted an Ambient Air Quality Objective for fine particulate matter of 30 μg/m³ as a 24-hour average concentration, based on the above mentioned Canada-Wide Standard for PM2.5. Alberta Environment also adopted a 1-hour average Ambient Air Quality Guideline for PM2.5 from the statistical equivalent of the 24-hr Canada-Wide Standard. This guideline is 80 μg/m³ as a 1-hour average concentration, to be used for monitoring and reporting of the Ambient Air Quality Index.
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