Breathing the air in parts of Hamilton is like smoking a cigarette a day, researcher says

Breathing Hamilton's air is like smoking part of a cigarette every day, when it comes to inhaling cancer-causing benzo(a)pyrene, says a researcher behind a two-year study of the air quality throughout the municipality.

"If you look at how much benzo(a)pyrene is in a cigarette... if you were to smoke it, that's about the same amount you'd be exposed to… by just breathing in the air in these urban neighbourhoods near the industrial sites," says Matthew Adams, a University of Toronto Associate Professor in geography, geomatics and environment. "It's kind of like everyone's just smoking one cigarette a day there.

"In Dundas or on the West Mountain [it's] not quite as bad – maybe one-third of a cigarette or half a cigarette… It's like everyone has somewhat of a little smoking habit unintentionally."

The two-year study, monitoring air quality at dozens of sites in both urban and rural parts of the city, was funded by Health Canada and coordinated by the City of Hamilton, with Environment Hamilton as a partner facilitating communication with the public. It found that benzo(a)pyrene levels were higher than provincial guidelines in all urban areas of Hamilton, not simply near the industrial area, as Adams had hypothesized going into the study.

"What was important in our findings is the extent that pollutant is affecting the entire city," Adams told CBC Hamilton in a Tuesday interview, noting Hamilton has higher levels than most places in Ontario. "Almost every one of our measurements was above the guidelines…indicating elevated concentrations.

"The only areas where that didn't occur was really the rural area around Hamilton."

Some industrial polluters exempted from provincial targets

Benzo[a]pyrene is a known carcinogen – and part of the next step of this research will be to correlate areas with more air pollution to cancer rates around the city. Adams said Tuesday that an individual's cancer risk due to the levels observed "is not going to be incredibly high but cumulatively across the city we would expect increased cancer from this."

The pollutant, one of several tracked in the research, is emitted by burning fossil fuels, including in steel mills' coke ovens and in vehicle engines. Many industrial emitters, including ArcelorMittal Dofasco, have long held Ministry of the Environment exemptions that allow them to emit higher volumes of the chemicals than is typically allowed. 

CBC contacted ArcelorMittal Dofasco and the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks on Thursday to confirm whether the exemptions remain in place. The steelmaker did not respond, while the ministry provided a statement that did not specifically address the exemptions.

"We are actively working with industry in Hamilton to reduce emissions, including investments in the iron and steel industry to end coal use and electrify operations to support the production of green steel which will reduce pollutants and significantly improve Hamilton's air quality," wrote spokesperson for the minister Robert Dodd in an email.

When asked why the exemptions exist in the first place, Adams, the researcher, said "it usually comes down to the economics.

"If we could reduce their individual exemptions… we'd fast improve the air quality."

Adams said vehicular traffic was another major source, and that moving away from coal in the steelmaking process – a move in the works at ArcelorMittal Dofasco — and away from combustion engines in vehicles, could help make big changes in local air quality.

During a press conference Thursday in Hamilton's industrial portlands, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he'd discuss the exemptions with the province's environment minister, David Piccini.

"I'm going to have to look more into that," he said, pointing to the changes underway at ArcelorMittal Dofasco – which the provincial government is supporting financially – as paving the way for cleaner air in the region. "We're focused on making sure we reduce emissions and also focusing on carbon capture, so we're doing our fair share when it comes to the environment."

The provincial government announced, in February of 2022, up to $500 million in loan and grant support to Hamilton's ArcelorMittal Dofasco plant. In 2021, the federal government announced $400 million for a project that the company said would help it cut carbon emissions by more than half.

Adams presented the research at a public webinar Tuesday evening. His work also found that nitrogen dioxide was highest in the industrial area but present throughout the lower city, and that ozone had the highest concentration in Hamilton's rural areas. Both pollutants are emitted by burning fossil fuels.

Make this a political issue, says advocate

"Air quality has been improving in Hamilton," Adams said. "It's not nearly as bad as it was decades ago, but there are still many areas in Ontario where air quality is cleaner."

At Tuesday's webinar, numerous members of the public had questions about what could be done to improve the air quality situation. Ian Borsuk, Environment Hamilton's interim executive director, encouraged people to contact their local members of provincial parliament with their concerns about air quality limits and emissions exemptions, particularly Flambourgh-Glanbrook representative Donna Skelly and Hamilton East-Stoney Creek MPP Neil Lumsden, as their Progressive Conservative Party is in power.

"It's incredibly important to address these emissions… as a political issue," said Borsuk. "Put pressure on our local decision makers to make right by us."