Courtenay, B.C., plans to put up air quality monitors in public spaces

The city of Courtenay, B.C., located in Vancouver Island's Comox Valley, launched an awareness campaign on air quality Tuesday, with plans to install devices to monitor air quality in a few public locations throughout the municipality.

Jeanniene Tazzioli, Courtenay's manager of engineering and environmental projects, says data collected by the province showed the region was seeing higher than average levels of smoke.

"The province let us know that we were seeing some spikes in something called PM2.5, which is fine particulate matter," she told On the Island host Gregor Craigie on Wednesday. 

"We're mostly concerned about the health effects."

An explainer on the city's website says exposure to wood smoke can worsen conditions like asthma or COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) and reduce lung function.

Tazzioli adds there can be more serious long-term effects from continued exposure.

"Mild side effects might be things people are familiar with if they're sitting around a campfire: irritated eyes and throat, headaches maybe some respiratory illnesses," she said.

"There's more severe illnesses as well: increased risk of heart attack and stroke, reduced lung function, premature death."

Goal is to understand the issue, find solutions: city manager

The main source of wood smoke in Courtenay is the use of wood-burning appliances, says Tazzioli. 

The awareness campaign aims to educate locals on the impact of particulates in the air, how to reduce smoke, and related bylaws and rebates for replacing wood-fired heating systems.

"We see a spike each evening. But then by the morning and in the afternoon, the smoke clears," said Tazzioli.

"So in some cases residents might not be aware of the air quality issue because you can't see it at night — the smoke's invisible."

The city plans to install 10 monitoring devices locally, proposing they be located at public schools and municipally owned buildings.

The monitors require power and wi-fi, so real-time data can be shared online, with measurements updated every hour.

While the B.C. government already monitors air quality throughout the province, Tazzioli says the devices will give the city a clearer picture of what's happening locally.

"Provincial reporting doesn't necessarily represent everyone's experience," she said. 

"By installing monitors in different neighbourhoods across the city, we get uniform coverage and we can better understand which areas have higher concentrations than others."

She says city officials are especially concerned about the health of children and want to know whether they're being exposed to harmful levels of fine particulates in school neighbourhoods.

Ultimately, she says the goal is to better understand the problem and find solutions — understanding that some people have no choice but to rely on burning wood to heat their homes.

"We all need to stay warm and we all need clean air," she said.