Missed our February 17 webinar on the Canadian Ambient Air Quality Standards (CAAQS)? Watch the recording below.
Hosted by West Central Airshed Society and Alberta Capital Airshed
Canadian Ambient Air Quality Standards and the Management of Ambient Air Quality in Alberta’s Capital Region
Presenter: Maxwell Mazur, Alberta Environment and Parks
The Canadian Ambient Air Quality Standards (CAAQS) are a component of Canada’s Air Quality Management System which aims to improve ambient air quality across the country. Improvements in ambient air quality are beneficial to human and ecosystem health. The ambient air quality in Alberta’s Capital Region requires management planning under the Air Quality Management System. This presentation will provide a brief overview of how CAAQS are used to inform cumulative effects management planning and an overview of some of the key management actions being implemented.
Short history of CAAQS and what it means to us
Presenter: Dr. Kevin McCullum, WCAS/ACA
We will look at the development of CAAQS and how it has evolved from CWS from the CCME development of the AQMS. We will discuss the heavy use of acronyms! We will touch on the history of the CAAQS in the province and what it means to our region. The most recent data we have to present is the 2018-2020 (three year profile as per CAAQS) and will look at how we are doing compared to the historical air zone reports 2014-2016, 2015-2017, 2016-2018, 2017-2019.
Presenters
Maxwell Mazur is Red Deer North Saskatchewan region’s Senior Air Quality Specialist with Alberta Environment and Parks’ Resource Management Section of Resource Stewardship Division’s Airshed and Watershed Stewardship Branch. He has studied at the University of Alberta, where he received his B.Sc., and the University of Toronto, where he received his M.Sc. In the past he has worked for Environment Canada in Edmonton, where he completed research on atmospheric mercury near coal-fired power plants. He has been in his current role with Alberta Environment and Parks for 7 years and has spent much of that time working towards understanding the formation of fine particulate matter in the Capital Region as well as assisting the development of management actions for the management of air quality.
Dr. Kevin McCullum is a senior environmental engineer and the Data Manager for WCAS and ACA. Kevin holds a Ph.D. and M.Sc. in Environmental Engineering from the University of Alberta, with specialties in Ambient Air Quality and River Water Quality. Kevin was part of the Environmental Protection and Planning Committee (EPPC) of the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) during the inception of the Air Quality Management System (AQMS) which included the updates to the Canadian Ambient Air Quality Standards (CAAQS). He has work much of his career in the air monitoring field working with air zones throughout western Canada, focusing on air quality data analysis and interpretation, monitoring instrumentation, as well as dispersion and transport modeling. Kevin also works closely with universities working collaboratively with University of Alberta, University of Regina, and First Nations University and has a passion to deliver partnerships and monitoring research capabilities.
For more information
Julie Kusiek, Communications and Outreach Coordinator
Jkusiek@wcas.ca