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Kamloops Air Quality
What does a high PM 2.5 reading really mean for Kamloops?
'DO WE SHUT EVERYTHING DOWN?' KAMLOOPS - A new report from local physicians has one air quality specialist noting that there is always room for improvement and the focus should be on what steps should be taken, rather than just the number itself. The Kamloops Physicians for a Healthy Environment released a review of 2014...
UPDATE: Input on information requirements for Ajax extended
KAMLOOPS - The public has been given a couple more days to comment and provide feedback on the proposed Ajax Mine and what information the company needs to submit in its application. After significant changes were made to the footprint of the proposed mine in the spring the provincial government decided there should be another...
Free transit worth the cost?
COUNCIL WORKSHOP TO DISCUSS OPTIONS KAMLOOPS - Transit is a topic that gets a lot of discussion around the table at City Hall, and rightfully so. Taxpayers subsidize a portion of the public transportation and council plans to again explore whether any form of free transit can be offered and how much is too much...
Hundreds seek clarity on environmental assessment process
MORE CURIOSITY THAN OPPOSITION FOR AJAX KAMLOOPS - More than 860 people attended information sessions this week and even though the proposed Ajax Mine was the topic there were no protests, picket lines or large groups gathering at the Coast Hotel. While many were seeking more information on the environmental assessment process many more were...
Air quality advisory for Kamloops
KAMLOOPS – An air quality advisory for the South Thompson region, including the City of Kamloops, has been issued by Environment Canada and the B.C. Ministry of Environment. High concentrations of fine particulate matter are expected to persist for the next few days. Smoke from open burning and wood burning appliances are likely the cause....
Experts in Kamloops to talk air pollution
KAMLOOPS - How to improve air quality and reduce health risks will be on the menu at an upcoming public forum on air pollution in Kamloops. Between several weeks with smoky skies because of forest fires this summer and constant concern being raised over the proposed Ajax mine and other industrial activity, air quality has been...
Doctors: Kamloops deserves same protection as Kitimat
KAMLOOPS - A local group of physicians say Kamloops has no more room for pollution and wants the province to provide more funding for air quality control in our city. Since the group formed in 2013, Kamloops Physicians for a Healthy Environment have been questioning the level of fine particulate matter already in the air...
UPDATE: Smoky skies advisory ends
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - After more than a week under a smoky sky advisory, the smoke has finally cleared. There have been more than 1,100 wildfires this year and more than 252,000 hectares have burned. Six of those fires have been more than 10,000 ha in size with the largest reaching more than 88,000 ha. Smoke from...
Smokey skies from fires in United States, northern B.C.
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – Kamloops and Vernon residents woke up to the sight, smell and taste of smoke on Wednesday morning. Fire information officer Kayla Pepper says the smoke is coming from wildfires in the northern part of the United States and from the Prince George and Cariboo fire centres. Pepper says the smoke is currently trapped...
Smoky skies advisory ended
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – The smoke from forest fires burning around the province has been blown away. The air quality advisory issued by Environment Canada and the B.C. Ministry of Environment due to wildfire smoke Thursday was ended for the South Thompson, Nicola, Shuswap and Okanagan regions Sunday afternoon. The air quality index is a two, or...
Smoky skies advisory for Interior
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Fires to the north of us are causing smoky conditions and the Ministry of Environment is now warning people to take additional precautions because of the smoke. A smoky skies advisory was issued today for the Thompson, Shuswap, Okanagan, Similkameen, Nicola, Boundary and Fraser Canyon areas. Similar advisories have also been issued for...
Hazy sky likely from northern fires
KAMLOOPS - It could just be a haze in the sky today but it is more likely smoke from more northern fires we are continuing to see fill our valley. B.C. Wildfire information officer Melissa Klassen says the smoke in the air could be attributed to the more than 15,000 hectares of fires north of...
New Gold air emission reports ‘significantly overestimated’
KAMLOOPS - New Afton officials say estimates of air pollution emissions from its New Gold mine near Kamloops are wrong—the victim of bad data. If emissions reported to national authorities are accurate, it would make the mine among the top air polluters in the country. Its pollution levels were seized on by the Kamloops Physicians...
Ajax would impact air quality, health: Doctors
KAMLOOPS - The city is already burdened by air quality issues and the addition of more particulate matter via an open pit mine would put the people of Kamloops at risk, according to local doctors opposing the mine. The Kamloops Physicians for a Healthy Environment, which formed about a year ago, said Kamloops need not...
Domtar eyes North Shore monitoring station
KAMLOOPS — Though complaints are down, Domtar continues to closely monitor odours from the factory and is even looking at adding an additional air quality monitor near McArthur Island. Kristin Dangelmaier, Environmental Manager for the Kamloops mill, says there appears to be a direct correlation between the reduction in number of calls and the closure...
Fewer complaints over stench in 2013
KAMLOOPS — The annual air report from Domtar shows improvements in air quality, though the company is claiming the public tolerance for smell may be getting lower as well. Overall, complaints in 2013 were 'notably fewer' than the previous two years, which the company attributes to the measurable reductions in total reduced emissions from the...
Costs of air pollution latest in Ajax talks
KAMLOOPS — A local economics professor is set to talk about the possible economic impact the proposed Ajax Mine could have, including the way deteriorating air quality can affect the city's health and economic evaluation. Dr. Peter Tsigaris, an economics professor at Thompson Rivers University and Kamloops resident for more than 20 years, will look to...
Air quality an issue for Kamloops
KAMLOOPS – For the next 24 hours, it’s going to be hard for some people in the city to breath. The B.C. Ministry of Environment and Environment canada have issued an air quality advisory for Kamloops because of high concentrations of fine particulates in the air. According to the advisory, people with chronic underlying medical...
More doctors are speaking out against Ajax
KAMLOOPS – Even more medical voices have joined the growing number of doctors, nurses and physicians questioning the proposed Ajax mine and the need for proper health impact assessments. Last week Kamloops Physicians for a Healthy Environment released an email from Medical Health Officer Dr. Peter Barss from June 2012. “In my professional opinion the...
Lower air quality would lead to more deaths
KAMLOOPS – Sitting at an average level of nine in 2.5 particulate matter levels Kamloops is below the maximum level the World Health Organization says is healthy but well above the standard the province has set. The doctors making up the Kamloops Physicians for a Healthy Environment say studies show that PM 2.5, particles smaller...
Ajax would make ‘low-grade smokers out of children’
KAMLOOPS – Air pollution is a big concern for the health of the community according to a group of local doctors who say the extra pollution the proposed Ajax mine would bring into the community is unacceptable. “People need to know the impact on health is like smoking constantly, 24 hours a day. You can't...
Local doctors join fight against Ajax
Part of job to voice question and concerns when public health is an issue KAMLOOPS – City physicians have joined the fight to protect the area in and around Kamloops by forming an organization geared towards promoting health education and science based interventions to maintain and improve the environment. The catalyst for the latest health...
Clean air not taken lightly at council meeting
By Jennifer Stahn
Airshed Management Plan ready for action
By Jennifer Stahn Kamloops City Council approved the Airshed Management Plan presented to them at a council meeting Tuesday, with many members of council agreeing with Mayor Peter Milobar that the plan has been “a long time coming.” The management plan will see an initial focus on incentive programs to get owners of wood-burning stoves...