Geography of Volatile Organic Compounds in Hamilton, Ontario

Keywords: GIS, spatial analysis, Air pollution, BTEX, Environmental Health, Hamilton
Abstract Type: Paper Abstract

Abstract

Hamilton, Ontario is an industrial city in Canada with greater concentrations of pollutants and poorer air quality compared to other Canadian cities. Poor air quality has been directly linked to adverse health outcomes and increased mortality. Air pollution from industrial sources can include benzene, toluene, ethylene and xylene, a subset of volatile organic compounds (VOC) commonly referred to as BTEX. The proposed research, done in collaboration with Health Canada and the City of Hamilton, aims to perform a geospatial analysis of BTEX concentrations measured through field and lab work and spatially correlate levels of BTEX with social vulnerability. Stationary passive sampling will be used to observe BTEX concentrations across the City of Hamilton, with a total of 60 samplers distributed according to the purposive sampling method. This research will utilize SKC ULTRA passive samplers with a charcoal sorbent. The rain protectors and mounting on wooden or metal power poles have been used extensively in previous passive monitoring campaigns by the Adams Lab. Monitors will be dispatched and collected at the end of each month, ensuring continued observation across the four seasons, and that each monitor is sampled once per season. The passive samplers will be analyzed in the lab using solvent extraction and quantified using a gas chromatograph mass spectrometer. A Land Use Regression specific to each component of BTEX will be used to generate a continuous map surface. A geographically weighted regression will be used to correlate BTEX-induced air pollution with socioeconomic, demographic, and health variables.