Ambient air quality is a long-standing concern in Peel region. While health is the common concern, the sources of pollution range from industrial emissions, to power plants, aggregate extraction and transportation and growth. The two ambient air monitors in Peel region, in Mississauga and Brampton, operated by the Ontario Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, do not provide sufficient detail to assess the community-wide picture of air quality, drivers of poor local air quality or the potential air quality impacts of land-use planning and transportation decisions. Air quality models are a cost-effective method to address data gaps on the local, regional and long-range scales. As a result, Peel Public Health has implemented an Air Quality Modelling (AQM) program. Criteria air pollutants are modeled down to a 1km by 1km grid resolution across Peel region.
The model allows us to:
- Model air quality at a fine spatial resolution across Peel.
- Evaluate the contribution of different sources and sectors.
- Assist in assessing the impacts of population growth, land-use and transportation policies on local air quality.
The presentation will summarize health effects of exposure to poor air quality, the background of the program and discuss the results, lessons learned, and future implications for public health practice.