When examining urban and rural air pollution, there are some key factors to consider. Particle size is one of them. Smaller particles are more harmful to your body because they are harder to eliminate. In urban areas, you are more likely to encounter fine particles, while rural areas typically have fewer of these particles, making them less of a risk to health.
Another significant factor is concentration. Cities often have a high concentration of fine particles such as PM2.5 and PM1 that are harmful to human health. In contrast, along with some PM2.5 and PM1 particles, rural areas may have a higher concentration of larger, naturally present particles. While these larger particles can be a nuisance, they are generally not as toxic and are less harmful to your health.
What are the growing concerns involving air quality in Canada?
The main issue is that combustion releases fine particles into the air. PM2.5 and PM1 can remain suspended for long periods and can spread over vast areas. As a result, even if you believe you’re in a clean environment, the prevailing winds can carry these particles from industrial areas to rural locations. For instance, if winds are blowing from an industrial city like Hamilton, Ontario, toward a rural farmhouse, you’ll end up with a concentration of fine particles that originated from a considerable distance.
These particles can be inhaled and absorbed into your body, and once they have entered the body, it isn’t easy to eliminate them. So, is there a safe place in the world where you can completely escape fine particles? Unfortunately, no. However, some areas have significantly lower concentrations of these particles, such as the rural Arctic, where there is little combustion or industrial activity.
Urban and suburban areas face many air pollution challenges, what clean air challenges do rural areas face?
Many people view issues like allergies and hay fever as challenges. You are more likely to encounter these challenges in rural areas. With proper filtration systems, it’s generally easier to remove larger particles from the air compared to fine particles.
In urban environments, however, the situation is more of a threat to health, which means that your body struggles to eliminate certain pollutants that contain much smaller particles.
Many people perceive issues like allergies and hay fever as unavoidable. The key thing to consider is reducing the concentration levels of pollutants, rather than aiming to eliminate them entirely.
In rural areas, the primary concern often revolves around nuisance particles that can be easily managed. However, if you are particularly concerned about fine particles—perhaps because you live downstream from prevailing winds that carry pollution from an industrial area—you may need to invest in a better HVAC system to improve filtration.
If you suffer from allergies to substances like dust and pollen, upgrading to a high-efficiency filtration system is advisable. On the other hand, if you notice dust accumulating on surfaces like tables and windows, it’s likely that these are larger, more easily manageable particles that will generally settle before reaching a filter.
Does background radiation pose a threat to air quality?
The concentration of radiation in a specific area can vary significantly. For example, if there are strong prevailing winds, they can disperse radiation so that you may experience almost no pollution while it accumulates in neighbouring areas.
Background radiation levels are low in Canada. Its sources are cosmic radiation and terrestrial radiation: thorium, radium, potassium-40, uranium, and finally, radon, which comes from uranium in the soil. Radiation also comes from human activities such as nuclear weapon testing and, on a much smaller scale, nuclear energy generation.
Radiation exposure is cumulative over one’s lifetime; for comparison, one chest CT scan results in exposure to 7mSv (10 millisieverts). Some people living in Fukushima prefecture, outside of the exclusion zone, are expected to be exposed to around 10 mSv from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Disaster over their entire lifetimes.
Some other areas with high natural background radiation include Orveleto, Italy; Yangjiang, China; Kerala, India; Guarapari, Brazil; and Ramsar, Iran. High levels of radioactive elements in the soil are the cause of the high radiation levels in these places. There is no definitive evidence that the radiation levels in such places have had any significant negative health impacts.
Sources of air pollution in Canada and their health impacts
● Carbon Monoxide (CO) can lead to health problems such as heart disease, lung disease, and brain damage.
● Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) contribute to smog and can cause asthma, chronic bronchitis, and lung cancer.
● Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs): VOCs react with NOx to form ground-level ozone, leading to smog. The long-term effects include an increased risk of cancer and other organ damage, as well as neurological issues.
● Particulate Matter (PM): PM2.5 and PM1 can be inhaled deep into the lungs and can cause serious cardiovascular issues, premature mortality, and cancer.
● Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) can cause respiratory problems and lung cancer.
Although emissions have decreased due to stricter regulations and technological advancements to reduce emissions, vehicles continue to be a significant source of urban air pollution because they release unnatural elements that the human body cannot effectively filter out.
Impacts of poor air quality on dementia and other neurological issues
Research has demonstrated long-term exposure to fine particles can lead to the development of neurological diseases, including Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis.
A study by the National Institutes of Health found that higher levels of PM2.5 were associated with a higher number of dementia cases over time. The strongest link was seen with PM2.5 from agriculture and wildfires.
In both rural and urban areas, poor air quality forces the body to expend energy in fighting these pollutants, which detracts from its ability to use that energy for other vital functions. Poor air quality can cause inflammation.
What are the problems with industrial activities and the air pollution they emit in urban areas?
The situation with vehicle emissions is similar to that of industrial emissions. The main difference is that industries emit pollutants at a higher concentration. Vehicle emissions are less concentrated; however, since people often spend a lot of time in their cars in traffic, the amount of pollutants that they breathe in in urban and suburban areas can be quite high. In contrast, while industries emit pollutants at higher concentrations, they are typically a single source of emissions. This means that as the pollutants disperse into the atmosphere, they cover a wider area and are usually less concentrated than the emissions you might experience while stuck in traffic.
Power plant emissions
Fossil-fuel-based power plants emit pollutants such as NOx, SO2, mercury, PM, and CO. Exposure to these pollutants can cause neurological issues, respiratory problems, and cardiovascular disease.
