Highway disease: Doctors prescribe saying no to Highway 413 development

Thestar.com
Dec. 7, 2021
Nazanin Meshkat

Some Ontario doctors have joined opposition to the proposed Highway 413, citing health consequences as a major concern.

Members of the Ontario branch of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment or CAPE have launched a letter-writing campaign to MPPs to try to halt the development.

The provincial government is proposing the 59-kilometre, four- to six-lane highway “to fight congestion, create jobs and prepare for the massive population growth expected in the next 30 years,” according to the province’s website dedicated to Highway 413.

“In 2016, 6,600 deaths in Ontario were caused by air pollution,” said Dr. Mili Roy, co-chairperson of the Ontario branch of CAPE, citing a 2021 federal government report into the health effects of air pollution in Canada.

Road traffic air pollution accounts for 280 deaths and 1,090 hospitalizations in the City of Toronto each year from respiratory and cardiac diseases, according to a 2014 Toronto Public Health report. In addition, annually it causes 86,000 days of respiratory illnesses and 800 acute bronchitis events in children. These figures exclude health effects from non-road traffic air pollution.

Air pollution consists of toxic particles referred to as particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5) and gases such as carbon dioxide and nitrogen dioxide. Highway traffic emissions and debris from tires are the biggest contributors in Ontario. Scientists have established these substances cause severe health consequences, respiratory diseases such as asthma, and cardiac disease and dementia. Moreover, the World Health Organization has declared PM2.5 a carcinogen causing lung, breast and likely other cancers.

A 2014 Public Health Ontario report showed air quality in Toronto is often in the moderate risk category, in which exposure to air pollution increases the chance of dying by 2.6 to 6.8 per cent.

“PM2.5 concentration in Toronto air is currently 3.2 times above the World Health Organization annual air quality guideline,” according to a Nov. 29 post on the World Air Quality Index website.

Dr. Chung-Wai Chow, director of the University of Toronto respirology division and a researcher with the Southern Ontario Centre for Atmospheric Aerosol Research, has seen the negative health effects of air pollution firsthand in her research and clinical work. She said it’s indisputable that air pollution leads to increased deaths, emergency department visits and hospitalizations.

Areas of highest pollution in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area occur around major highways such as the Gardiner, Don Valley Parkway, and highways 401 and 400. Those living in proximity feel a higher burden of health impacts. A 2017 Lancet study showed that residents who live close to a highway have a seven per cent increased likelihood of developing dementia compared to those who live 300 metres away from such routes.

A Ministry of Transportation spokesperson responded to questions for this article in an emailed statement.

“In accordance with MTO’s environmental guide for assessing and mitigating the air quality impacts and greenhouse gas emissions of provincial transportation projects, an air quality impact assessment will be completed prior to construction of Highway 413,” the spokesperson wrote. “We are committed to building much-needed highway infrastructure in a way that protects human health and the environment.”

The spokesperson did not provide details of the timing and mitigation plan, and said “the full length of the route will save about 30 minutes during rush hour” based on an estimate from the MTO’s Greater Golden Horseshoe Model, a multi-modal travel forecasting model.

A 2017 Greater Toronto Area West Corridor Advisory Panel report to the MTO estimated the highway will reduce commutes by 30 to 60 seconds. Gaby Kalapos, executive director of Clean Air Partnership, said in an email there is lack of transparency on how the province arrived at the 30-minute estimate.

A 2015 report by the National Center for Sustainable Transportation at the University of California states that more highways lead to more vehicles and more time spent in a car does not decrease traffic congestion.

Simply put: “The more roads you build the more traffic will result,” said Chow.

Roy said building another highway will lock in negative health and environmental effects for generations. “Environmental health is now the single most important determinant of human health.”

The solution? Roy, Chow and Kalapos say more regional transit and green spaces.