Item - 2012.HL11.2
Tracking Status
- City Council adopted this item on April 10, 2012 without amendments.
- This item was considered by Board of Health on February 27, 2012 and was adopted with amendments. It will be considered by City Council on April 10, 2012.
HL11.2 - Cumulative Health Impact Assessment of Air Quality in Wards 30 and 32
- Decision Type:
- ACTION
- Status:
- Adopted
- Wards:
- 5 - Etobicoke-Lakeshore, 6 - Etobicoke-Lakeshore, 30 - Toronto-Danforth, 32 - Beaches-East York
City Council Decision
City Council on April 10 and 11, 2012, adopted the following:
1. City Council forward the report (February 10, 2012) from the Medical Officer of Health and the Golder Report to the Minister of the Environment for information purposes and request that additional resources be applied to verification and regulatory enforcement in connection with air quality certificates of approval.
2. City Council direct the Director of the Toronto Environment Office to engage the Ministry of the Environment's Toronto and District Office to measure, assess, verify and address the findings of the Toronto Environment Office as to the four compounds identified in the Golder Report that potentially exceed the Ministry’s Ambient Air Quality Criteria, as well as the additional substances that the Medical Officer of Health has estimated could be found at levels of concern to health, and request additional air monitors at industrial locations that may exceed Ambient Air Quality Criteria or other appropriate health benchmarks, at no cost to the City.
3. City Council direct the Director of the Toronto Environment Office, in collaboration with the Medical Officer of Health, to conduct a Local Air Quality study of Wards 5 and 6 using resources housed within the Toronto Environment Office, and report on the findings to the Board of Health and Parks and Environment Committee following completion of the study.
4. City Council request the Ontario Minister of the Environment to consider background levels of pollutants when approvals for new or modified facilities are granted under the Environmental Protection Act.
5. City Council forward the report (February 10, 2012) from the Medical Officer of Health to the Ontario Minister of Transportation and the Federal Minister of the Environment for their information and request that they strengthen measures to reduce the impacts of transportation emissions on air quality.
Background Information (Board)
https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2012/hl/bgrd/backgroundfile-45164.pdf
(January 12, 2012) Attachment 1- Report and Appendices A to C from the Deputy City Manager, Cluster B, on Local Air Quality /Study of Ward 30 and Ward 32, addressed to the Parks and Environment Committee
https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2012/hl/bgrd/backgroundfile-45165.pdf
Background Information (City Council)
https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2012/cc/bgrd/backgroundfile-46331.pdf
Communications (Board)
(February 27, 2012) Submission from Karen Buck, President, Citizens for a Safe Environment (HL.New.HL11.2.2)
Motions (City Council)
Vote (Adopt Item) Apr-11-2012 10:33 AM
| Result: Carried | Majority Required - HL11.2 - Adopt the item |
|---|---|
| Total members that voted Yes: 38 | Members that voted Yes are Paul Ainslie, Maria Augimeri, Ana Bailão, Shelley Carroll, Raymond Cho, Gary Crawford, Janet Davis, Glenn De Baeremaeker, Mike Del Grande, Frank Di Giorgio, Sarah Doucette, John Filion, Paula Fletcher, Doug Ford, Rob Ford, Mary Fragedakis, Mark Grimes, Doug Holyday, Norman Kelly, Mike Layton, Chin Lee, Gloria Lindsay Luby, Giorgio Mammoliti, Josh Matlow, Pam McConnell, Mary-Margaret McMahon, Joe Mihevc, Peter Milczyn, Denzil Minnan-Wong, Frances Nunziata (Chair), John Parker, James Pasternak, Gord Perks, Anthony Perruzza, Jaye Robinson, David Shiner, Adam Vaughan, Kristyn Wong-Tam |
| Total members that voted No: 0 | Members that voted No are |
| Total members that were Absent: 7 | Members that were absent are Michelle Berardinetti, Josh Colle, Vincent Crisanti, Ron Moeser, Cesar Palacio, Karen Stintz, Michael Thompson |
HL11.2 - Cumulative Health Impact Assessment of Air Quality in Wards 30 and 32
- Decision Type:
- ACTION
- Status:
- Amended
- Wards:
- 5 - Etobicoke-Lakeshore, 6 - Etobicoke-Lakeshore, 30 - Toronto-Danforth, 32 - Beaches-East York
Board Recommendations
The Board of Health recommends that:
1. City Council forward the report (February 10, 2012) from the Medical Officer of Health and the Golder Report to the Minister of the Environment for information purposes and request that additional resources be applied to verification and regulatory enforcement in connection with air quality certificates of approval.
