Cameron Hare
Assessing Ozone and Fine Particulate Matter Concentrations and Trends in Ontario, Canada, 2003-2012 © 2013
Ambient air concentration of ozone (O3) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in southern Ontario were analyzed in this study. Ontario is Canada’s most populated province and a large area in southern Ontario shares a border with the United States of America. The 2003 Canada-U.S. Border Air Quality Strategy outlines an initiative to reduce air pollution, specifically targeting southern Ontario due to its proximity to the U.S. and its historical air pollution levels. The date were obtained from the Ontario Ministry of the Environment (MOE) website. The Air Quality Index (AQI) network consists of 40 stations across Ontario that monitor concentrations of up to six pollutants on an hourly basis. The purpose of the study was to examine ambient air quality trends from 2003 to 2012 by generating prediction surfaces using the ordinary kriging spatial interpolation technique. Average O3 and PM2.5 levels for each year as well as maximum pollutant concentrations for the lowest and the highest year for each contaminant were produced. Ozone is created when volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and nitrogen oxides (NOxs) react in sunlight. Fine particulate matter is primarily released by transportation, residential and industrial processes and can cause severe cardiopulmonary damage and has been attributed to the development of diabetes. The results show that average ozone levels increased since 2003, while average fine particulate matter levels decreased. Also, the maximum concentrations per year for both contaminants decreased significantly. This indicates that ozone is a continuing problem for Ontario, but fine particulate matter has been greatly reduced and air quality has generally improved.