The Alberta Ambient Air Quality Monitoring System (AAAQMS)

What is the AAAQMS?

The AAAQMS is an approach to monitoring air quality in Alberta endorsed by the Clean Air Strategic Alliance (CASA) Board of Directors in 1995. The provincial monitoring network includes permanent continuous monitoring stations, passive and intermittent stations and one mobile monitoring unit. Provincial and airshed stations are operated by several agencies including Alberta Environment (AENV), Environment Canada, the Strathcona Industrial Association, and several Airshed Management Zones. Data collected is archived in a centralized data management system that is accessible to stakeholders and the general public.

Background

Shortly after the Clean Air Strategic Alliance was formally established, the importance of having credible, reliable information on ambient air quality and its relationship with human and ecosystem health was recognized. A Strategic Plan for Air Quality Monitoring in Alberta was developed and approved by the CASA Board in November 1995. An Implementation Design Team subsequently examined a variety of options and recommended a co-operative network approach that was accepted by the CASA Board in December 1997. In May 1998 an Operations Steering Committee (OSC) was established to provide overall direction, track progress and make budgetary decisions regarding network implementation.

Data Management

This CASA strategic plan recommended that an air quality monitoring system be designed with a common data management protocol for the entire province. Subsequently, the Alberta Ambient Air Data Management System, also known as the CASA Data Warehouse, was developed in the spring of 1997. The CASA data warehouse contains continuous (hourly) air quality data as well as data collected by non-continuous methods such as precipitation, particulate, air toxins (volatile organic compounds), and passive data. Data is submitted to the system by the provincial government, the federal government, airshed zones and industry. The CASA data warehouse has proven to be an increasingly important source of air quality data and information with thousands of reports run by data users each month.

Definition of Station Types

The CASA strategic plan proposed air quality monitoring stations address ambient air quality impacts on human health, ecosystem health, and transboundary transport and visibility. A simple definition of a provincial monitoring station is: "A permanent air quality station that is intended to collect air quality data that may be used to assess human health effects, ecological health effects, or transboundary transport and visibility". The difference between a provincial station and an airshed station is that a provincial station is intended to be permanent while an airshed station may be re-located or deleted over time. The definition of each type of provincial monitoring station is indicated below.

1. Human Health Effects Stations: These stations monitor air quality at locations where people live and where there are emission sources. Monitoring focuses on pollutants that are important to human health. The CASA strategic plan proposed 14 continuous stations at centres with a population greater than 20,000 people; eight intermittent stations at population centres between 10,000 and 20,000 people; ten passive air quality stations at centres between 5,000 and 10,000 people; and three continuous stations at locations to fill existing gaps in air quality data.
2. Ecological Effects Stations: These stations collect air quality and ecological data used to assess effects on ecological receptors. The strategic plan recommends 13 ecological effects monitoring stations with a minimum of two in each of Alberta's six ecoregions. These sites can be co-located with human health or related transboundary/visibility stations.
3. Transboundary Transport and Visibility Stations: These stations collect air quality data that can be used to address long-range transport and visibility issues, with a focus on incoming and outgoing pollution transported across the Alberta/B.C., Alberta/Saskatchewan and Canada/U.S. borders. These stations also measure background and rural air quality in Alberta. The four stations recommended can be co-located with human health or ecological effects monitoring stations.
4. Mobile Monitoring Units: Mobile monitoring involves the use of a self-powered or trailer platform to monitor and analyze a comprehensive set of air pollutants. Mobile monitoring can be used for: (1) special regional monitoring surveys in response to requests from the public or municipalities; (2) responding to pollution "hot spots" throughout the province; (3) conducting a trial period of monitoring in locations where permanent fixed monitoring stations are being considered. The strategic plan recommends two mobile monitoring units in Alberta.