Data does not support doctors’ claim that Kamloops’ air quality is getting worse
A group of Kamloops doctors say Kamloops’ air quality can’t bear another polluter like the proposed Ajax copper and gold mine, but a fact sheet published to back their arguments appears to misrepresent some key data.
In a new pamphlet, Kamloops Physicians for a Healthy Environment points out the city has levels of PM2.5 — fine particulate matter that can cross from lungs to bloodstream when inhaled — above the provincial target of eight micrograms per cubic metre.
PM2.5 has been linked to heart disease and various forms of cancer. The World Health Organization designates it as a class-one carcinogen, the same class given to tobacco smoking.
However, Kamloops’ PM2.5 levels are below Canadian, U.S. and international thresholds.
According to a report from the B.C. Lung Association released last week, Kamloops levels were at 8.9 micrograms in 2013.
To read full report from Andrea Klassen, click link above
