ti ae Air pollution soared to its:highs:, est levels in two years in this area last weck. - a The hot, sunny weather was largely to blame, air pollution ana- lysts say. _ «° The pollutant responsible for the high readings was ozone, ‘which is formed by the interaction jof sunlight with car and industrial ‘emissions. _ High ozone levels spell discom- fort and even danger for people with heart and lung ailments. At Pitt Meadows airport, ozone “levels peaked at 66 on the Air * , By Marty Warman Quality Index last Wednesday. Readings between 50 and 100 are considered poor, and people with heart and lung ailments are ad- vised to reduce their physical ac- tivity. What happened was that we have a very clear, hot, calm day (Wednesday) with very little wind to disperse the pollutants,” said Ken Stubbs, ambient air analyst for the Greater Vancouver Regional District. The air in the neighboring mu- nicipalities of Port Moody, Coquit- lam and Port Coquitlam was even MetroValley News Service worse, hitting 87 on the AQI. Ab- botsford was not much better at 75. Sunlight is a key to the creation of ozone, so ozone levels are at their highest in the summer. ‘WHAT ARE WE BREATHING? SEE PAGE 22 Meanwhile, a device to measure air particles (suspended particulates) Prevailing winds frequently blow inland from the ocean, push- ing pollution from industrial areas to the west up the Valley toward Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows. Vehicle emissions contribute up to 80 per cent of the pollutants, Stubbs said. “Mother Nature plays a trick on us and tums it (pollu- tion) into ozone,” he said. When the index rises above 50, health officers are notified and GVRD staff monitor the stations continually. When the index reaches 100, air quailty is consid- ered “very poor,” an municipal officials, health officers and the media are notified. People with respiratory and heart conditions are advised at this point to stay inside and avoid ex- ertion, and others may experience will soon be installed in Hope. B.C, Ministry of Environment wants to toring network in the Fraser Valley, but installation of equipment is taking longer than expected. MoE's head of environmental monitoring, Mike Gow, said a new sta- tion will be operating in Chilliwack within two weeks, but other munici- palities will have to wait longer. Though the ministry announced last year that it will install four new expand its air-quality moni- pollution problems, Gow said. The MoE also collected data in son with today’s data may show if air quality is worsening. In Abbotsford, the search continues for the right location to house a second monitoring station near the downtown core. Gow said MoE has approached B.C. Buildings Corporation about Min- istry of Health offices occupying the former Essendene Avenue, but the lease is not long-term. coughing and watery eyes. one levels are usually at their worst late in the afternoon. The Ministry of the Environ- ment and GVRD are set to install new air monitoring equipment at Pitt Meadows airport to allow test- ing for a wider range of pollutants. Pitt Meadows will soon be the first Lower Mainland or Fraser Val- ley station to monitor for sulphur dioxides. Ministry and GVRD ana- lysts want to see how much pollu- tion is travelling to Pitt Meadows from the industrial areas of loco and Port Moody. Readings could show the MoE if wood-burning is contributing to air- Hope during the ‘70s and a compari- nk of B.C. building on ren Ad and Pitt Meadows, Hope residents will have to wait until next spring before ozone monitoring can proceed. Gow said Hope has to wait until Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD) installs new equipment in Langley. Responsibility for monitor- ing Langley air shifted to the GVRD when Langley joined the regional district in January, 1989, he explained. “We'd hoped the GVRD would have installed the equipment by now,” Gow said, freeing Langley equipment for installation in Hope. He said GVRD wants to move the present Langley site (Peterson Elementary School) closer to the city, though the MoE selected the site because it offered “better atmospheric exposure” for the pu ses of tracking the movement of air pollutants funnelled up the Valley from Greater Vancouver, rather than relating Langley readings to “specific metropolitan air” near the downtown core. Other possible sites include MSA Library and the Abbotsford Lawn Bowling Club, Cow said, adding that MoE hopes to secure a location by August, , Bit Meadows Airport, now the site of MoE equipment monitoring ozone, will soon be upgraded to measure a range of pollutants, includ- ing carbon monoxide, oxides of nitrogen, air particles and sulphur diox- ide. Gov said the MoE has a special interest in levels of sulphur dioxide at Pitt Meadows airport because of oil refineries around Burrard Inlet, known sources of the pollutant. “We want to have a sulphur dioxide analyzer at Pitt Meadows as it’s close enough to Port Moody that we can show how far sulphur dioxide is drifting,” he said. Gow said the MoE has no plans to install a sulphur dioxide analyzer other than at Pitt Meadows Airport