AIR QUALITY
PROJECT
The Air Quality Project began out of concerns about how the expansion of the Centerm Container Terminal (and the resulting increase in truck, train and ship traffic) would impact our local air quality.
In 2020, the SRA received a grant from the Centerm Community Fund to explore establishing a community-led air quality monitoring project.
To contact the Air Quality Working Group, e-mail: AQProject@strathcona-residents.org
Since 2008, the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority (VFPA) has been trying to reduce emissions from older diesel trucks that were put in service before current air emissions technologies were required. Emissions from these older trucks are a major source of nitrogen oxide, black carbon and particulate matter, which have been proven to cause a growing list of…
Read MoreThe SRA will be hosting an Air Quality Forum on Sunday, Oct. 23, from 1-4 PM at the nə́c̓aʔmat ct (Strathcona) library. The Forum will feature speakers from Metro Vancouver, UBC, and the Port to discuss the health effects of air pollution, local pollutants and pollution levels, the community air quality monitoring study that we’ve started…
Read MoreIn August, the VFPA reached out to the SRA asking for a letter of support for their Rolling Truck Age Program, which in brief prohibits diesel trucks older than a certain age from entering the Port. The goal is to get older, more polluting trucks off the road. Here’s a link with more details. After…
Read MoreThe Air Quality monitors have arrived and the process of finding hosts will begin within the next month. We’re preparing info sheets which we will send out once they’re ready. In the meantime, we’re still looking for residents to host monitors as part of both this and a concurrent UBC study. Click here for details. We’ll…
Read MoreUBC Strathcona and Downtown Eastside Air Quality Monitoring Project A group of UBC grad students will be running an air quality study in parallel with the SRA/Port study. They are currently seeking residential homes to host monitors between February and August of this year. Below is info about their study and the specific monitor they…
Read MoreThe AQ Steering Committee, which includes representatives from the SRA, the Port’s Environmental Team, Metro Vancouver, UBC and VCH, have selected 13 preliminary locations for AQ monitors. Here’s a map. The hope is to place monitors in all of these locations, but that will be influenced by budget and the ability to find organizations, businesses…
Read MoreBelow are tentative locations for air quality monitors, based on results from our survey and input from the steering committee. Factors used to determine locations were: – measuring air quality in areas of highest concern (high level of outdoor activity, concentration of vulnerable receptors: kids, seniors, cyclists, exercisers) – variations in air quality though-out the…
Read MoreThe SRA has released its report based on the survey we circulated earlier this year. 181 people responded to questions about air quality concerns in our area. The report also includes case studies of how Community-led Air Quality Monitoring Projects worked in other cities. Here’s a link to the report. Here’s a link to Case…
Read MoreAn international research team led by the University of British Columbia’s Dr. Michael Brauer and Washington University in St. Louis’ Dr. Randall Martin has published the most detailed analysis ever conducted on global air pollution sources and their health impacts. They have estimated the contribution of major sources of air pollution for 204 countries and territories, making…
Read MoreThe Steering Committee for the Port’s Air Quality Monitoring project met on May 27 to discuss what type of air monitoring equipment to purchase. The hope is to be able to begin actively engaging residents this fall in locating, monitoring, collecting data, and reporting results. To get an idea what that might look like, here’s…
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