Air Monitoring
in HortScienceAbstract
Air quality monitoring is carried out in Canada and the United States by air pollution control agencies in order to:
provide information on the quality of the ambient air and determine long-term trends;
identify pollutants and their sources, and determine the effects of emission controls on air quality levels;
control episodes brought on by unique weather conditions by obtaining data on a real time basis and ordering emergency shutdowns of sources of pollution. Air pollution episodes during which hazardous air quality levels are reached may thus be prevented;
determine background levels to assist in determining the transport diffusion and fate of the pollutants emitted, and the chemical reactions which take place in the atmosphere;
research the effects of pollutants on health, property, and vegetation to enable the agencies to set meaningful air quality criteria and standards.
Contributor Notes
Air Quality and Meteorology Section, Air Resources Branch.
