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The Island airport: hazardous to Toronto’s health

The Board of Health voted unanimously on Monday, December 9, to oppose Porter’s runway extension plan for the Island airport. The city’s medical officer of health, David McKeown, says that even with current flight volumes, the airport poses increased cancer and other health risks to those living in wards closest to the central waterfront. Here’s a breakdown of the key findings in his report.

23,000

Number of people who travelled through the Island airport in 2006.

2.3 million

Number who travelled through the Island airport in 2012.

4.8 million

Number who will be travelling through the Island Airport if Porter gets to add jets to its fleet.

200

Current maximum number of daily flights in and out of the Island airport.

10%-15%

Proportion of air pollution the Island airport currently contributes to the waterfront area.

NO2

Nitrogen oxide, which along with particulate matter, acrolein, aldehydes and metals, dominates the air-pollution mix around the airport. All are now present at levels above provincial ambient air quality standards at least some of the time in the area.

8

Estimated number of double-tanker fuel trucks that would be needed daily to supply jets under Porter’s expansion plan. That’s the equivalent of two railway tankers. A fuel farm would have to be built to store large amounts of fuel.

Ethylene glycol

The chemical used to de-ice aircraft is supposed to be stored in containment tanks at the airport and then shipped to landfill for disposal. But Toronto Public Health says it “is not aware of any monitoring conducted in the stormwater runoff from the airport in the lake near the airport to confirm that the ethylene glycol containment system is functioning effectively.”

Pollution and noise = more disease

• Wards around the airport are already exposed to higher levels of airport-related air pollution, noise and traffic.

• The area around the airport is home to some of the most vulnerable populations in the city: a higher proportion of people on low incomes, children who are vulnerable in terms of readiness to learn, and people with higher rates of lung and heart disease.

• Noise levels at the waterfront City School are already above the World Health Organization guideline for annoyance.

11-to-2

Vote at Executive Committee on December 5 to defer consideration of Island airport expansion, with Rob Ford and Peter Milczyn voting against for very different reasons – Ford because he wanted the committee to approve expansion on the spot Milczyn because he says Porter’s plan is no plan at all. See the $300 million it will cost the city in infrastructure improvements just for starters.

What Medical Officer of Health David McKeown says

“It [the airport] is having an impact, even in its current configuration, on the health of residents. Those risks should be mitigated.”

What Councillor Karen Stintz says

Everyone’s looking to see what the mayoral wannabe will do on this hot button. She issued a statement December 5 saying she supports staff’s recommendation to wait until 2015, after the next municipal election, to make a decision on Porter’s expansion plan, which helps her dodge a bullet with downtown voters. In the meantime, Stintz says she will put forward a motion “to ensure Billy Bishop Airport receives support from the city, the Port Authority and federal government to remain sustainable while the required information is obtained.” enzo dimatteo

enzom@nowtoronto.com | @enzodimatteo

With files from Ben Spurr

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