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Ruiz-Páez R, López-Bueno JA, Padrón-Monedero A, Navas MA, Salvador P, Linares C, Díaz J. Short-term effects of fine particulate matter from biomass combustion and Saharan dust intrusions on emergency hospital admissions due to mental and behavioural disorders, anxiety and depression in Spain. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 946:174316. [PMID: 38945243 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.174316] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2024] [Revised: 05/31/2024] [Accepted: 06/24/2024] [Indexed: 07/02/2024]
Abstract
Climate change is affecting both the frequency and scale of wildfires, as well as the increase in the number of days with Saharan dust intrusions. Traditionally, studies have focused on the extent to which the increase in fine particulate matter (PM) has had an impact on cardio-respiratory diseases, but (apart from PM) not on how the meteorological and pollution conditions in these situations affect other diseases, such as those linked to mental health. This study therefore sought to ascertain how daily mean PM10, PM 2.5, NO2, O3 concentrations and daily maximum temperature in heat waves influence daily emergency hospital admissions in Spain caused by mental and behavioural disorders, depression and anxiety on days with PM from biomass combustion and/or Saharan dust intrusions, as compared to days without such conditions, across the period 2009-2018. Our results indicate that on days on which there is biomass combustion, PM concentrations have a statistically significant effect on emergency admissions due to mental disorders, probably related with the toxicity of these particles. Yet on days with intrusions of Saharan dust rather than PM, it is the other variables considered in the analysis that are most closely linked to these types of admissions. The results of this study thus point to the need to implement public health prevention plans which take into account the joint effect of various environmental risk factors that act synergistically in given situations.
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Affiliation(s)
- R Ruiz-Páez
- University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain
| | - J A López-Bueno
- Climate Change, Health and Urban Environment Reference Unit, Carlos III Institute of Health (Instituto de Salud Carlos III/ISCIII), 28029 Madrid, Spain
| | - A Padrón-Monedero
- National School of Health, Carlos III Institute of Health, 28029 Madrid, Spain
| | - M A Navas
- Climate Change, Health and Urban Environment Reference Unit, Carlos III Institute of Health (Instituto de Salud Carlos III/ISCIII), 28029 Madrid, Spain
| | - P Salvador
- Centre for Energy, Environmental and Technological Research/CIEMAT, Department of the Environment, 28040 Madrid, Spain
| | - C Linares
- Climate Change, Health and Urban Environment Reference Unit, Carlos III Institute of Health (Instituto de Salud Carlos III/ISCIII), 28029 Madrid, Spain
| | - J Díaz
- Climate Change, Health and Urban Environment Reference Unit, Carlos III Institute of Health (Instituto de Salud Carlos III/ISCIII), 28029 Madrid, Spain.
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2
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Lee H, Jaffe DA. Wildfire Impacts on O 3 in the Continental United States Using PM 2.5 and a Generalized Additive Model (2018-2023). ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2024; 58:14764-14774. [PMID: 39120533 PMCID: PMC11340019 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.4c05870] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2024] [Revised: 07/25/2024] [Accepted: 08/06/2024] [Indexed: 08/10/2024]
Abstract
We examined PM2.5 and Hazard Mapping System smoke plume satellite data at ∼600 United States (US) air monitoring stations to identify surface smoke on 14.0% of all May-September days for 2018-2023, with large influences in 2020 and 2021, due to California fires, and 2023, due to Canadian fires. Days with smoke have an average of 11 μg m-3 more PM2.5 and 8 ppb higher maximum daily 8 h average (MDA8) O3 concentrations than nonsmoke days, and they also account for 94% of all days that exceed the daily PM2.5 health standard (35 μg m-3) and 36% of all days that exceed the O3 health standard (70 ppb). To estimate the smoke contributions to the O3 MDA8, Generalized Additive Models (GAMs) were built for each site using the nonsmoke day data and up to 8 predictors. The mean and standard deviation of the residuals from the GAMs were 0 ± 6.1 ppb for the nonsmoke day data and 4.3 ± 7.9 ppb for the smoke day data, indicating a significant enhancement in the MDA8 O3 on smoke days. We found positive residuals on 72% of the smoke days and for these days, we calculate an average smoke contribution to the O3 MDA8 of 7.8 ± 6.0 ppb. Over the 6 year period, the percentage of exceedance days due to smoke in the continental US was 25% of all exceedance days, and the highest was in 2023 (38%). In 2023, the Central US experienced an unusually high number of exceedance days, 1522, with 52% of these impacted by smoke, while the Eastern US had fewer exceedance days, 288, with 78% of these impacted by smoke. Our results demonstrate the importance of wildland fires as contributors to exceedances of the health-based national air quality standards for PM2.5 and O3.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haebum Lee
