Clean Air Hamilton Launches Neighbourhood Mobile Air Testing Program

Partnership with ArcelorMittal Dofasco to provide street level monitoring in five Hamilton neighbourhoods

Hamilton – October 18, 2010 – Clean Air Hamilton today announced it is spearheading a mobile air quality monitoring program in five neighbourhoods across Hamilton. The project, a partnership between Clean Air Hamilton and Green Venture, with funding from ArcelorMittal Dofasco, kicks off today with a call for community input through  Neighbourhood Associations and Business Improvement Areas to identify the neighbourhoods that will be monitored.

Presently, air quality monitoring in Hamilton is done through a network of fixed air monitors operated by the Ministry of the Environment and the Hamilton Air Monitoring Network (HAMN). The HAMN network focuses on industrial sources of air contaminants. 

The mobile monitoring will be done with air monitoring equipment mounted to a vehicle. The vehicle will travel along Hamilton streets collecting air quality data at street level.  Dr. Denis Corr of Rotek Environmental and the monitoring team says street level air quality data is important because it represents the air quality citizens experience every day. 

“Mobile air monitoring lets us go where the people are.  We can measure what people are actually breathing in their everyday lives, in different neighbourhoods, on the roads and on the highways,” Corr says.  “We can find out how to improve our own air quality through taking personal action and also by pressuring for community-wide improvements.”

Brian Montgomery, Air Quality & Climate Change Co-ordinator for the City of Hamilton says air monitoring is not just for industrial properties. "Neighbourhoods in Hamilton want to understand their air quality and sources of air emissions. Work by Clean Air Hamilton suggests that neighbourhoods should be looked at to correspond to the air emissions citizens experience everyday from sources such as transportation, construction sites, commercial and industrial properties".

ArcelorMittal’s General Manager of Environment, Jim Stirling, says that air monitoring equipment near the steel company’s facilities is extensive, but more in the broader community is needed. “Around our site, we have extensive air monitoring systems on the HAM Network. But we know that other areas of Hamilton are just as important. We are supporting this project because we know it will help our community learn more about the wider Hamilton airshed. This will be valuable benchmark data for street level air quality,” he says.

Green Venture, a community-based non-profit organization committed to sustainability, is spearheading the community consultation to identify neighbourhoods that will be monitored. Neighbourhood Association or Business Improvement Area representatives are encouraged to contact the project co-ordinator, Jordan Fysh, of Green Venture (contact details below).

 

Clean Air Hamilton is a community-based action committee with members from government, academic institutions, industry, environmental organizations and resident associations.  For more information visit: www.cleanair.hamilton.ca.

ArcelorMittal is the world’s leading steel company with more than 280,000 employees and operations in more than 60 countries.  ArcelorMittal Dofasco is a leading North American steel producer and supplier of high quality flat rolled steels.  To learn more, visit www.arcelormittal.com/hamilton/dofasco or www.communitystrength.ca.

For more information:

Brian Montgomery

Clean Air Hamilton

Air Quality & Climate Change Co-ordinator

City Of Hamilton

T  905-546-2424 Ext. 1275

cleanair@hamilton.ca

 

Jim Stirling

General Manager Environment

ArcelorMittal Dofasco
T 905-548-7200 x2284

Jim.stirling@arcelormittal.com

 

Jordan Fysh

Green Venture

Climate Change  Coordinator, Green Venture

T  905-540-8787 ext.151

energy@greenventure.ca