AIR QUALITY MONITORING PROJECT

February 25, 2021

Nov 2020

Our Community-Driven Air Quality Monitoring project officially kicked off Nov. 12 when members of our AQ Working Group met with air quality experts from Metro Vancouver, UBC, Vancouver Coastal Health and the Port’s environmental team to start the discussion about what the project might look like. Can we establish a baseline to measure pollution as port traffic increases? What should we be measuring? Where should we be measuring it? How do similar community-led projects in cities in the U.S. and Europe work? (As far as we know, this is the first such project in Canada).

An advanced AQ Monitoring Station is set to go into MacLean Park early next year. The Port seems willing to fund portable AQ monitoring technology so that we can compare levels nearer to transport corridors (like the tracks and Clark) and vulnerable populations (like schoolyards and senior homes). Residents who are citizen-scientists are welcome to get involved.