Air Quality Advisory Issued but Beautiful day!

Environment Canada just issued an Air Quality advisory for the Alberni Valley within a 15km radius from Port Alberni City Hall.

Not sure if this is due to wood fire smoke, but there it is. The full advisory is included at the bottom of this post or monitor http://www.bcairquality.ca.

In the meantime, it was a very nice morning with lots of frost around, -3C at the Airport and -1.5C in town.

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Check out the interactive panorama here.

AIR QUALITY ADVISORY AND OPEN BURNING RESTRICTIONS IN EFFECT FOR ALBERNI VALLEY, WITHIN 15 KM OF THE PORT ALBERNI CITY HALL

(October 29, 2013 – Port Alberni, B.C.) The Ministry of Environment in collaboration with the Vancouver Island Health Authority has issued an Air Quality Advisory for Port Alberni and vicinity because of high concentrations of fine particulates that are expected to persist for the next 2 days.
Persons with chronic underlying medical conditions should postpone strenuous exercise until the advisory is lifted. Staying indoors and in air conditioned spaces helps to reduce fine particulate exposure. Exposure is particularly a concern for infants, the elderly and those who have diabetes, and lung or heart disease.
Open burning restrictions are now in effect for the Alberni Valley within 15 kilometres of the Port Alberni City Hall for a period of 2 days. No new fires may be initiated and no additional material may be added to existing fires.
For more information on burning restrictions, see the section below entitled ‘Mandatory Emission Reduction Actions.’ For more information on current air quality, see: www.bcairquality.ca.

Tips to reduce your personal health risk.
Avoid areas with wood smoke.
Continue to control medical conditions such as asthma, chronic respiratory disease and heart failure. If symptoms continue to be bothersome, seek medical attention.
Maintaining good overall health is a good way to reduce health risks resulting from short-term exposure to air pollution.

Additional tips for those with chronic underlying medical conditions:
Stay indoors, keep windows and doors closed and reduce indoor sources of pollution such as smoking, vacuuming and use of wood stoves.
Run an air cleaner. Some room air cleaners, such as HEPA filters, can help reduce indoor particulate levels provided they are the right size for your home and filters are changed regularly.
Take shelter in air-conditioned buildings which have large indoor volumes and limited entry of outdoor air.

Mandatory Emission Reduction Actions
As pollution may occur from open burning, the Director has suspended the exemption in the Open Burning Smoke Control Regulation (Sections 2(i) and 4(2)(a)) that allows for open burning of debris to occur without a permit or approval from the Ministry of Environment. For the next two days, no new fires may be initiated in the Alberni Valley within a 15 kilometre radius from the Port Alberni City Hall and pursuant to Section 4(2)(c) of the Regulation, no additional material may be added to existing fires. Contravention of these provisions may be subject to a fine under the Regulation.

Date issued: October 29, 2013

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2 thoughts on “Air Quality Advisory Issued but Beautiful day!

  1. Late mornings as a result of late classes are indeed good for something. Was this you taking the JJ contingent to get real smart? Thanks for the panorama and warning.

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