Dear Editor,
It is troubling that a visit to Jasper can pose a threat to one’s family’s health or even their lives because of air pollution. The national parks were supposed to remain “unimpaired” for future generations yet air quality has been deteriorating since the ‘70s. It is troubling that residents, motel owners and Parks Canada have shown so little regard for the impact of wood smoke on visitors’ and their own health. One would expect national parks to be the first to clean up their act, however, we have to look to Golden, noting the ban on any further installation of wood burning appliances, the city of Montreal and the town of Hampstead for measures to eliminate residential wood burning by 2020.
Googling “wood smoke pollution” will give an outline of the dangerous nature of residential wood smoke.
The most dangerous pollution situation that most families will ever find themselves in is in the campgrounds of the national parks, with pollution levels monitored at over 10 times Canada’s 30 microgram standard. Campgrounds are definitely no place for children because of their fragile lungs or anyone in the first trimester of pregnancy, as wood smoke is loaded with chemicals that can cause birth defects.
Again it is just a case of Googling “campground wood smoke pollution”—the U.S. Forestry Service site being particularly informative. It is particularly troubling that the suggestion by Environment Canada’s researcher that campers be at least warned of the health implications of breathing campground smoke, has been ignored. With propane campfires available from all R.V. dealers for $125 there is no reason for there to be wood burning in the R.V. sites—as in a number of U.S. campgrounds.
Times are changing and hopefully these changes will result in a greater regard for air quality in the national parks.
Alan Smith
Alberta Director, Canadian Clean Air Alliance
