Campus-Community Partnership for reducing air pollution in the Bathurst Quay Neighbourhood
PROJECT OVERVIEW
Air quality monitoring campaigns were launched in the Bathurst Quay Neighbourhood to perform an air pollution exposure assessment, identify main sources of air pollution for the neighbourhood, and develop and propose workable solutions.
Highlights of the January 2022 public event
Introduced public resources on air quality in Ontario
Current and past air pollutant levels for Ontario.
HealthyPlace tool allows users to learn about various pollutants in their neighbourhood.
Presented preliminary results
~45% reduction of ultrafine particles during the lockdown, due to reduced activities at the airport and on-road traffic
Black carbon levels in the neighbourhood are similar to levels throughout Toronto.
Fine particles are generally higher outdoors than indoors
Indication that airport has general effect on air qualityBilly Bishop Airport
Described instruments used and air pollutants measured
Micro-aethalometer – black carbon (BC)
DiscMini – ultrafine particles (UFP)
AirSENCE – multiple pollutants (example nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter)
Dylos – fine particles
Discussed data collection plans
One more data collection campaign (when airport is operating close to pre-pandemic capacity)
Plans to measure a wider range of pollutants associated with airport emissions
Plans to conduct further on-road sampling of near-road air quality & examine traffic counts
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Acknowledgements
Stakeholders involved with this project include the Bathurst Quay Neighbourhood Association, the City of Toronto, PortsToronto, and Toronto Public Health. Special thanks go to the Citizen Scientists who participated in data collection.
This project is funded by a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) grant, matched by funds from the City of Toronto and Billy Bishop Airport.
For more information, visit the study web site.