2. City Council direct the Director of the Toronto Environment Office to engage the Ministry of the Environment's Toronto and District Office to measure, assess, verify and address the findings of the Toronto Environment Office as to the four compounds identified in the Golder Report that potentially exceed the Ministry’s Ambient Air Quality Criteria, as well as the additional substances that the Medical Officer of Health has estimated could be found at levels of concern to health, and request additional air monitors at industrial locations that may exceed Ambient Air Quality Criteria or other appropriate health benchmarks, at no cost to the City.
3. City Council direct the Director of the Toronto Environment Office, in collaboration with the Medical Officer of Health, to conduct a Local Air Quality study of Wards 5 and 6 using resources housed within the Toronto Environment Office, and report on the findings to the Board of Health and Parks and Environment Committee following completion of the study.
4. City Council request the Ontario Minister of the Environment to consider background levels of pollutants when approvals for new or modified facilities are granted under the Environmental Protection Act.
5. City Council forward the report (February 10, 2012) from the Medical Officer of Health to the Ontario Minister of Transportation and the Federal Minister of the Environment for their information and request that they strengthen measures to reduce the impacts of transportation emissions on air quality.
Decision Advice and Other Information
The Board of Health:
1. Forwarded the report (February 10, 2012) from the Medical Officer of Health on the Cumulative Health Impact Assessment of Air Quality in Wards 30 and 32 to the Parks and Environment Committee for their consideration and action.
2. Requested the Medical Officer of Health to report back to the Board of Health as to the process on prioritizing which wards will be selected for the Health Impact Assessment of Air Quality.
Origin
Summary
In 2005 the Toronto Board of Health requested that the City of Toronto examine the air quality impact of emissions from all sources of air pollution that affect South Riverdale and The Beaches. The Toronto Environment Office retained Golder Associates to prepare a comprehensive analysis of air quality in Wards 30 and 32, known as the "Golder Report".
The Golder Report identified that the overall air quality issues in Wards 30 and 32 are principally caused by numerous small sources (such as vehicles, smaller industrial sources, commercial sources and residential furnaces), but there are still some localized poor air quality 'hot spots' that are caused by large industrial sources. In addition, air quality is impacted from pollution sources in the United Sates and Ontario (outside of
Toronto).
Toronto Public Health (TPH) used the estimates from the modelling to conduct a health assessment of the findings to respond to the community's interest in understanding cumulative impacts from multiple pollutants.
The health assessment found that most of the 30 air contaminants selected for this study, mainly the non-carcinogenic ones, occur below levels of concern to health in Wards 30 and 32 even when the combined exposure is taken into account. However, it is possible that some carcinogens are present at levels above the one in one million excess cancer risk benchmark. Other pollutants such as ozone, nitrogen dioxides, and particulate matter are also found at levels that are known to have an adverse impact on health. These pollutants are produced during combustion of fuels, for example, in vehicles and in furnaces for space heating. For many substances of concern, such as benzene, 1,3-butadiene, and nitrogen dioxides, the transportation sector is an import source of locally generated emissions. Therefore, in addition to addressing emissions from industrial and commercial facilities, it is important to continue efforts to reduce air pollution from both on and off-road transportation sources.
As requested by the Parks and Environment Committee, this report forwards the report "Local Air Quality Study of Ward 30 and Ward 32" by the Deputy City Manager, Cluster B, and makes recommendations that build upon those of the original report.
Background Information
https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2012/hl/bgrd/backgroundfile-45164.pdf
(January 12, 2012) Attachment 1- Report and Appendices A to C from the Deputy City Manager, Cluster B, on Local Air Quality /Study of Ward 30 and Ward 32, addressed to the Parks and Environment Committee
https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2012/hl/bgrd/backgroundfile-45165.pdf
Communications
(February 27, 2012) Submission from Karen Buck, President, Citizens for a Safe Environment (HL.New.HL11.2.2)
Speakers
Karen Buck, President, Citizens for a Safe Environment (Submission Filed)
Motions
That the Medical Officer of Health be requested to report back to the Board of Health as to the process on prioritizing which wards will be selected for the Health Impact Assesment of Air Quality.