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News Release

For immediate release
June 22, 2003

Notice of Smog Advisory

Today, the Ontario Ministry of the Environment issued a Smog Advisory effective immediately until further notice for the following forecast regions:

Elgin	Windsor-Essex-Chatham-Kent
Sault Ste Marie-Algoma

The Ontario Ministry of the Environment also issued a Smog Advisory for tomorrow, June 23, 2003, until further notice for the following forecast regions:

Barrie-Huronia-Simcoe County	North Bay-Nipissing
Brant-Haldimand-Norfolk	Parry Sound-Muskoka
Grey-Bruce	Peterborough/Kawarthas
Haliburton	Prince Edward County
Halton-Peel	Quinte-Northumberland
Hamilton	Sarnia-Lambton
Huron-Perth	Sudbury-Nickel Belt
London-Middlesex-Oxford	Toronto
Manitoulin	Waterloo-Wellington-Dufferin
Niagara	York-Durham

A Smog Advisory is issued when there is a high probability for elevated smog levels.

Hot, sunny conditions with light southerly winds blowing air pollution from the U.S. into the province is expected to result in high smog levels across parts of Ontario.

Smog is a hazy mix of pollutants made up of ground-level ozone, fine particulate matter and other pollutants. During the summer months, more-than half of Ontario’s smog-causing pollution originates in the United States. In cooler months, domestic sources can be significant contributors to the formation of fine particulate matter.

Ontario has one of Canada’s best air quality monitoring systems. The ministry issues Smog Advisory and Smog Watch notices in order to provide the people of Ontario with the information they need to protect themselves from the potential health effects of smog.

The Web site www.airqualityontario.com contains a list of “spare the air” actions to combat smog and minimize its effect on sensitive populations. If you want to learn more about air quality, visit the Ministry of the Environment’s Web site at www.ene.gov.on.ca.

 

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Contact:
John Steele
Communications Branch
Ministry of the Environment
(416) 314-6666