The Alberta Ambient Air Quality Objectives (AAAQO) are the provincial objectives for air quality. The Objectives are compared to actual air quality measurements to assess industrial compliance and report on the current Air Quality Health Index. The WBEA reports all detected exceedances of the AAAQO’s Energy & Environmental Response Line. The AAAQO’s relevant to the WBEA’s network can be found here.
Alberta Ambient Air Quality Guidelines (AAAQG) were developed by the province for airshed planning and management, and as a general performance indicator. The WBEA reports all detected exceedances of the AAAQG’s to Alberta Environment and Protected Areas’ Energy and Environmental Response Line. The AAAQG relevant to the WBEA’s network can be found here.
Fort McKay Response Triggers (FMKRT) were developed collaboratively between the community of Fort McKay, Alberta Environment and Protected Areas, the Alberta Energy Regulator, and Alberta Health. They were selected to reflect the needs of Fort McKay to have an immediate notification process in place to respond to air quality events. The trigger levels can be found here.
The status of air quality events is established according to pre-determined levels in AAAQO, AAAQG and FMKRT. The definitions of reported statuses can be found here.
Parameter | 1-Hour Average | 8-Hour Average | 24-Hour Average | 30-Day Average | Annual Average |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sulphur Dioxide (SO2) |
172 ppb | - | 48 ppb | 11 ppb | 8 ppb |
Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) |
159 ppb | - | - | - | 8 ppb |
Ozone (O3) |
76 ppb | - | - | - | - |
Total Reduced Sulphurs (TRS) / Hydrogen Sulphide (H2S)* |
10 ppb | - | 3 ppb | - | - |
Particulate Matter 2.5 (PM2.5) |
- | - |
29 μg/m3 |
- | - |
Carbon Monoxide (CO) | 13 ppb | 5 ppb | - | - | - |
Ammonia (NH3) |
2 ppb | - | - | - | - |
Total Suspended Particulate (TSP) | - | - |
100 μg/m3 |
- | - |
*In the WBEA network TRS concentrations are reported using the H2S AAAQOs. |
Parameter | 1Hour Average | 30-Day Average |
---|---|---|
Particulate Matter 2.5 (PM2.5) |
80 μg/m3 |
Parameter | 1-hour Average | 30-Day Average |
---|---|---|
Dustfall | 53 mg 100cm -2 In residential and recreational areas | |
158 mg 100cm -2 In commercial and industrial areas |
Parameter H2S |
10 min Average | 15 min Average | 1-hour Average |
---|---|---|---|
Trigger 1 | - | >25 ppb** | >10 ppb |
Trigger 2 | >50 ppb* | - | - |
Trigger 3 | >150 ppb* | - | - |
Trigger 4 | >1000 ppb* | - | - |
Parameter SO2 |
10 min Average | 15 min Average | 1-hour Average |
---|---|---|---|
Trigger 1 | >75 ppb* | - | - |
Trigger 2 | >150 ppb* | - | >172 ppb |
Trigger 3 | >250 ppb* | - | - |
Trigger 4 | >750 ppb* | - | - |
* for two consecutive 5 min average intervals ** for three consecutive 5 min average intervals |