Poor air quality in parts of Ontario is approaching U.S. levels, with Toronto starting to have pollution readings more typically found in big U.S. cities, such as New York, say research scientists at Environment Canada.
“We are probably quite similar to New York City. I would say they are slightly higher, but not that far off, Toronto levels.”
Toronto and New York have a heavy pollution burden from the high local use of automobiles and from local industries, he said, but also suffer from the long-range transportation of pollutants from coal-fired electricity-generating stations in the U.S. Midwest.(1)
Deaths from Air Pollution
According to calculations by the Ontario Medical Association, exactly 348 people died from air pollution in the Waterloo Region in 2008. The Canadian Medical Association (CMA) says, in total, there were 21,000 deaths from exposure to air-borne pollutants in 2008. Of these, 2,682 Canadians were instantly struck down by the acute effects of pollution.(2) The CMA attributes more than 40 percent of acute air pollution deaths to cardio-vascular issues.
In a paper published in the July 2010 issue of the academic journal Environmental Modelling and Software, Ross McKitrick of the University of Guelph, questions the massive death toll attributed to air pollution. He uses new statistical techniques and had access to 20 years of data from 11 Canadian cities, incorporating periods of both high and low pollution levels. Most other smog death studies limit themselves to smaller time periods or specific locales.
McKitrick, and co-authors Gary Koop of the University of Strathclyde and Lise Tole of the University of Edinburgh, found that air pollution has no significant bearing on hospital admissions due to respiratory problems. They reported that smoking and income levels are far more important than any pollutant.
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