Thanks to its many parks, Bordeaux-Cartierville is sheltered from a lot of air pollutants. (Photo: Archives)
Where there's smog, there's fire
Air quality examined
In the peak of the summer, when the air is heaviest, it often seems as though that's when the quality of the air we breathe is at its worst. However, in a residential area such as Bordeaux-Cartierville, it's often in winter that the quality of the air we breathe is at its worst. More than cars and industries, Montreal officials are growing ever more concerned with the effects of wood burning on humans and the air we breathe.
"When smog comes, the entire metropolitan region is affected," said Montreal air-quality surveillance official Claude Gagnon. In some parts of Montreal, local factors -- like excessive traffic or industrial activity -- can compound the problem, while other local factors, such as parks, can actually relieve it.
The importance of green spaces
With many parks in the area, Bordeaux-Cartierville has plenty of natural filters that actually intercept a large number of pollutants in the air coming from the two highways and neighbouring industrial parks.
"Green spaces don't just filter particles in the air; they also help maintain a cooler temperature in neighbourhoods," Gagnon explained. "Heat causes ozone to form in the soil, a gas which irritates human lungs significantly," he said. Green spaces help slow down this process, he added.
Giving them the business
Given that there is no industrial park in Bordeaux-Cartierville, the one next door in St. Laurent, with the effect of the west winds, has some impact on the area. That said, the industrial park is held to some pretty strict standards – and produces relatively few emissions.
A centre for Montreal's textile industry, Chabanel Street has been a source of toxic emissions and fine particles in the past, but since the mid-'70s, its level of pollutants has been monitored and well-controlled.
"We imposed mandatory installation of equipment that removes toxins from waste air and we watch the levels constantly to make sure it's well maintained and kept in good condition," said Montreal environmental engineer Raynald Francoeur. For that reason, he added, neighbouring industrial parks pose no serious threat to Bordeaux-Cartierville air quality.
Playing with fire
There are some days in the winter, however, when Bordeaux-Cartierville's air quality is worse than it is in the heart of downtown, Gagnon said. The culprits? Wood stoves and fireplaces, particularly common in the neighbourhood according to an Agence de la santé et des services sociaux de Montréal document.
“The burning of wood generates fine particles that enter into the respiratory system," he said. "We will occasionally issue warnings in the middle of February to remind people to limit their wood-stove usage."
There currently are no provincial laws regulating what type of wood stoves are allowed in homes, but the City of Montreal could well follow British Columbia's example by legislating which types of wood stoves are emissions-controlled and certified and only allowing those.
Measuring up
Eleven stations monitoring the air quality in Montreal are spread across the island, but none of them are located in Bordeaux-Cartierville.
"For that reason, we always check the best example of (Bordeaux-Cartierville)'s representative stations," Gagnon said.
To check how it will be affected by traffic emissions, officials look at the station situated at the Decarie interchange. To check how the level of wood-burning pollutants will affect the area, officials check the Rivière-des-Prairies station, a residential sector with a large wood-burning population.
To see air-quality monitoring results, visit the information website at
www.rsqa.qc.ca.
Météo: Montréal, 4 juillet 2008 / 24°C
/ Quelques nuages
/ Vents: 19 Km/h / Humidité relative: 41 % 
Steven Guilbeault - 
