The air is a great gift.
Without it, we’ll die in a few minutes and that’s because it is essential for breathing.


But have you ever thought of the present condition of our air?
Are you aware of the smog which can trigger breathing problems?

With Caeroplan people are informed of the present condition of the air.

We publish articles from different sites concerning our air.

We post trivias, videos and games to enhance the enjoyment and fun in our site.

We share our original poems and reactions to this environmental concern. Lastly comments and tags are highly welcomed.

Caeroplan:
Derived from three words care, air and plan.

With Caeroplan, we come together as we resolved in a plan to care for the air and protect our ozone layer.

Click the words below to navigate around our page.

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Friday, January 4, 2008

Air pollution leads to Interior, northern deaths
(December 18, 2007)

Between 16 and 98 people a year die from fine particulate exposure in the B.C. Interior and North, according to a new study by doctors Catherine Elliott and Ray Copes.

Fine particulate – particles 2.5 microns and smaller, called PM 2.5 – enters the air primarily as a by-product of combustion – gasoline and diesel engines, wood burning, industrial processes and other sources. The study found Prince George had the highest PM 2.5 levels in the province.

“Most of the mortalities [from PM 2.5 exposure] happen in the Interior and North, even though most of the population is in the Lower Mainland,” Elliott said. “We know that people die from short-term air pollution events. With exposure over the long term, the risk is much greater than over the short term.”

New long-term studies in the U.S. have tracked PM 2.5 exposure and mortality rates over an 18-20 year period, she said. Those studies have given doctors a much better understanding of what the long-term effects of PM 2.5 exposure are.

The study looked at PM 2.5 levels across the province and factored together a number of studies to create an average annual mortality rate of 61 in the North and Interior. Elliott said they methodology they used is the same used by the B.C. health officer, several European countries and the World Health Organization (WHO).

Air quality in Terrace and the Vancouver Airport were used as benchmarks to compare mortality rates in the North and Interior.

If all communities in the North and Interior had PM 2.5 levels equal to Terrace, there would have been approximately 263 fewer deaths from 2001 to 2005. If all communities had the same air quality as the Vancouver Airport, there would have been 127 fewer deaths.

Even with the best data, the 16 to 98 per year range, “represents the degree of uncertainty,” in the projections, Elliott said.

“Someone doesn’t come in and doctors say, ‘This person died of air pollution,’” she said. “The mortality that is most attributed is cardiovascular – heart attacks. Fine particulate gets into the arteries and causes inflammation.”

PM 2.5 can be absorbed into the bloodstream through the lungs, she explained.

The study makes a number of recommendations, Elliott said, and reducing the levels of PM 2.5 is number one.

Students' Feedback:
if a the short term effects of air pollution to our bodies are deadly what more can the long term effects do?

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