Inventory of Federal, Provincial and Territorial Environmental and Occupational Health Data
Sources and Surveillance Activities

Inventory of Data Sources

Connaissance et Surveillance de la Qualité de l'Air (CESPA)
(Air Quality Knowledge and Surveillance Database, Québec)

Contact
M. Ghislain Jacques
Data Management Coordinator
Ministère de l'Environnement du Québec
Édifice Marie-Guyart
675 est, boulevard René Lévesque, 7^e étage
Québec, QC
G1R 5V7
Tel: (418) 521-3820, extension 4569
E-mail: ghislain.jacques@menv.gouv.qc.ca

Organization Maintaining the Database
Service de l'information sur le milieu atmosphérique (SIMAT), Direction du suivi de l'état de l'environnement (DSÉE), Ministère de l'environnement du Québec (MENV)

Purpose of Database
To increase our knowledge on ambient air quality and to facilitate surveillance in this area, at the national, provincial, and local/municipal levels.

Content
National, provincial, and regional/municipal data on ambient concentrations of atmospheric pollutants in outdoor air (by monitoring station and date). The targeted pollutants are ground-level ozone, particulate matter (PM_2.5), sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, nitrogen dioxide, and carbon monoxide. Data are generated on an hourly basis; also, every 6 days, data are collected on the weight (or mass) of PM₁₀ PM_2.5, and PST, and the speciation of certain samples of PM₁₀ PM_2.5 and PST in the form of arsenic, cadmium, lead, nitrate, and sulphate. Data types: chemical, geographic. Also, for national data: number of the monitoring station (SNPA); provincial data: number and name of the administrative region; municipal data: number and name of the municipality. Geolocators: municipal codes, postal codes, longitudinal / latitudinal coordinates.

Year Database Established
1975

Coverage Period
1975 to present

Data Updates
Data from the Ministère de l'environnement du Québec are in real time (except for lab analysis); data from the City of Montreal and from Environment Canada are updated annually.

Data Provider
Ministère de l'environnement du Québec, the City of Montréal, and Environment Canada

Data Availability
The main users of the information in the database and having direct access are the Ministère de l'environnement du Québec (MENV), Environment Canada, and the Ministère de la Santé et des Services Sociaux (MSSS). A user identifier and password are required; a firewall is also in place. Clients with access to real-time data on the FTP site of the MENV must accept and sign a document supporting methods of access and use of the data.

There is a data-sharing agreement between the City of Montréal and Environment Canada (Programme SNPA).

Reports
Some data files are available on the FTP server of the Ministère de l'environnement du Québec; they are produced hourly, in electronic format. Reports are disseminated to target clients.

Data can be exported as formatted text.

Additional Comments
CESPA is a relational database (ORACLE). Documentation on the database is available in printed and electronic formats.

Keywords for searches: Any field in the database can be used for searching purposes. The most common search requests cite: station number, station name, municipality, the specific pollutant, date, concentration, data quality code.