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Outreach & Media Coverage List

Selected Media Coverage of our Research Group

Dr. Ariya is highly involved in outreach activities to help citizens. Her expertise is at the intersection of physical/chemical chemistry with implications in critical domains such as climate change, health, nanotechnology and materials. She is commonly invited in the conventional and social media in Canada and globally, translating science to the public and policymakers, as well as public lectures for young kids in schools and students, to advising communities about air pollutants/air quality, climate change, cold-climate urban, airborne pathogens/human health, contaminants, sustainable technologies, high-tech innovations, forest fires, environmental disasters, STEM issues, etc.

Some recent examples are given below:

Knowledge about the effectiveness of masks is progressing: From July 13, wearing a face cover, also called an artisanal mask, will be mandatory on public transport in Quebec. What is this decision based on? Does the mask protect citizens from the risk of catching COVID-19? The question has never ceased to fuel the debates since the start of the pandemic, but the trend is towards the precautionary principle ... Click here to read more!
New technique reclaims mercury from spent compact fluorescent light bulbs: Two-step process might offer a more energy-efficient alternative to current recycling methods ... Click here to read more!
Andy Extance discovers how urban air pollution monitoring is changing to protect our health: When Prashant Kumar found out an invisible enemy was harming him, he didn’t start questioning his sanity – he made a career out of fighting that foe ... Click here to read more!
Snow. Is it paying for our environmental sins? That is, like all things next to roadways and in urban environments, snowflakes are picking up pollutants from the air in cities ... Click here to read more!
How to keep the air in your home cleaner this winter, and why it's so important: After all, air-quality issues can impact our everyday well-being, and short- and long-term health. "Air pollutants are known to cause adverse health effects," said Parisa Ariya, an atmospheric chemistry professor at McGill University ... Click here to read more!
'Our shelves are already empty': Buying a mask in Montreal a tall order: Demand outstripped supply even before Premier François Legault advised all Quebecers Tuesday to cover their faces in public ... Click here to read more!
Mercury recycling using air borne nanoparticles, sea salt electrochemistry operated by sunlight: Mercury despite its key uses in various field poses certain toxic global pollutants to health and environment. One of the recommendation for reduction of mercury (Hg) is that of mercury containing lamps ... Click here to read more!
Snow Soaks Up Toxic Pollutants In The Air, Study Shows: You probably don't want your kids eating snow if you live in an urban area ... Click here to read more!
A recent McGill study found unusually high concentrations of potentially harmful airborne nanoparticles around the airport. Akil Alleyne reports ... Click here to read more!
Pollution from Alberta oil sands affects regional weather processes: Tiny particles of metal contaminants from Alberta’s oil sands are carried over long distances and affect weather patterns in the surrounding regions, according to a new study ... Click here to read more!
A virus and many more questions: COVID-19 has been around the world for nine months, and while it remains a mystery in many ways, we are beginning to understand it better. What have we learned from practice and studies? What is the current state of knowledge when the increasing statistics are also raising a certain ambient tension? Click here to read more!
Snow is beautiful. Please don’t eat it. You know the phrase “pure as driven snow?” Yeah, it’s entirely bunk ... Click here to read more!
Weathering the storm of aerosol emissions: There has long been concern surrounding the environmental impacts of extracting oil from Alberta’s Athabasca oil sands, the world’s third largest oil reserve. According to a McGill-led study published in Environmental Pollution, contamination from the Athabasca oil sands is impacting the weather patterns of nearby regions ... Click here to read more!
While many people have heard the phrase “don’t eat yellow snow” a new study from McGill University researchers suggests avoid eating snow altogether. Dr. Parisa Ariya, professor of chemistry and atmospheric sciences at McGill, and her team of scientists found that snow in urban areas can absorb toxic and carcinogenic pollutants that come from car exhaust ... Click here to read more!
With spring finally here and warmer temperatures just around the corner, snow will slowly melt away, releasing us from the clutches of winter. However, that’s not the only thing that the melting snow will release. Researchers from McGill University and École de technologie supérieure in Montreal have found that urban snow accumulates a toxic cocktail from car emissions ... Click here to read more!

Year 2023

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Year 2021

Year 2020

Year 2018

Year 2017

Year 2016

  • Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC),February 3, 2016, interview on air/snow pollution
  • VICE, February 2016, interview on airborne pollutants (both in French and English)
  • Toronto Star, February 2016, interview on snow-aerosol/climate/health
  • Radio Canada
  • Daily Mail
  • Wall Street
  • Global News
  • Chicago Tribune
  • Tech Times
  • American Microbiological Society
  • CBS news in Boston
  • AccuWeather, February 12, 2016, interview on snow pollutants
  • CJAD radio, Climate change and Hg lamp recycling, June 22, 2016
  • Chemical & Engineering News, March 29, 2016, interviews on Hg lamp recycling using our developed green techniques
  • Wtop News
  • Regal Tribune
  • Big Think
  • ABC news (NewYork)
  • Forbes:www.forbes.com/sites/carmendrahl/2016/01/21/snow-soaks-up-pollutants-from-car-exhaust-like-a-sponge/#602d504b15e9
  • IFLS
  • http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news/2016/01/dont-eat-white-snow
  • http://womentimes.net/health/healthy-living/snow-soaks-up-toxic-pollutants-in-the-air-study-shows/
  • http://www.modernreaders.com/study-proves-that-eating-snow-isnt-safe/38199/lorenzo-tanos
  • Apex Tribune
  • http://www.ad-hoc-news.de/la-neige-est-un-excellent-moyen-d-and-039-absorber-la-pollution-d-and-039-apres--/de/News/48031612
  • Wtop
  • nbc4i.com
  • McGill Reporter:http://publications.mcgill.ca/reporter/2008/11/mcgill-in-six-words-sounds-impossible/
  • http://www.entechinst.com/forget-yellow-snow-you-shouldnt-eat-any-of-it-the-white-stuff-acts-as-a-sponge-for-pollutants/
  • quilibrioinformativo.com/2016/01/study-finds-snow-is-toxic-and-you-probably-shouldnt-eat-it/
  • Measurement media network
  • Immortal
  • Three Poch Times
  • Sun (UK):http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/features/6871772/This-is-why-you-shouldnt-let-your-kids-eat-snow.html
  • Weather channel
  • nhv.us
  • Globe and mail
  • McGill reporter
  • phillymag.com
  • http://www.geeksonearth.com/post/why-you-shouldn-t-eat-any-snownot-just-yellow-snow-post/9847
  • Mcgill tribune
  • pix11.com
  • aol.com
  • Mic
  • foodrepublic.com
  • snowbrains.com
  • laketahoenews.net
  • CBS news/a>
  • eideard.com
  • http://www.dolphnsix.com/news/3506364/spring-snow-melts-found-unleash-cascade
  • http://perfscience.com/content/2143106-snow-tends-absorb-car-exhaust-pollutants
  • twisted.news
  • Guff news: snow and health
  • NaturalSociety.com: pollutants
  • Press reader: Snowborne pollutant
  • Chicago Tribune: Snow
  • McGill Tribune
  • Global News