The Clean Air Sarnia and Area website is now live, giving the public transparent and timely public access to government and industry air monitoring data.

At a glance, visitors of cleanairsarniaandarea.com can view contaminant levels from seven air monitoring stations in the Sarnia area. Air quality information will be refreshed every hour and users will be able to clearly understand whether air quality is good, moderate or poor compared to provincial standards. The site also includes an educational component about air monitoring stations, technology and contaminants.

The website was the vision of the community advisory panel Clean Air Sarnia and Area (CASA). The group formed in 2015 to discuss ways to make air quality information available to the public, and improve the air monitoring network. The website has been under development since early 2017 and CASA partners have used public feedback to ensure the website is comprehensive, user-friendly and meets the needs of the community.

While the CASA website aims to improve the transparency of air monitoring data and serve as an educational tool, it is not intended to provide health or emergency information. The public should continue to refer to the Air Quality Ontario website for information on the Air Quality Health Index, and My Community Notification Network (MyCNN) for emergency notifications in the Sarnia area.

Residents interested in learning more about the website are welcome to attend an open house on Thursday, March 29 from 1-3 pm at the Sarnia-Lambton YMCA, 1015 Finch Drive, Sarnia.

For more information on CASA, including how to join, please contact info@cleanairsarniaandarea.com.

QUICK FACTS

• CASA is a partnership of industry, First Nations, government and community members dedicated to improving the air monitoring network in the Sarnia air shed.
• CASA members who contributed to the development of the site include Aamjiwnaang First Nation Environment Committee and community members, Lambton Public Health, City of Sarnia, Walpole Island First Nation, residents, Sarnia-Lambton Environmental Association, industrial representatives, Health Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada, and the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change.
• Pollutants monitored by the website include sulphur dioxide, total reduced sulphur, ozone, fine particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, benzene, 1,3-butadiene, and ethylene.
• In addition to the real-time data, the CASA website will provide the results of air samples taken at several of the stations on an every 6-day or 12-day schedule, which are analyzed for an even wider range of pollutants (including particulate, metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and more than 100 volatile organic compounds).
• The CASA website was developed by Rotek Environmental Inc.