A maze of highways, an industrial park, a portion of the airport… the borough's air pollution levels can be construed as lower than on the eastern end of the island.
(Photo: Jacques Pharand)
Keeping tabs on air quality
When you're talking about a potentially lethal cocktail of pollutants emanating from a vast industrial park, a high-profile international airport and an overtaxed road network in St. Laurent, summer is the best time to look after your lungs and monitor the quality of the air.
It's not completely clear, how exactly authorities monitor air quality in St. Laurent, because there are no monitoring stations in the borough.
Two nearby stations, one in Dorval and at the other at the Décarie interchange, can however help you get a better idea.
"The placement of those stations is very representative of St. Laurent's reality," Montreal air-quality surveillance chief Claude Gagnon said. Two types of pollutants can be found under the magnifying glass: fine particles and ozone.
"Certainly, when you're close to a highway – like St. Laurent is – there's a certain extra level of fine particles. That said, we're seeing an improvement from 2005 and we haven't seen any further pollutants being generated," Gagnon said.
According to the 2006 report on Montreal air quality, 11 days were classified as "bad," at the Dorval station, while 16 days earned that classification from the Mount Royal station.
St. Laurent, however, despite its particular combination of characteristics, is no worse off than most other boroughs.
Of the 1,335 air-quality complaints received last summer, only 31 came from St. Laurent.
"That's a fairly low number," Gagnon said.
One reason for that fact is partly linked to the way the industrial park is set up.
Stinky, but not dangerous
The advantage of St. Laurent's particular industrial park is that it is heavy with research-and-development companies which are generally very clean and tidy.
"The factories are, generally, conform to and respectful of environmental norms," said borough division head responsible for industrial waste disposal Yves Bourassa. That doesn't mean everyone is spared a stinky summer; residents living near the limits of the industrial park may be inconvenienced by bad odours.
"That comes from adhesive companies or companies that produce surface-finishing products, but there is absolutely no danger to the residents," he said. When companies break the rules, the services have recourse to legally force them to comply with bylaws. Over the course of 2006, the borough didn't have to initiate recourse measures even once.
In cases of problems related to industrial pollution, residents are invited to call the monitoring station at 514-280-4330. Complaints are usually handled in less than 24 hours.
(Translated by Marc Lalonde)
(Photo: Jacques Pharand)
par Sylvain Sarrazin 
Steven Guilbeault - 
