Saturday, October 5, 2019 ~ BC
~ West Shore Voice News
British Columbians may now sign up for public health notifications about potential or existing poor air quality in their communities by email (text option expected to be available in 2020).
Enter one or more regions where you live and/or work, or where family members reside if not with you.
Provide your email address on the BC government’s air quality website to receive air quality advisories and smoky skies bulletins which alert the public about existing or potential poor air quality, while providing appropriate health advice and protective actions that can be taken.
“All British Columbians need and deserve clean air, and we also deserve to know right away when there are pollutants in the air that may affect our health or well-being,” said George Heyman, Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy in a release September 25.
Heyman especially urges people with pre-existing health conditions or who are more vulnerable (such as the elderly or people with chronic health conditions like asthma), to sign up for these notifications so they can stay healthy and take preventative measures if needed.”
There are currently 76 community-specific sites that provide hourly data to a central database where they are processed, stored and posted near real-time on the BC air quality website.
- Air quality advisories are issued for individual communities and usually result from local activities occurring within or near that community such as vehicle emissions, industrial emissions, residential wood burning and road dust. Advisories are sent when measurements of an air pollutant in a community exceeds its short-term provincial air quality objective.
“Poor air quality poses health risks to people with chronic conditions like asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and it can particularly affect the elderly, pregnant women, infants and small children,” said BC Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry. “The new auto-alert function will allow easy access to the level of risk in your area, so you can take steps to protect your health and the health of your family.”
- Smoky skies bulletins are specific to wildfire smoke, which can occur over large distances and change quickly. Bulletins are issued when areas of the province are being impacted or have reasonable potential to be impacted by wildfire smoke within 24 to 48 hours.
“Air quality can change very quickly during wildfire season in BC,” says Sarah Henderson, senior environmental health scientist, BC Centre for Disease Control. “Wildfire smoke can affect anyone who breathes it, especially people with asthma or other respiratory conditions. Knowing when a smoky skies bulletin has been issued for your area can give you and your family more time to get ready.”
======= OTHER HEALTH SERVICES ARTICLES:
Province-wide: More privacy protection required at medical clinics in BC [October 4, 2019 | As first published on page 2 in the September 27-29, 2019 weekend issue of West Shore Voice News]
SOOKE: Funding for additional medical personnel salaries at the existing West Shore Family Medical Centre, May 2019 [May 5, 2019 West Shore Voice News]
SOOKE: New medical offices opening in November 2019 with three family doctors and specialists available by appointment [see page 6 in the August 16, 2019 print/PDF weekend edition of West Shore Voice News]
LANGFORD: A new BC-funded primary urgent care clinic opened in central Langford on Goldstream Avenue in November 2018 [October 27, 2019 in West Shore Voice News]
========= NOTES:
This article was first published on page 2 in the September 27 to 29, 2019 Print-PDF edition of West Shore Voice News. | Subscribers get their PDF’s first – Premium & Link Subscriptions available.
======== WEATHER:
Weather Network direct links for Langford, Colwood, Sooke, Metchosin, Victoria