CRAZ is expanding air quality testing and a Cochrane school could help

The Calgary Region Airshed Zone or CRAZ is increasing air quality monitoring in Rocky View County and other communities and municipalities in Alberta.

The work CRAZ does is more important than ever these days. Especially with a special air quality statement in effect due to widespread smoke from BC fires affecting the Cochrane area.

The CRAZ mandate is to monitor and analyze air quality and then take steps to ensure that residents are aware and kept safe and well.

CRAZ has 3 monitoring stations, and a portable station, which visited Cochrane back in April of 2020, but it is adding more monitoring devices to its air quality testing arsenal.

Executive Director Jill Bloor says, “We are in partnership collaboration with Environment and Climate Change Canada. They have given us 18 Purple Air Sensors. These are small sensors that do require power and wifi connections and they monitor particulate matter 2.5.”

PM 2.5 is an air pollutant that is detrimental to people’s health when levels in the air are high.

CRAZ has been busy getting the sensors out and operational to various communities and municipalities around Calgary including Rocky View County.

Currently, there is a Purple Sensor at Rocky View County municipal office, another is located west of Airdrie, and one is north of Cochrane in the Cremona area.

AQ information is simply a click away as you can log on to the Purple Air website and see the air quality reading. Not only can you see AQ for your area but you can compare it to hundreds of thousands of sensors registered on the site.

The program is a wonderful learning experience for students as there is a Purple Air Sensor in place at the Banded Peak School in Bragg Creek. Students can check the AQ in their school and compare it to other locations around the world.

Attention teachers and students, Bloor says, “We would be interested in maybe finding a school in Cochrane that might be interested and have again the power and wifi and want to install one there.”

To find out more about CRAZ click HERE, and check AQ in your area with the Purple Air Sensors, go to purpleair.com.