Présentation : Louis-Marie Poissant, M. Sc.

Env.

Health and Environmentin Outaouais

CONTENS

• OUTAOUAIS EXTERIOR ENVIRONMENT AND AIR• OUTAOUAIS QUALITY OF INDOOR AIR • OUTAOUAIS WATER (POTABLE AND

RECREATIONAL) • SOILS IN OUTAOUAIS• SINISTER’S RISK IN OUTAOUAIS

OUTAOUAIS EXTERIOR ENVIRONMENT AND AIR

Vehicle and smog

Transport is the principal atmospheric pollution’s source in Outaouais. It’s the most important contribution to the smog.

OUTAOUAIS EXTERIOR ENVIRONMENT AND AIR

Wood firing and fine particle

During 9 hours, one non-certified wood-burning stove emits as much fine particles as a vehicle covering 18 000 km.

•Type of wood-burning stove

•Stove’s number by square kilometer

•Topography : the basin one restrains the air circulation

•Weather (low ceiling)

Climate change

By 50 years, there would be four times as much heat wave as now in Outaouais.

It’s important to have a better comprehension of the evaporation and the evapotranspiration of the plants because it cools down the air near the plants (vaporisation enthalpy, 2256 kJ/kg)

OUTAOUAIS EXTERIOR ENVIRONMENT AND AIR

Urban Sprawl and Public Health

Climate change

Importance for the rain water to join the ground water

OUTAOUAIS EXTERIOR ENVIRONMENT AND AIR

Aussi livre: Urban Sprawl and Public Health

Source: http://www.cwp.org/Resource_Library/Why_Watersheds/

The sun may be dangerous

• Ultraviolet A radiation (UVA) and ultraviolet B radiation (UVB) who give the suntan are carcinogenic

• A suntan is not an indication of an healthy skin…as for the beauty…

OUTAOUAIS EXTERIOR ENVIRONMENT AND AIR

Who’s responsible for the seasonal allergies ?

OUTAOUAIS EXTERIOR ENVIRONMENT AND AIR

Anemophilous plants:Poplar, willowGrassSmall ragweed (ragweed) Mugwort

Ragweed causes the worst allergy’s symptoms but it can easily been pick up

Pollen falls back at a range of one kilometer

www.tqhp.qc.ca

Accommodation's insalubritiesMould, a common problem

OUTAOUAIS QUALITY OF INDOOR AIR

Gatineau can serve as an example for its regulations on accommodation's salubrity. Others municipalities should be inspired by this regulations

Sadly, the poor have more chance to suffer from insalubrity. Reduce social inequalities can improve healthiness.

Bad isolation + radiant of temperature = condensation mould

OUTAOUAIS QUALITY OF INDOOR AIR

Carbon monoxide (CO) is produced by the INCOMPLETE combustion of:

Natural gasoil gasoline propane wood

Sources : Cars and motor vehiclesHeating, cooking and freezing equipments and appliancesTools working with gas

Beware of carbon monoxide!

OUTAOUAIS QUALITY OF INDOOR AIR

Heavy and radioactive gas, produce by the disintegration of uranium, radon gets into the houses by:

• Beaten-earth • Cracks in the paving or/and

the walls• Well pumps• Underflow space• Opening around the

exhaust hose• Drinking water

Underground radon and lung cancer

Building material, sometimes an indoor air pollutant

• The typical volatile organic compound (VOC) is the formaldehyde. – This gas is released by the carpet, plywood and

pressed wood materials ( characteristic smell of new materials). It’s also emitted during wood’s combustion.

– Powerful eye irritant • Asbestos

– If it’s enclosed in the building, there will be no human exposition to the aasbestos

OUTAOUAIS QUALITY OF INDOOR AIR

WATER IN OUTAOUAIS

In the last five years, 195 boiling report have been emitted in Outaouais

Major improvement:Drinking water treatment plant with filtration and chlorationorGround water as source of water

Drinking water

TRIHALOMETHANES (THMs) IN DRINKING WATER

• THMs are formed when halogens (Fluorine, Chlorine and Bromine) replace the hydrogen in a methane molecule (CH4)

– Ex: CH-Cl3,CHCl2Br

• By-products of the surface water’s chloration (organic compounds are the source of the methane).

