Group to monitor makeup, safety of country air

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Published: August 1, 2002

Ah, the fresh air of rural areas.

Because it’s generally perceived to be clean and healthy – and marketed

as such – rural air quality is rarely tested, unless an obvious problem

develops.

A group made up of representatives of western environment organizations

think more should be done.

Terry Hanley, manager of Saskatchewan Environment’s ecological

monitoring section and a member of the group, said it’s time rural

residents know exactly what’s in their air, and whether odours and

Read Also

Man charged after assault at grain elevator

RCMP have charged a 51-year-old Weyburn man after an altercation at the Pioneer elevator at Corinne, Sask. July 22.

contaminants are affecting their health or are simply a nuisance.

The group will look at things like ammonia from fertilizer application,

hydrogen sulfide from the oil and gas industry, and particulate matter

from dust and forest fires.

“Currently we don’t do any kind of substantive monitoring,” Hanley

said. “Generally air quality testing has been urban.”

He said the group will be like a rural network, set up to look at

seasonal impacts, what the wind blows in and whether contaminants are

naturally occurring or caused by human activity.

A recent example highlights the need for more knowledge, he said.

Last month, Kipling area residents Dwayne and Mary Kovach complained

that fumes from a nearby hog barn sent them to the hospital.

The Kovachs live about two kilometres from a barn with 17,000 hogs and

have had to leave their home several times because of the smell.

Saskatchewan Environment has been monitoring the situation for about a

year, Hanley said, looking particularly at hydrogen sulfide levels.

“They’re certainly below occupational health standards but also well

above the detectability level,” he said.

“It’s probably decreasing the quality of their life.”

But he said the levels indicate there would be no direct health effects

on the couple.

The current occupational health standard for hydrogen sulfide is 10

parts per million.

“We’re getting right now averages of .05 on hourly averages at the

farm,” he said. “The detection level is .009.”

The highest levels are recorded between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m.

Hanley said officials have a good handle on the hydrogen sulfide, but

need analysis on what else is in the air and where it is coming from.

There is oil and gas activity in the area, as well as sloughs that can

emit odours from anaerobic decomposition.

The barn is owned by P.I.C., a Kentucky-based company. Hanley said the

company has been a good corporate citizen, going as far as to put the

Kovachs up in a motel at times.

Monitoring will continue as officials determine the complete range of

contaminants, their sources and what steps could be taken to improve

the Kovachs’ quality of life, he said.

About the author

Karen Briere

Karen Briere

Karen Briere grew up in Canora, Sask. where her family had a grain and cattle operation. She has a degree in journalism from the University of Regina and has spent more than 30 years covering agriculture from the Western Producer’s Regina bureau.

explore

Stories from our other publications