Annual sector air quality index statistics for 2006

In 2006, downtown Rouyn-Noranda was added to the list of sectors for which the AQI was calculated. The number of sectors rose to 17, all of which are located in an urban environment.

As in 2004 and 2005, the percentage of days where air quality was “poor*” rose above 10% in many sectors. Only the sector of Témiscaming, however, rose above 30%, to 41.8% (150 days out of 359).

Unlike regional statistics, which are based on uniform measurements of fine particles and ozone, sector statistics may include measurements of a pollutant that is emitted locally and is not included in regional statistics. This means that the AQI value for a sector may differ from the index for the overall region.

Local sources of air emissions that affect a sector’s AQI can vary from one location to another.

* Occurs where the concentration of fine particles is above at least 35 µg/m3 (over a three-hour period) or the hourly ozone concentration is above at least 82 ppb at at least one station in the region.