RE:Air quality committee
Website urges Kamloops residents to think about air quality By: Andrea Klassen in Environment, News, Weather June 8, 2016 2 Comments 157 Views image: https://www.kamloopsthisweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Simpson-Mike-Fraser-Basin-195x300.jpg Simpson, Mike Fraser Basin Mike Simpson, senior regional manager with the Fraser Basin Council A new committee that includes local politicians, big industry and environmental groups is hoping to get Kamloops thinking about its air quality. Formed last year, but publicly launching its work this week, the Kamloops Air Quality Roundtable aims to educate people about emissions that affect air quality in Kamloops, said Mike Simpson, senior regional manager with the Fraser Basin Council, one of the groups member organizations. Other members include the B.C. Ministry of Environment, Kamloops Moms for Clean Air, the City of Kamloops, local First Nations bands, as well as Domtar, Lafarge, New Gold and KGHM Ajax. Simpson said the groups website, kamloopsairquality.ca, aims to provide residents with a place to start learning about emissions. The last couple years, theres been a lot of controversy, with people claiming the air quality is terrible, Simpson said. Weve just tried to put out the basic facts: what gets measured, why is it a concern to you, what are the health impacts, where does it come from and then also some ideas about what you can do to improve your air quality. Simpson said the group will also allow members to share air-quality-related projects they are working on to avoid duplication, encourage partnerships and identify any gaps in how air quality is monitored in Kamloops. The group wont be taking stances on any industrial projects that could impact the citys airshed, such as the proposed Ajax mine, Simpson said, but will instead look at the various ways air quality can be impacted. Air-quality contaminates dont just come from big industry. They come from all of us, whether its our driving habits, or any sort of combustion, even home heating. If you have a wood stove youre contributing to air quality, Simpson said. And the key education thing is our air quality is great most of the time, but sometimes its not so great. Sometimes its things we can control, like when he have inversions and road dust in the winter, and some of those things are out of our control, like forest-fire smoke. To help control pollution, Simpson recommends cutting down car trips by combining several errands into one trip, making upgrades to older windows and wood stoves and turning off parked vehicles instead of idling. Read more at https://www.stockhouse.com/companies/bullboard/v.ame/abacus-mining-exploration-corp#tMpgeqK3ioCmvsMW.99