Transcona Community Air Quality Monitoring Study

Manitoba Conservation has completed a monitoring program to assess the outdoor community air quality in the Transcona area of Winnipeg. This program took place over a 21-month period from July 2003 to March 2005.

This 2-phase program measured air quality for particulate matter, 47 major constituents in that particulate matter, and 197 volatile organic compounds (VOC).  Each week, up to 5 daily samples of particulate matter and VOC were collected. The first phase of the program measured the community air quality from the rooftops of 4 local schools.  The second phase of sampling measured air quality in the vicinity of a local industry (New Flyer Industries Inc.).

Over the 2 phases, 262 particulate matter samples and 297 VOC samples were collected generating over 70,800 pieces of data. Generally, air quality in the Transcona area was found to be good with air quality guidelines rarely being exceeded. Only 2 days were encountered when specific VOC compounds were above air quality guidelines. All other levels were very low, typically only a fraction of the air quality guidelines and similar to the air quality found in other areas of Winnipeg.

The technical report summarizing the monitoring program Transcona Community Air Quality Monitoring Study and its Appendices are available for downloading.