Third Quarter Air Quality Health Index Results Released
Back to SearchFort Air Partnership (FAP), the organization that monitors the air local residents breathe, released 2019 third quarter Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) results today. The Government of Alberta calculates the AQHI using data collected at seven of FAP's air monitoring stations.
For the first time since 2015 there were no high or very high AQHI results for an entire calendar quarter. Overall air quality in and around Alberta's Industrial Heartland was of low risk to health nearly 100% of the time from July 1 to September 30, 2019. Only air monitoring stations at Fort Saskatchewan and Gibbons recorded moderate AQHI results during Q3.
| Q3 - 2019 | Risk Level | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Station Name | Hours Monitored | Low | Moderate | High | Very High |
| Bruderheim | 2,127 | 100.00% | - | - | - |
| Elk Island | 2,163 | 100.00% | - | - | - |
| Fort Saskatchewan | 2,084 | 99.81% | 0.19% | - | - |
| Gibbons | 2,164 | 99.72% | 0.28% | - | - |
| Lamont County | 2,165 | 100.00% | - | - | - |
| Redwater | 2,106 | 100.00% | - | - | - |
| Chipman (portable) | 2,164 | 100.00% | - | - | - |
| Total Hours | 14,973 | 14,963 | 10 | - | - |
As a comparison, results from the third quarter of 2018 are provided below.
| Q3 - 2019 | Risk Level (% of time in each) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Station Name | Hours Monitored | Low | Moderate | High | Very High |
| Bon Accord* | 2,158 | 84.85% | 11.82% | 3.34% | 0.56% |
| Bruderheim | 2,146 | 85.69% | 8.90% | 5.41% | 0.56% |
| Elk Island | 2,081 | 86.98% | 8.99% | 4.04% | 1.01% |
| Fort Saskatchewan | 1,996 | 82.97% | 11.92% | 5.11% | 0.60% |
| Gibbons | 2,145 | 85.50% | 8.90% | 5.59% | 0.65% |
| Lamont County | 2,120 | 84.76% | 10.61% | 4.62% | 0.33% |
| Redwater | 2,129 | 85.72% | 7.80% | 6.48% | 0.38% |
| Total Hours | 12,617 | 10,761 | 1,198 | 658 | 74 |
*FAP's portable station was operational in Bon Accord from April 12, 2018 to February 28, 2019.
The major difference in results between the third quarters of 2019 and 2018 can be attributed to the impact of smoke from wildfires for the majority of August in 2018.
Local residents can check the forecast and daily AQHI at fortair.org. The website also has a live data feed for a variety of substances that FAP measures, as well as weekly, quarterly and annual AQHI results.
Media Contact:
Nadine Blaney, Executive Director
Cell: (780) 289-6631
E-mail: Nadine.blaney@fortairmail.org
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