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News Release

For immediate release
August 1, 2003

Smog Advisory Lifted

Effective immediately, the Ontario Ministry of the Environment has lifted its Smog Advisory for the following forecast regions:

Barrie-Huronia-Simcoe County London-Middlesex-Oxford
Brant-Haldimand-Norfolk Niagara
Elgin Parry Sound-Muskoka
Grey-Bruce Peterborough/Kawarthas
Haliburton Prince Edward County
Halton-Peel Quinte-Northumberland
Hamilton Toronto
Huron-Perth Waterloo-Wellington-Dufferin
Kingston-Brockville York-Durham

However, the Smog Advisory continues until further notice for the following regions:

Sarnia-Lambton Windsor-Essex-Chatham-Kent

With the exception of the extreme southwest part of Ontario where high smog levels persist, clouds and unsettled weather are resulting in cleaner air.

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 (www.airqualityontario.com/science/spareair.cfm) to help 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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Contacts:

John Steele
Communications Branch
(416) 314-6666