T AIR POLLUTION STUDY ST. CLAlR - DET..,JT I AREAS ----a- ------ - - - ------- - I-I---L I-----T- -- - COMIMISC--]-I- CAN:'\ AND THE UNITED STATES SUMMARY JOINT AIR POLLUTION STUDY OF ST. CLAIR-DETROIT RIVER AREAS FOR INTERNATIONAL JOINT COMMISSION CANADA AND THE UNITED STATES Conducted by the St. Clair-Detroit Air Pollution Board and Cooperating Agencies INTEfUUATIONAL JOINT COMMISSION Ottawa and Washington January 1971 The St. Clair-Detroit Air Pollution Board and its cooperating agencies are responsible for the contents of this report. The Board expresses gratitude to the Environmental Protection Agency for publication of the report. Copies of this report may be obtained upon request, as supplies permit, from: Jnternational Joint Corrmis eion 151 Slater Street Ottawa 4, Ontario, Canada International Joint Commis sion 1711 New York Avenue, N. W. Washington, D. C. 20440, U.S.A. MEMBERSH lP ST. CLAlR - DETROIT AIR POLLUTION BOARD Canada United States W. B. Drowley, Chairman J. C. Oppenheirner, Chairman P. M. Bird B. D. Bloomfield J. L. Sullivan, Secretary D. R. Coodwin, Secretary The Board acknowledges the services of the following individuals who served on the Board during part of the study: T. H. Patterson, Former Chairman, Canadian Section A. C. Stern, Former Chairman, United States Section R. E. Neligan, Former Secretary, United States Section The Board also acknowledges the assistance given by the following individuals who served on Advis ory-Committees: COMMITTEE ON TRANSBOUNDARY FUlW OF AIR POLLUTION E. W. Hewson, Chairman, Oregon State University (United States) R. E. Munn, Department of Transport (Canada) G. T. Csanady, University of Waterloo (Canada) J. B. Harrington, Michigan State University (United States) COMMlTrEE ON SOURCES AND THEIR CON'rROL E. R. Balden, Chairman, Chrysler Corporation (United States) R. M. Dillon, University of Western Ontario (Canada) A. C. Elliott, Steel Company of Canada (Canada) R. L. Broad, Rochester and Pittsburgh Company of Canada (Canada) J. Hunter, Wyandotte Chemical Company (United States) S. Ozker, Detroit Edis on Company (United States) COMMITTEE ON EFFECTS OF AIR POLLUTION A. J. de Villiers, Chairman, Department of National Health and Welfare(Canada) J. Isbister, Michigan Department of Public Health (United States) A. J., Vorwald, Wayne State University (United States) D. Irish, Dow Chemical Company (United States) D. 0. Anderson, University of British Columbia (Canada) R. B. Sutherland, Ontario Department of Health (Canada) S. Linzon, Ontario Department of Energy and Resources Management (Canada) The Board also acknowledges the services of the following individuals who personally contributed to the study: D. D. Tyler, Public Health Service (United States) L. Shenfeld, Department of Energy and Resources Management (Canada) SUMMARY: INVESTIGATIONS, RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS Air pollution in the Detroit - Windsor area has been a cause of public concern for many years. As a result of this concern, the City of Windsor in 1964 requested of the Government of Canada, through the Province of Ontario, that action be taken to abate the flow of transboundary pollution emanating from the industrial complex in Wayne County, Michigan. The Governments of Canada and the U. S., in considering this matter, decided to extend the geographical area of consideration because of complaints in the Port Huron, Michigan, area of a transboundary flow of air pollution emanating from the industrial complex in the Sarnia, Ontario, area. Accordingly, the Governments referred this matter, in September 1966, to the International Joint Commission for investigation of the following questions: 1. Is the air in the vicinity of Port Huron - Sarnia and Detroit - Windsor being polluted on either side of the international boundary by quantities of contaminants that are detrimental to the public health, safety, or general welfare of citizens or that are detrimental to property on the other side of the international boundary ? 2. If the first question or any part of it is answered in the affirmative, what sources contribute to this pollution and to what extent? 