Air quality in Ft. McMurray

A recent report from Environmental Defence implies that air quality in oil sands production areas is highly polluted.  

In fact, according to a recent study from the University of Alberta, air quality in Ft. McMurray and surrounding communities is better than the air quality of larger cities, including Edmonton, Calgary and Toronto.

Warren Kindzierski, University of Alberta researcher in the School of Public Health, says people living in the communities of Fort McMurray, Fort McKay and Fort Chipewyan should feel confident that the air they are breathing is safe. Kindzierski investigated outdoor air quality between 1998 and 2007. He and his team analyzed four air monitoring stations in the three communities and eight other monitoring stations closer to oil sands developments.

Kindzierski's research has found that, despite ongoing development, it is apparent that there is little or no pattern to the changes in concentrations of various air pollutants across the oil sands region over the past 10 years.

The Clean Air Strategic Alliance (CASA) has similar findings which show that total acidifying emissions (NOx & SOx) from oil sands production have dropped due to better emission control technologies; air quality is better in Ft. McMurray than cities such as Toronto, Seattle, New York and Calgary.  The graph above shows how NOx in Ft. McMurray compares to other major cities.

References

U of A - Clearing the air on oilsands impact - Public health researcher finds little change in air quality in northern Alberta’s oilsands region over last 15 years. https://uofa.ualberta.ca/news-and-events/newsarticles/2015/april/school-researcher-helps-clear-the-air-on-impact-of-oil-sands-production

News-Medical.Net - Communities close to oil sands have better air quality than larger cities, says UA researcher - http://www.news-medical.net/news/20100415/Communities-close-to-oil-sands-have-better-air-quality-than-larger-cities-says-UA-researcher.aspx

OSQAR - Is oil sands poisoning our air? http://osqar.suncor.com/2010/07/is-oil-sands-poisoning-our-air.html#sthash.hwjsLTQ4.dpuf