PurpleAir Sensor Donation Application
What Type Of Organization Best Describes You?
A community recreation organization. The Trout Lake Campers’ Association (TLCA) is an incorporated non-profit organization that was established to acquire ownership on behalf of its members, for a sports field located at the lake and to provide community recreation events and services within a Corporate mandate.
Describe Our Organization
Trout Lake is an inland freshwater lake located within the Lake Superior Watershed, 25km (15 miles) from the City of Thunder Bay, Ontario which is a 45 minute drive from the U.S. border and 3 hours north of Duluth, Minnesota. There are 120 private lots on the lake, 2/3 of which are seasonal. There are approximately 30 full time residences. Members of the TLCA own property on the lake. The Association is community focused to provide opportunities for social gatherings, recreation events, and information sharing regarding environmental matters to preserve, enhance and protect the lands and water.
Trout Lake is roughly 1.25 miles wide by 5 miles long. The lake is spring and creek fed, suitable for speckled trout and bass. The area consists of a mix of rock, boulders, sand, gravel and sediment that had been deposited during the ice age. This material is currently under pressure to develop a series of gravel pits along a 50km (31 mile) stretch of the secondary highway which is the access route to a number of inland lakes in the region which has a total population of about 5,000 people. There has been increased pressure in this region for industrial development in so the TLCA established an Environment Committee to develop base-line data and to monitor air and water quality. It is expected that approximately 400 trucks could ultimately be travelling up and down this secondary highway creating health and safety hazards as well as environmental impacts including pollution.
All phases of industrial development from site preparation to rehabilitation can negatively affect the local environment and people, some phases more severely than others. The increased number of trucks will affect the frequency as well as the amount of particulate matter due to the trucking of aggregate material and from the diesel fumes. Silica is a component of aggregate dust which is a known carcinogen. Exposure to this particular matter may cause or aggravate pre-existing health conditions such as asthma, heart disease and diabetes. Children and elderly are most at risk.
Given the nearness of industrial development to residences and summer cottages, the potential for adverse effects to human health is significant. To illustrate the social context of our membership, TLCA distributed a survey in 2018 to create a community profile of the demographics, outdoor activities, length of stay at the lake and the numbers of people effected by or susceptible to respiratory health issues. Of the members responding, 48% indicated they use their property throughout the year. 57% of households indicated at least one member had a respiratory health condition; 48% of those susceptible consisted of children under the age of 13 and seniors over 65 years of age, 42 % of visitors to the lake reported respiratory issues. This survey will be updated to get current numbers.
Our Project
The TLCA air quality project is to develop a base-line data-base to record current air quality and to monitor changes over time. Current provincial regulations rely on self-reporting by industry proponents and provincial responses to public concerns have indicated that issues raised need to be supported by scientific or technical data. Real time data and the ability to compare with other regions in similar circumstance will be particularly beneficial to provide the hard evidence required to demonstrate impact rather than rely on statistical data for predictions. Monitoring the data will enable us to determine fluctuations in air quality related to industrial operations regarding the following:
o fine particulate matter (PM 2.5)
o distribution of particulate matter around the lake
o correlation to industrial operations
• throughout the year
• throughout the day
• throughout all phases of their life-span
• connections to haul route and distance from the lake
Which PurpleAir model(s) are you interested in and how many would you want for your project?
We are interested in the Classic Plus Model and power supply. Ultimately, 4 models would be the most useful; one to be located close to the secondary highway, one across the lake from the highway, and one at either end to be able to detect effects of prevailing and changing winds as well as their velocity.