The National Air Pollution Surveillance Network (NAPS)

The National Air Pollution Surveillance Network (NAPS) was established in 1969. It is a joint program by the Government of Canada, provincial, territorial and regional governments to monitor and assess the quality of ambient air that Canadians breathe.

NAPS gathers measurements from 152 stations in 55 major urban and rural locations across the country for sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone and particulate matter. These are all components of smog.

Air quality data collected by the NAPS Network also helps evaluate air pollution control strategies, identify urban air quality trends and forewarn of emerging air pollution episodes.

Information from NAPS is used by land-use planners, designers of public transportation and urban renewal, and many others whose decisions must take air quality into account.

Other partners in the generation and use of NAPS data include Health Canada, Agriculture Canada, non-government organizations, the private sector and academic organizations. They also include representatives from the international level such as the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the World Health Organization.

An additional $1.2 million is being allocated by the Minister of the Environment to start the rebuilding and expansion of the air pollution monitoring under NAPS. The supplementary funds will be used to replace some of the older NAPS instrumentation with more modern and accurate equipment with a particular focus on monitors that measure ambient levels of fine particulate matter and ozone.