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News Release

For immediate release
June 16, 2005

COOPERATION KEY TO FIGHTING CAUSES OF AIR POLLUTION
New Report Supports Government’s Action Plan; Urges Cross-Border Solutions To Cleaning Up The Air We Breathe

TORONTO — A new report, based on 30 years of air quality data, stresses the need for cooperation between Ontario and United States to clean up our air.

“There are no borders to the air we breathe and the cost of doing nothing about air pollution is too high, no matter where you live,” said Environment Minister Leona Dombrowsky. “This isn’t about laying blame — it’s about working together with our U.S. colleagues to find cross-border solutions to clean up our air.”

Transboundary Air Pollution in Ontario, a report prepared by the Ministry of the Environment, contains the most detailed analysis to date of the impact of U.S. air pollution. Key findings in the report include:

• Ontario incurs $9.6 billion in health and environmental damages each year due to air pollution — of this total, approximately 55 per cent ($5.2 billion) is attributable to transboundary air pollution from the U.S.
• The health costs from air pollution are about $6.6 billion per year. More than half of these costs — some $3.7 billion a year — are related to transboundary air pollution.
• Ontario’s agricultural sector loses an estimated $200 million per year from damage due to air pollution — such as vegetable crop damage associated with elevated levels of ozone.
• Air pollution causes $77 million worth of damage to our forests.

The report analyzed more than three decades of air quality monitoring data and weather patterns and used new computer modelling studies to determine how pollution travels in the atmosphere.

The report also shows that Ontario is responsible for some transboundary pollution. Emissions generated in Ontario have some impact on air quality in Quebec, Eastern Canada and the U.S., including New York, Vermont and New Hampshire.

The Ontario government is leading the way in cleaning up our air. This includes:

• Replacing coal-fired electricity plants with cleaner sources of generation. Lakeview, the greatest single source of air pollution in the Greater Toronto Area, was the first of Ontario’s five coal-fired generating stations to close.
• Setting a target of generating five per cent of our electricity from renewable sources by 2007.
• Applying tougher nitrogen oxides (NOx) and sulphur dioxide (SO2) emission limits for seven industrial sectors, including iron and steel, cement, petroleum refining, pulp and paper, glass, carbon black and non-ferrous smelting.
• Making the NOx and SO2 limits even stricter in future years.
• Setting tough new air standards, in some cases for the first time, for 40 harmful pollutants, including carcinogens and toxins that pose a threat to human health.
• Achieving a better picture of industrial emissions through updated technology.
• A faster, risk-based approach to implementing new air standards.

On June 20, 2005, Ontario is hosting the Shared Air Summit at the University of Toronto where policy makers from Ontario and the United States will meet to discuss transboundary air pollution as well as general air quality issues and their impact on human health, the environment and the economy.

The Ontario government is leading by example and hopes that its air summit will encourage cross-border actions and solutions to clearing the air Ontarians breathe.

“Our government is working hard to protect the health of Ontarians. We are closing our coal-fired generating plants and have set a target of generating five per cent of our electricity from renewable sources. In April we closed the Lakeview station and we are working to close more,” Dombrowsky said. “By working to clean our air, we’re building healthier communities for everyone, no matter where they live, now and for the future.”

For a copy of the report, visit: http://www.ene.gov.on.ca/envision/techdocs/5158e_index.htm. To visit the Shared Air Summit website, go to http://www.sharedair.ca/.

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Contacts:
Art Chamberlain Minister’s Office (416) 314-5139	John Steele Communications Branch (416) 314-6666

See Also:

• Media Backgrounder: Report on Transboundary Air Pollution in Ontario