Is Smog Is Slowly Choking Us?

Written by Contributor

Air Pollution affects human and environmental health. Scientists have found that there is no “safe” level for exposure to smog. Smog-related air pollution is linked to such health effects as premature death,
respiratory and heart problems and bronchitis.

This is a problem that is of concern across the continent and around the world and to a large extent it isgovernment regulation and international cooperation that will drive the solutions to this issue.  Lets take a look at what is happening in terms of policy development in just one province in Canada as an example of the issues and the complexity of the solutions.

One Example -  In 2004 The Ontario Ministry of Environment published a report titles Ontario's Clean Air Action Plan where it acknowledged several problems associated with the deteriorating air quality in that province. Here are just a few excerpts that provide an overview of the issues:

Smog and Human Health"Human Health - The Ontario Medical Association (OMA) released a report that examined two key pollutant components of smog: ozone and particulate matter.The report concluded that 1,900 premature deaths, 9,800 hospital admissions and 13,000 emergency room visits could be attributed to these air pollutants in 2000, with increased impacts in future years provided no new measures are introduced. The OMA further estimated that this costs Ontario’s health care system and economy more than $1 billion annually in hospital admissions, emergency room visits and absenteeism. The OMA predicts that air pollution costs Ontario citizens, in total, an estimated $10 billion per year when the costs of pain and suffering and premature mortality are all included.

The OMA also reports that children are more sensitive to smog than adults. In general, children spend more time outdoors during the smog season and they breathe more rapidly, meaning their lungs take in more air. The very young are vulnerable because their lungs are still developing. Older adults and people with heart and lung disease are also more sensitive to the fine particulate component of smog."

"Environmental Health - Smog has been found to damage forests, agricultural crops and natural vegetation. Smog-causing pollutants also contribute to the corrosion of materials like rubber and stone. Ozone, a principal component of smog, is known to cause more vegetation damage across Ontario than any other pollutant. Ozone injury is commonly observed on sensitive field crops such as beans and other legumes in the major crop production areas across southern Ontario. Elevated ozone levels have been estimated to cost Ontario growers of agricultural and ornamental crops up to $70 million a year in reduced yields and related effects."

We have serious issues that have been getting progressively worse. More needs to be done about it.
The report goes on to define the technical characteristics of the problem.
 
“Smog is a soupy mix of air pollutants that may or may not be visible in the air. The two main ingredients of smog are ground-level ozone (O3) and particulate matter (PM).

O3, a gas, is formed through chemical reactions that take place when nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) combine in the presence of sunlight. For this reason, NOx and VOCs are called O3 precursor gases.

Ground-level O3 differs from stratospheric O3. While chemically identical, stratospheric O3 is found at altitudes of 20 to 50 kilometres and protects the Earth from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays. Throughout this document, O3 refers to ground-level ozone.
 
NOx + VOCs + Sunlight = O3

PM consists of solid particles and liquid droplets of microscopic size. In the air quality context, PM is classified into two size fractions, PM2.5 and PM2.5-10 (see box). When it comes to PM sources, scientists distinguish between primary and secondary. Primary PM is emitted directly from a variety of combustion and non-combustion sources. Secondary particles such as sulphates, nitrates and organic carbon are formed in the atmosphere from precursor gases such as sulphur dioxide (SO2), NOx, VOCs, or ammonia (NH3). In contrast to O3, which occurs largely during the summer months, PM can occur in high concentrations at any time of the year.

Four Key Pollutants
Knowing how smog is formed is key to reducing it. In order to reduce the incidence of smog, it is essential to lower emissions of the four key smog-causing pollutants:
 
NOX — SO2 — VOCs — PM
 
Reducing emissions of these four key pollutants is the primary goal of Ontario’s smog reduction initiatives. Therefore, smog reduction strategies focus on the key emission sources for these pollutants.

 
Smog Sources in Ontario

On average, approximately half of Ontario’s smog challenge is associated with emissions from sources within the province. NOx are created mainly by the transportation sector (i.e., vehicles, off-road engines and other transportation sources). SO2 is a major pollutant from metal smelting and electricity generation. VOCs are vented into the atmosphere every time we gas up our cars, and are released by a variety of products from paints to cleaning fluids.”

There are sectors in Ontario where a few point sources (large industrial facilities) are responsible for a sizeable percentage of smog pollution. The electricity sector, for example, accounts for 15 per cent of Ontario’s NOx emissions and 25 per cent of SO2. Similarly, in Ontario’s metal smelting sector, two industrial facilities account for approximately half of the province’s SO2 emissions. Point sources present an opportunity to substantially reduce emissions by encouraging, or requiring, reductions from a small number of emitters. Therefore, Ontario’s smog reduction approach is addressing large point sources first.