Power plants are usually located in population-dense, urban environments, but pollutants can travel to rural areas, too.
What’s the difference between a regular coal plant and a clean coal plant?
Compared to conventional coal plants, clean coal technology reduces some of the hazardous pollutants. Their use of scrubbers in the (flue-gas) stacks effectively removes some gases and particles. However, the concentration levels of emissions are still much more significant than those from nuclear and hydropower. Carbon capture technology continues to advance, but coal plants continue to contribute a lot of carbon and other pollutants. Canada plans to cease all coal-based power plants by 2030.
Construction and demolition
In construction, one of the main byproducts is cement dust. It is certainly not very healthy to breathe in such dust. The impact of the dust largely depends on concentration levels. For example, in a rural setting, like a farm, if someone is demolishing a building next door, the dust disperses into the air. By the time it reaches your property, the concentration levels are quite low.
However, in an urban environment, the situation is different. Buildings can block airflow, leading to a buildup of dust in the area. In the countryside, winds can easily carry the dust away, but in the city, if multiple buildings obstruct the wind, the dust is more likely to remain concentrated in that area.
If there are any intake vents in nearby buildings, this dust can clog the filters. Additionally, without proper filtration, fine particulate matter from the construction can infiltrate indoor spaces and affect the health of the occupants.
Health Risks: Urban vs. Rural Living
Urban life:
Air Pollution: Higher levels of pollution in urban and suburban areas increase the risk of lung cancer and other cancers.
Urban jobs such as construction or demolition work may involve exposure to a high level of carcinogens.
Poor diet, sedentary habits, and stress are more common in urban life and can contribute to higher cancer risks.
Rural life:
Farming (e.g. exposure to pesticides) and mining (e.g. exposure to particulates) may involve cancer-causing substances. Exposure to pesticides and industrial chemicals is a concern.
According to Health Canada, limited access to healthy foods, a sedentary lifestyle, and limited healthcare in remote Canadian rural areas can increase cancer risks.
Agricultural activities and rural air pollution
Agricultural activities, including livestock farming, fertilizer use, and pesticide use, lead to rural air pollution. Contaminants released into the air by farming activities can lead to poor health. Using effective air filtration and sustainable agricultural practices can help reduce these effects.
How does wildfire smoke affect rural air quality?
Wildfire smoke can cause a variety of health problems, including respiratory and cardiovascular problems. To protect yourself from wildfire smoke, you should stay indoors with the windows and doors closed when there are air quality alerts from Environment Canada. You should use a high-quality air filter to clean the air in your home or office.
In rural areas, the open space allows air to circulate, so while you may still encounter high concentrations of wildfire particulates, it tends to disperse more quickly. In contrast, urban environments often contain areas where pollutants can accumulate, leading to higher concentrations in those zones. However, rural areas may be exposed to more harmful particulates due to their proximity to wildfire smoke.
Regardless of whether you live in an urban or rural area, being near a wildfire or breathing in these pollutants will have the same harmful effects on your health.
Read more about wildfire smoke and how to protect your health: Wildfire Smoke and Your Health
How does population density affect air quality?
In densely populated urban areas, the concentration of people and industrial activities leads to higher levels of air pollution. Increased vehicle emissions, industrial processes, and the urban heat island effect all contribute to trapping pollutants, which results in poor air quality. Poor air quality can lead to or worsen already existing respiratory and cardiovascular health issues, particularly among vulnerable members of society.
Meteorological conditions and air quality
During storms which feature lightning, ozone is created. The energy from lightning can split oxygen molecules and create ozone. Such ozone is high in the atmosphere and actually has a positive effect in that it benefits the ozone layer to protect humans from harmful UV rays and doesn’t affect human health negatively, like ground-based ozone.
Wind can have a positive effect, dispersing harmful particles away from people. It can also have a negative effect by pushing air towards homes and offices or concentrating it in a fixed area in urban centres. Valleys can trap pollutants in rural and urban environments.
Canada is warming much faster than many other countries in the world, and with an increase in temperature comes more dryness, increased wildfire activity, and higher levels of dangerous particulates.
Warmer weather leads to more use of air conditioning, which increases energy consumption and carbon emissions.
Solutions for reducing air pollution
Reducing and capturing carbon emissions is a good way to reduce the effects of climate change and improve air quality.
In terms of vehicle emissions, we can limit the number of internal combustion engine-based cars on the road. Electric and hybrid electric vehicles can greatly reduce many pollutants found in Canadian cities.
It is important to use a minimum MERV 13-A air filter in your HVAC system to reduce the amount of pollutants in your home or office. To eliminate odours or VOCs, use a high-quality molecular air filter. It’s also essential to manage the airflow in rooms. This will help circulate the air in the room and pressurize the environment, ensuring that contaminants are pushed out rather than being drawn in.
To find out more about how to improve your air quality in your commercial space, or get a complimentary IAQ and air filtration site survey, please use this contact form.
About Camfil Canada Clean Air Solutions
For more than 60 years, Camfil has been helping people breathe cleaner air. As a leading manufacturer of premium clean air solutions, we provide commercial and industrial systems for air filtration and air pollution control that improve worker and equipment productivity, minimize energy use, and benefit human health and the environment. Read more about Camfil Canada
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*With information provided by air filtration expert Berni Baier
Media Contact:
Phillip Ilijevski
Camfil Canada Inc.
T: 437-929-1161
Sources:
With information from Air Quality Expert Berni Baier
Health Canada
www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research
Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission
International Atomic Energy Agency
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
www.nifa.usda.gov