New air quality reports available from the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks

The Town of St. Marys is working with the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) and the Perth District Health Unit (PDHU) to provide information about air quality in our community.

Recently, the MECP provided the Town with two new reports. The full reports are available to view online at www.townofstmarys.com/airquality and the summary of the reports is below:

2017-2018 Airpointer Survey of St. Marys Cement (St. Marys, Ontario): Final Report October 2019

The air monitor results were compared to the applicable air quality standards and guidelines and no exceedances of the air quality standards were measured. Two incidents above the updated one-hour Ambient Air Quality Criterion for sulphur dioxide were measured in November 2017, before the updated criterion came into effect.

2019 Mobile Air Monitoring Survey of St. Marys Cement (St. Marys, Ontario) September 2019

The ministry completed five days of mobile air monitoring in the vicinity of St. Marys Cement on June 20, 24, and 27, 2019 and July 4, 2019 and August 20, 2019. The survey investigated ambient concentrations of volatile organic compounds and particulate matter less than 10 microns in diameter upwind and downwind of St. Marys Cement. Ambient concentrations of the measured volatile organic compounds did not exceed applicable air quality standards, guidelines or converted assessment values during the 2019 survey. Particulate matter less than 10 microns in diameter were assessed for screening purposes only and not directly compared to standards, however the measured concentrations were comparable to those measured during the 2018 and 2017 mobile surveys.