P.G Air Quality Issues Ignore Real Culprits

By Ben Meisner

Three major industrial plants in Prince George that contribute to  
PM-2.5  levels


The City's Wood Burning Survey has been distributed to  all residential tax payers.  It isn't clear what  will be done with the information gathered from that survey, but air quality issues remain high on the City's agenda. ( for more on this angle, read "Wood Burning Heating Survey Fuels Anti-Smog Fires)

A recent “Prince George Citizen “article points out that we have the third worst air quality in Canada.  That is quite correct.  In 1995 Prince George joined up with the Regional District of Fraser- Fort George, the Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks, the Northern Interior Health Unit, UNBC and CNC to form the Prince George Air Shed Committee.  In turn, the Committee came out with a set of recommendations in 1998 to improve the air quality. As a result of the plan, new by laws came into effect, which banned opening burning in the bowl area, with the exception of recreational fire under certain restrictions, prohibited wood stoves that do not meet Canadian and US standards and wood burning was banned on all Air Quality Advisory days.

So what did we get out of all that?  We implemented regulations which carried fines up to $500 dollars for burning on air quality days, but the very same by law exempts industry which is the main culprit of our air quality problems. Experts will tell you, wood burning accounts for about 4% of the air quality problems in Prince George.  People  who burn wood are painted as the reason for our poor  air quality, yet, had we banned all wood burning of any kind back in 1998 when the clean air by law was put into effect, we would have only changed fractionally our air quality.

Industry such as the Refinery, the three pulp mills, and others operating within the city are exempt, but contribute upwards of 40% of the air quality problems. Cut their pollution in half and you will find the City of Prince George will be in the mid range across Canada in spite of being an industrial town.

Restaurants are also exempt from the regulations and the burning of meat on the Barbecue on a commercial scale is far more damaging to the environment than a neighborhood of wood stoves. Although there is an argument that if you live next door to someone who is burning wood and creating lots of smoke, the problem becomes serious for you , but it doesn’t look at the big picture.

The PM-10 count for industry in this region is gauged at being responsible for 30% of the poor quality air, the PM 2-5 40%, then factor in industry’s air borne sulfur and other dioxins (of which we have no solid proof of what it does to our health beyond knowing that it is hurting our bodies) and instead of slaying the dragon back in 1998, we only swatted the mosquito riding on its tail.

Industry has been receiving an incredible ride on the backs of those breathing in the air. The Husky refinery may take a larger mark up than most refineries in Canada, but it also has received exemptions to its pollution requirements over the years. Canfor is more than happy to sit back and watch us beat up on Grandma for making some pies on a wood stove knowing full well that pollution would drop measurably if they undertook programs to reduce industrial contributions.

We have road dust; we know that, it is a fact of life in most every Canadian city.
We know forest fires are contributing to our air quality as you witnessed a few weeks ago with the fires near Vanderhoof.  But in order to have things turn around, someone needs to look industry straight in the eye and say this is what must change if you want to live and operate within our city boundaries.

There may not be a political will to take such a stance, as the fear of lost jobs and economic downturn is much thicker than any air issue.

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