• Excess of bladder cancer, low risk (RR<1,5), in the population exposed during many years (20 years or more).

• The measures organized to limit the formation of THMs in drinking water shouldn’t harm the water disinfection because it will be an unacceptable risk

• To drink ground water or filtrated water settle the problem

WATER IN OUTAOUAIS

WATER IN OUTAOUAIS

Beach closed and faecal coliforms

Protect your beach!Do not feed the birds !They’re an important source of water contamination.When it’s raining, birds excrements end up in the water. That explain why the beaches are closed after an heavy rain.

Beaches

WATER IN OUTAOUAISLakes

Thinking your lake is infected by parasites ?

• Reduce your time of swimming or contact with the

• Dry your skin immediately with a towel

• Do not let your skin dry in the sun.• Do not feed the birds, especially

the ducks !

Swimmer’s itch

WATER IN OUTAOUAISLakes

Phosphate comes from a lot of sources:

•Erosion (drainage ditch) • Soap with phosphate • Septic tank

Cyanobacterias (1 of 4)

Thinking about my watershed

Cantley

Val-des-Monts

Gatineau

Bassin La Blanche

L’Ange-Gardien

Bassin La Lièvre

Val-des-Monts

Drainage ditch and stream erosionbeavers?

House and grass

Ditch erosion (steeply slope)

We’re doing everything we can so that the water can flow rapidly to the lake:

Straight ditch with a regular and steeply slopeWaterproofing of the soil (gravel, asphalt)

Argyle is dragged along with the water (brown water, eluviation)

Stream erosion (water is slowed down by the trees)

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Sediments and argyle contain mineral P

Organic P is present in all living organism

P is present in the water, >30 µg/L for an eutrophic lake

WATER IN OUTAOUAISCYANOBACTERIA ARE A PRELUDE TO A CHANGE

Contaminated soils

• Very few industrials soils contaminated: only 8 registed in the « Répertoire sur les dépôts de sol et de résidus industriels »

• Even so there are 385 contaminated soils in Outaouais (habitually gas from an old gas station, etc).

WASTE AND SOILS IN OUTAOUAIS

Agriculture

• Hoed crop (corn, potato, canola seed, etc.) and landless production are the major issue of soil’s’ contamination and erosion

• That kind of production is unusual in Outaouais.

WASTE AND SOILS IN OUTAOUAIS

WASTE

• Amount of waste is directly related to the consommation market.

• It’s important to complete the product life cycle: reduce, reuse, recycle, upgrade and discard

• Difficulties to throw away the waste in a sustainable way.• Be careful ! Polluter pays principle only works when there is a

product life cycle (ex: tire)

WASTE AND SOILS IN OUTAOUAIS

Nature

Technology

Road

Dam

Terrorism

An extreme situation will not always ended up as a disaster if the institutions are well prepared.

RISK OF DISASTER IN OUTAOUAIS

DISASTER : low probability, high consequences

A communication plan, an essential tool

The communication of the risk help to reduce the number of injured person and to save lives during a disaster.

Risk management

RISK OF DISASTER IN OUTAOUAIS

THE CONTROVERSY OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH

• Controversies come from a misunderstanding: – Science helps to prove many things, but it cannot

shows the absence of health risk. – Some people ask for science to prove the

absence of risk.

• For example: – microwave antenna for cell phone– Endocrine disruptor in drinking water

• To be aware of science’s limit – For example: epidemiologic studies include a lots

of exposed persons

In conclusion, there’re places to amelioration.

We need to go forward.

In spite of everything, Outaouais’ region is a good place to live !