Forward-thinking technology to help all Durham residents breathe easy in future

YorkRegion.com
April 8, 2015

If you commute to Toronto for work you have no doubt realized the trip in and out of the city has become longer. There are too many motorists competing for limited space on the well-travelled highway.

Some relief will be felt by motorists once Hwy. 407 is completed through Durham Region but that is still years away.

While sitting in a car or truck for hours on end is not good for your physical or mental health, the air pollution created by an ever-increasing number of vehicles impacts more than just those doing the driving. This type of pollution can increase the number of cancer, heart disease and respiratory problems overall.

According to Ontario-based company Envision SQ, a team of scientists and engineers with expertise who conduct high-profile studies on air quality, more than 80 per cent of residents in the Toronto metropolitan area live within 500 metres of a major road.

This ultimately puts people at a greater risk from vehicle emissions. Toronto Public Health estimates that traffic-related air pollution in the GTA and Hamilton areas causes more than 700 premature deaths and 2,800 hospitalizations due to heart and lung conditions each year.

But thanks to a new technology tested at the Automotive Centre of Excellence (ACE) climatic wind tunnel at UOIT’s north Oshawa campus, our risks could be significantly reduced by air pollution in the future. Envision, SQ’s full-scale sound baffle, captures pollution and cleans the air by using photocatalytic technology, which is basically a chemical coating that reacts with sunlight to break down the pollutants. The structure would be secured to the downwind side of highway sound barriers. At the top of the structure, a sound baffle is positioned at an angle to funnel polluted roadway air to a confined space before it seeps into local neighbourhoods. The removed air pollutants are later washed from the barrier wall by natural precipitation, providing nitrogen-rich nutrients for vegetation.

Envision experts say a one-kilometre wall can remove up to 16 tonnes of pollution per year and people living closest to major roadways would have peace of mind knowing the barriers could remove pollutant concentrations by up to 50 per cent. That will have a significant health impact on everyone, especially those in Durham Region who live close to Highways 401 or 407.

Envision SQ’s project has been five years in the making but thanks to our local ACE climate wind tunnel the testing period has been reduced by 18 months.

There is already interest in the new technology. In November 2014, Envision SQ signed an agreement with Nanjing Wanju Construction Investment Engineering Co. during a science and technology trade mission to China, led by Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne.

Air pollution may be bad in China but there’s no denying air quality has become an issue in Durham Region and other parts of the GTA. It’s good to see forward-thinking scientists coming up with a solution to this ever-increasing problem. Hopefully in the not-too-distant future we’ll all be able to breathe easier knowing this technology is lining the two major highways cutting through Durham Region.