Quebec doctors call for national clean air strategy

The Association of Quebec Doctors of the Environment (AQME) publishes a “Reference Framework for Healthy Air” and calls for a review of public air quality management.

The initiative is supported by 14 medical associations, professional orders, unions and other organizations, including the Quebec College of Physicians.

The twenty-page document released by AQME emphasizes that while Quebec has made great strides in improving air quality over the past two decades, air pollution remains a significant problem.

Based on Health Canada data, AQME says air pollution in Quebec is linked to 4,000 premature deaths per year, with annual health costs estimated at $30 billion.

“What is emerging more and more in general research is that we have underestimated air pollution,” said AQME President Dr. Claudel Petrin-Desrosiers, before listing a number of diseases caused by air pollutants.

“Predisposition to childhood asthma, neurodevelopmental disorders, early-onset dementia in adulthood, increased mortality from all causes, cardiovascular disease, skin aging, diabetes … the list is really long,” explained the doctor and the document. joint author.

Update toxicity thresholds

AQME is asking the Quebec government to update the toxicity limits for some air pollutants.

“The World Health Organization revised its air quality standards in 2021” and “the toxicity thresholds for several pollutants are lower than we thought” and therefore more dangerous, the president explained to the Canadian Press from AQME.

It is emitted as dust and gases from vehicles, agriculture, forest fires or burning of wood, fuel oil or coal, etc.

According to AQME, fine particles with a diameter of 2.5 micrometers are particularly harmful to humans because their small size allows them to be absorbed into the respiratory tract, circulate and accumulate in the blood system. in the organs of the human body.

“The World Health Organization estimates that the average daily allowance should be 15 micrograms per cubic meter (μg/m3). But in Quebec, we are still at the level of 30 µg/m3 allowed as a daily average,” lamented Dr. Petrin-Desrosiers.

As knowledge about the health effects of air pollution evolves, according to a framework developed by the Quebec Association of Environmental Doctors, “air pollution control must be continuously modulated based on new data that becomes available over time.”

Exceeding standards and registration

Some companies are allowed to emit pollutants that exceed the permitted limits, such as the Horne Foundry in Rouyn-Noranda, which produces arsenic, lead and nickel. However, AQME is concerned that several manufacturers with permits that allow emissions of air pollutants beyond the established standards are “located in areas where air quality remains poor for 20-30% of the day.”

That's why it's important to better inform the public “in real time about the exact level of each pollutant” compared to levels considered harmful, according to doctors.

One of the problems, AQME points out, is that access to information about these companies and the improvement plans they are subject to “remains difficult to access due to the need to request access to information.”

The problem of people's access to information could be solved by creating a state register of environmental information, which is provided for by legislation, but has been out of date for years.

Section 118.5 of the Environmental Quality Act stipulates that the Minister of Environment shall maintain a public register containing extensive information on industrial projects and activities.

“This registry will provide the public with automatic and continuous access to information on the anticipated environmental impact of development projects that are expected or have received ministerial approval,” the AQME document states.

The Quebec Association of Doctors for the Environment hopes the Air Reference Framework released Tuesday will contribute to the development and implementation of a “National Strategy for Healthy Air.”

According to the doctors, this should include “new air quality standards, an overhaul of the air quality index, and a robust and systematic air quality management program.”