3. If the Commission should find that any sources on either side of the boundary in the vicinity of Port Huron - Sarnia and Detroit - Windsor contribute to air pollution on the other side of the boundary to an extent detrimental to the public health, safety, or general welfare of citizens or detrimental to property, what preventative or remedial measures would be most practical from economic, sanitary, and other points of view? The Commission should give an indication of the probable total cost of implementing the measures recommended. The Commission established in November 1966 the St. Clair - Detroit Air Pollution Board to conduct on its behalf an investigation to answer the questions referred to the Commission by.Canada and the U. S. In conducting this study, the Board utilized the facilities and manpower of the following participating agencies: 1. National Air Pollution - Department of Health. Control Administration Education, and Welfare 2. Environmental Health - Department of National Canada Directorate Health and Welfare 3. Air Management Branch - Department of Energy - Ontario, and R.esources Canada Management 4. Division of Occupational - Department of Public - Michigan, Health Health U. S. 5. Air Pollution Control - Department of Health - Wayne County, Division Michigan, U. S. Cooperation was obtained from municipalities in Ontario as well as from municipal agencies in Michigan. During the 1968 study period the following work was undertaken: 1. Air quality measurements were made on both sides of the international boundary at approximately 80 locations. The following pollutants and effects were sampled: Particulate matter Fluorides Hydrogen sulfide Sulfur dioxide Carbon monoxide Nitrogen oxides Hydrocarbons Sulfation rates Oxidants In addition, samples of suspended particulates were analyzed quantita- tively for 16 metals. Odorous pollutants were investigated in a special survey. An aircraft was instrumented and flown along the boundary to measure directly the flux of pollutants across the boundary. 2. Meteorological measurements were taken at 15 locations. 3. An inventory of atmospheric emissions was made of pollutants emanating from all sources. 4. A study of the effects of air pollutants in the area on sel'ected vegetation and materials was conducted. For the preparation of this report, the following methods of evaluation were used: 1. Production of pollution roses that show the frequency of wind dire.ctions along with selected pollution levels at measuring stations, thus indicating the frequency of the transboundary flow of pollutants. 2. Case studies of the wind direction that accompanied the occurrence of levels of pollution in excess of concentrations that cause adverse effects. 3. Use of a mathematical dispersion model to compute the average concen- trations on the opposite side of the boundary that result from trans- boundary flow. 4. Direct measurements of the transboundary flux of pollution by measure- ments taken on an instrumented aircraft. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS Because of the mass of information collected, all the data have not been analyzed; however, sufficient analysis has been performed to warrant the lollowing conclusions : 1. A transbou&ry 4- of air pollutants dtms =Cur BCTOBS both the St. Clair and Wrajit Rive-r Lnternatiomal boundaries in the vicinities of Port Huron - Sarnia and Detroit - Windsor. prodwing pollution Levels that are in excess of desiraMe air quality stiladards already established in Ontario and about to be established in Michigan. Although many pollul tants were measured, particulates and SOx only were used in this eval- uation because of their magnitude and obvious relationship to area and point sources. It has been determined that SOx and particulate pollution does exist and, in some regions of the study, pollution is being trans- ported across the international boundary to an extent detrimental to the other country. In the Detroit - Windsor area, far more SOx and parti- culate pollution is being transported from the U. S. into Canada than from Canada into the U. S. In the Port Huron - Sarnia area, trans- boundary pollution was also verified; however, the contributions from the respective countries were approximately equal. 2. In addition to pollution from transboundary flow of air pollutants, certain areas in both the U. S. and Canada are experiencing levels of air pollu- tion in excess of their air quality standards because of sources located in their respective jurisdictions. 3. Transboundary and local pollution both exceed the level that is detrimental to the health, safety, and general welfare of citizens, and to property on the other side of the international boundary. Detroit - Windsor Area Sulfur Dioxide- - The dispersion model estimates show that the combined contribu- tions of U. S. point and area sources to the annual average SO2 concentrations in the Windsor. Ontario, area reached values as high as 0.04 ppm (Station 203), well above the acceptable annual average value of 0. 02 ppm set by the Ontario standards. On the other hand, the combined contributions of Canadian point and area sources to annual average SO2 pollution concentrations in the Detroit, Michigan, area were found to be insignificant except for some minor effects in the vicinity of Belle Isle and Grosse Point, Michigan. In the Detroit - Windsor area, there were 17 continuous SO2 analyzers, 11 in Detroit, and 6 in