The East Kootenay now has an air monitoring station. The station, in Cranbrook near the former Muriel Baxter School, went live on Friday morning, August 24, 2018.
The new station monitors ozone, nitrogen oxide, nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter, as well as wind speed and direction. This data will be used to calculate the Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) for the community.
The station has been made possible through a land-use partnership between the school district (which owns the property) and the provincial government. It is located at the old Muriel Baxter school location, just south of the dog park, and at the corner of 20th Avenue South and 3rd Street South.
Columbia River Revelstoke MLA Doug Clovehok is very pleased to see the station go live, although he says he would have preferred it was in Kimberley.
“We started advocating for this last year,” Clovechok said. “We found out there were two systems in the West Kootenays and one of them was portable. So I wrote to the Ministry and asked if we could have one. It took a while but I’d like to think our efforts helped.”
Prior to today, the closest monitoring station was in Castelgar.
The station is now permanent and produces real time results.
Clovechok says the previous system in Cranbrook took tests but then they had to be sent to a lab for analysis.
The current reading for the area is 10, which is considered high and a health risk.
The at risk population, very young, very old and those with chronic conditions should reduce or reschedule strenuous activities outdoors. Children and the elderly should also take it easy.
The general population should also avoid strenuous activities outdoors, especially if you experience symptoms such as coughing and throat irritation.
You can check the new air quality readings here.