City air quality looking good as December 31st goal approaches

The Prince George Air Improvement Roundtable says PG is on track to meet its goals for air quality improvement by December 31st.

The goal is to reduce Fine Particulate Matter emissions from industrial sources by 40% from the 1998 marker.

While PG has shown significant improvement in many areas, Executive Director Terry Robert says transportation is one key area where many communities struggle.

“Initiating a 40% reduction in emissions related to people’s automobiles is very difficult. We were really pleased to see the work done by students up at UNBC related to getting people on the bus during the Winter Games.”

There were no air quality advisories during the Winter Games, but there was still some negative attention regarding total reduced sulphur levels.

“It’s been one of those areas we didn’t initially focus on because the exposure levels have to be so high in order to have a health impact, but what we’ve come to realize is that it may not have an individual health impact, but it certainly has been expressed to us that it has a community well-being impact.”

With the December 31st goal expected to be met, the group is now turning its attention to tabling a new 5-year strategic plan and other mandates, like breaking air quality down by community.

“That way we can see the differences in the community itself,” Robert explained in a presentation to City Council, “What are the trends in College Heights versus the trends in the Hart? Is there a way we can see other ways to modify improvements within the community?”

For residents looking to make a positive impact on the air quality in our area, PG AIR has a Citizen’s Toolkit posted on their website.