Parkland Airshed Management Zone
Mirror Air Quality Report ReleasedMirror, Alberta 2011/10/04
Monitoring Targeted Emissions from Locomotives
Alberta Environment recently released its report “Air Quality Monitoring Near Mirror Rail Yards” that reviewed the data collected from monitoring operated as a partnership between the Parkland Airshed Management Zone (PAMZ) and Alberta Environment during the spring of 2010 and the winter of 2010/11. The monitoring was conducted in response to local residents’ concerns over emissions from locomotive activities at Canadian National’s rail yards located in Mirror, Alberta.
The monitoring program was operated by PAMZ using its Martha Kostuch Portable Air Quality Monitoring Trailer and specialized sampling equipment provided by Alberta Environment. In addition to the regular variety of compounds usually monitored by PAMZ’s trailer, the equipment provided by Alberta Environment allowed PAMZ to sample for Volatile Organic
Compounds and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons.
The report concludes that given the right set of weather conditions, emissions from locomotives may impact areas downwind of the rail yards. During the monitoring conducted by PAMZ none of the monitored pollutants exceeded the applicable Alberta Ambient Air Quality Objectives with the exception of one single hour where the Fine Particulate Matter Guideline was exceeded. Wind conditions at the time of the exceedance indicated that rail yard activities were not the source.
“PAMZ plans on returning to Mirror in 2012 to conduct follow-up monitoring where hopefully we will see more winds that put Mirror downwind of the rail yards” says PAMZ executive director, Kevin Warren. “More data and samples collected under the right conditions will provide us a more complete picture of the impact of emissions from the locomotives.”
A multi-stakeholder non-profit organization consisting of industry, local government, provincial government departments, environmental organizations and the public, the Parkland Airshed Management Zone was formed in 1997 to monitor and manage air quality in the central Alberta. For more information about PAMZ, visit our website at www.pamz.org.
Internet link for copy of the report:
http://environment.gov.ab.ca/info/library/8387.pdf
