The new web edition of AQBAT is now available via the Government of Canada’s Health Infobase!
The Air Quality Benefits Assessment Tool (AQBAT) is a computer application developed by Health Canada that is designed to estimate the human health impacts of changes in Canada’s ambient air quality. It is used to estimate the benefits (positive impacts) or damages (negative impacts) of proposed regulatory initiatives related to outdoor air quality as mandated by the Treasury Board Cabinet Directive on Regulatory Management.
Use AQBAT to:
- estimate the benefits (positive impacts) or damages (negative impacts) of proposed regulatory initiatives for outdoor air quality
- define a wide range of scenarios by combining the following:
- geographic areas at the census division level
- scenario years (2001-2063)
- pollutant concentration data
- health endpoint valuations
- Health Canada endorsed concentration-response functions
- upload inputs, run specific scenarios and download outputs
- conduct Monte Carlo simulations to examine the effects of uncertainties on estimated health impacts
Recent applications of AQBAT
- Stieb DM, Smith-Doiron M, Quick M, Christidis T, Xi G, Miles RM, van Donkelaar A, Martin RV, Hystad P, Tjepkema M. Inequality in the Distribution of Air Pollution Attributable Mortality Within Canadian Cities. Geohealth. 2023 Aug 29;7(9):e2023GH000816.
- Egyed M, Blagden P, Plummer D, Makar P, Matz CJ, Flannigan M, MacNeill M, Lavigne E, Ling B, Lopez, DV, Edwards B, Pavlovic R, Racine J, Raymond P, Rittmaster R, Wilson A, Xi G. 2022. Air Quality. In P. Berry & R. Schnitter (Eds.), Health of Canadians in a Changing Climate: Advancing our Knowledge for Action. Ottawa, ON: Government of Canada.
- Matz CJ, Egyed M, Xi G, Racine J, Pavlovic R, Rittmaster R, Henderson SB, Stieb DM. Health impact analysis of PM2.5 from wildfire smoke in Canada (2013-2015, 2017-2018). Sci Total Environ. 2020 Jul 10;725:138506. See an interactive map of results.
- Health Canada. 2024. Health Impacts of Air Pollution in Canada in 2018.
Contact us
Please contact aqbat-oebqa@hc-sc.gc.ca to ask a question, provide feedback or report a problem.