Contrasting with point sources are area sources or mobile sources, where a large number of small emission sources are dispersed over a wide area. Transportation accounts for over 60 per cent of NOx, 29 per cent of VOCs and 10 per cent of PM2.5 emissions in Ontario.

Transboundary Air Pollution

Not all smog-causing pollution in Ontario is created in the province. Approximately half of all smog is blown in by prevailing winds from sources in the midwestern United States. Even if every vehicle and every factory in Ontario were shut down, there could still be enough imported pollution in our air to prompt a Smog Advisory in some parts of the province. Ontario shares its airshed with approximately 200 coal-fired power stations and assorted industries (see map) in the midwestern U.S., an area that includes such states as Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio and Missouri.
 
Ontario’s Smog Reduction Approach

Ontario’s approach to reducing smog must address the diversity of emissions sources that lead to smog in Ontario (e.g., local and transboundary smog). The government is following a multi-faceted, comprehensive smog reduction approach that addresses multiple pollutants, provides encouragement to all sectors of the economy, and targets key emission sectors including electricity generation, transportation, industry and residential.

Fighting Smog has its Co-benefits

The pollutants that cause smog are often responsible for other air quality concerns. NOx, for example, also contribute to acid rain.

Since it is often the same combustion processes that emit the pollutants that cause smog, acid rain and climate change, reducing air pollution from a single process or action can produce a number of improvements to the air we all share.

Programs like Drive Clean, Ontario’s vehicle emissions inspection and maintenance program, are designed to take advantage of these so-called co-benefits. The program is reducing NOx, SO2, VOCs, PM2.5 and CO2, which individually and/or in combination, contribute to smog, acid rain and global warming.”

There is no better example of an issue that requires multilateral solutions than Fighting Air Pollution . This report acknowledged the complexity and the importance of this.
 
“The Key Players

Ontario’s goal to substantially reduce smog levels can only be achieved with a great deal of cooperation amongst various parties.

The Ontario government remains committed to replacing coal-fired generation and will do so in a way that protects our electricity supply. Replacing coal by 2007 continues to be the government’s goal. The government is developing new programs to encourage conservation and will identify the cleanest, most affordable potential power sources in Ontario, and develop them under public leadership as a replacement for coal.

The government is also moving forward to improve emission standards for a wide variety of smog-related pollutants and to develop annual NOx and SO2 emission limits for seven industrial sub-sectors.

The Ontario government has ongoing action on a number of fronts: -monitoring smog conditions to alert Ontarians about poor air quality; -collecting and analyzing data on emissions to seek out opportunities for emission reductions in all sectors of the economy; -consulting with emitters on pollution reduction measures and developing programs to encourage reductions; -developing emission reduction plans for various pollutants, including NOx, SO2, VOCs, and PM2.5 in order to achieve Ontario’s air quality goals; -developing, implementing and enforcing regulations and standards to ensure Ontario is moving towards cleaner air; and -providing public education and outreach to support Ontarians in doing their part to reduce smog emissions and improve Ontario’s air quality.

Municipalities play a key role in efforts to reduce smog in the province through their planning practices and leadership in their purchasing policies and bylaw implementation. Municipalities can also play a major role in public education and outreach efforts.

Industry needs to play a prominent role in smog reduction efforts. Implementing best practices can go a long way toward reducing smog and its precursor pollutants.

Individuals can help reduce smog in the province by ensuring their vehicles are inspected and properly maintained, through energy efficiency/conservation and other emission reduction efforts. By considering the environmental impacts of different products, everyday purchasing decisions can lead to better protection of the environment.

The Federal Government can assist Ontario by negotiating transboundary emission reductions with the U.S. and establishing national standards and requirements.

Emissions from the U.S.make up a considerable part of Ontario’s smog challenge. Programs that reduce emissions in the U.S. will help Ontario meet its air quality commitments. Similarly, smog reductions in Ontario will benefit Quebec, Atlantic provinces and northeastern U.S. states.”

This document was of course a vision statement and only a first step in addressing the issues. In our next article we will be look at the programs being introduced to achieve these objectives.

Getting governments and bureaucracies to work together is not easy at the best of times and these are not the best of times. However this multi stake holder approach is our best hope for seeing meaningful change in our air quality. However campaigns to get broad participation must come from the grass roots in order to create the political will to make these initiatives a priority.  So write your government representatives and let them know it is important to you.