Partners involved in air quality research include the Pulp and Paper Research Institute of Canada (PAPRICAN), Lakehead University, Lakes Environmental (Waterloo, Ontario), the University of Waterloo, and the Pulp and Paper Centre at the University of Toronto.
Projects underway include research into the mill process to identify sources that contribute to fine
particulate in our air emissions. Generation of this material is not well understood, although its sources include industry, automobiles, wood stoves, and even forest fires.
In conjunction with PAPRICAN and regulatory agencies such as Environment Canada, the Resolute mill is helping to establish how much fine particulate our industry contributes to the community’s air. Testing for fine particulate has occurred at a number of emission points at the mill, and an ambient monitoring trailer has been collecting air samples from the community to understand the mill’s relative contribution.
Another air emission project is being worked on by Lakehead University, the University of Waterloo, and the air emission modeling company, Lakes Environmental, Ontario. It involves modeling air emissions from the Resolute facility using a complex computer program. This program continually predicts where
TRS (odour) emissions from the mill are going in the community. This type of computer modeling has never been done in real-time before, and is being used as a tool to help the mill understand its odorous air emissions. In addition Lakehead University is currently working with PAPRICAN on developing better ways to measure these air emissions.