Prince Rupert is moving closer to an air-quality monitoring station following the successful installation of a meteorological station on Roosevelt Elementary.
The new station, the first to be installed in the province since 2006, is 10 metres tall and has instruments to measure wind speed and direction, temperature and relative humidity. The Prince Rupert Port Authority will use the information collected from the station to model atmospheric distribution of emissions from ships, trains and vehicles and, along with the BC Ministry of Environment, use that data to determine the best place for a new air quality monitoring station. The Prince Rupert Port Authority had committed to creating a baseline air quality profile in order to map any changes that come with future development and taking steps to address it.
“Our partnership with MoE on this project is an example of our ongoing effort to improve the sustainability of Port operations. The establishment of an air quality monitoring station will help us maintain the high quality of life that residents in Prince Rupert currently enjoy and expect in the future,” said Jason Scherr, Manager of Environmental Sustainability with the Prince Rupert Port Authority.
Roosevelt was chosen for the station, installed last week after failed attempts to install it in February and March, because it was determined to be the best location due to its height, distance from Mount Hays an unobstructed perimeter. Unlike the station located on top of City Hall, data from the Roosevelt station will be transmitted to directly the Ministry of Environment through the Prince Rupert School District network.
The readings from the station can be found online at http://www.bcairquality.ca/readings/index.html