Click image for larger view.
Click image for larger view.
This past January-February, a mobile monitoring study of fine particulates was conducted in the Comox Valley for two weeks. Two routes were covered on alternating nights.
At the Elected Officials forum on April 4th PRELIMINARY results of this monitoring were presented. It is easy to see that most of the worst readings were in older residential areas.
The collected data was divided into quarters. The RED dots represent the quarter with the highest readings for fine particulates. Most of these dots correspond to older residential areas of our communities.
When asked if the red dots might be the result of slash burning, the presenter, Dr. Sarah Henderson from the BC Centre for Disease Control, clearly said that slash burning would not cause this kind of patchy distribution of fine particulates; she stated it is from residential wood heating.
Another presentation at the forum noted that over 35% of the annual fine particulate emissions in the Comox Valley are estimated to come from wood stoves and fireplaces.
These emissions happen right where we live and breathe. The municipal governments have a lot of power to control the installation and operation of wood stoves.
We need our representatives to stop challenging the science and to start taking meaningful steps to reducing wood smoke in the Comox Valley.