- School
of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, University of Washington, Bothell, Washington 98011, United States
| | - Daniel A. Jaffe
- School
of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, University of Washington, Bothell, Washington 98011, United States
- Department
of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
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3
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Lee H, Jaffe DA. Impact of wildfire smoke on ozone concentrations using a Generalized Additive model in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, 2006-2022. JOURNAL OF THE AIR & WASTE MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION (1995) 2024; 74:116-130. [PMID: 38051007 DOI: 10.1080/10962247.2023.2291197] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2023] [Accepted: 11/29/2023] [Indexed: 12/07/2023]
Abstract
We investigated the impact of wildfires on maximum daily 8-hr average ozone concentrations (MDA8 O3) at four sites in Salt Lake City (SLC), Utah for May to September for 2006-2022. Smoke days, which were identified by a combination of overhead satellite smoke detection and surface PM2.5 data and accounted for approximately 9% of the total number of days, exhibited O3 levels 6.8 to 8.9 ppb higher than no-smoke days and were predominantly characterized by high daily maximum temperatures and low relative humidity. A Generalized Additive Model (GAM) was developed to quantify the impact of wildfire contributions to O3. The GAM, which provides smooth functions that make the interpretation of relationships more intuitive, employed 17 predictors and demonstrated reliable performance in various evaluation metrics. The mean of the residuals for all sites was approximately zero for the training and cross-validation data and 5.1 ppb for smoke days. We developed three approaches to estimate the contribution of smoke to O3 from the model residuals. These generate a minimum and maximum contribution for each smoke day. The average of the minimum and maximum wildfire contributions to O3 for the SLC sites was 5.1 and 8.5 ppb, respectively. Between 2006 and 2022, an increasing trend in the wildfire contributions to O3 was observed in SLC. Moreover, trends of the fourth-highest MDA8 O3 before and after removing the wildfire contributions to O3 at the SLC Hawthorne site in 2006-2022 were quite different. Whereas the unadjusted data do not meet the current O3 standard, after removing the contributions from wildfires the SLC region is close to achieving levels that are consistent with meeting the O3 standard. We also found that the wildfire contribution during smoke days was particularly high under conditions of high temperature, high PM2.5 concentration, and low cloud fraction.Implications: In this study, we quantified the impact of wildfires on maximum daily 8-hr average ozone concentrations (MDA8 O3) in Salt Lake City, Utah, using a Generalized Additive Model (GAM). The GAM results demonstrate the importance of wildfires as contributors to O3 air pollution. Our results suggest that states could use the GAM approach to assist in quantifying the wildfire contribution to MDA8 O3 under the U.S. EPA exceptional events rule. These findings also highlight the need for strategies to manage wildfires and their subsequent impacts on air quality in an era of climate warming.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haebum Lee
- School of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, University of Washington, Bothell, WA, USA
| | - Daniel A Jaffe
- School of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, University of Washington, Bothell, WA, USA
- Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
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4
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Wilgus ML, Merchant M. Clearing the Air: Understanding the Impact of Wildfire Smoke on Asthma and COPD. Healthcare (Basel) 2024; 12:307. [PMID: 38338192 PMCID: PMC10855577 DOI: 10.3390/healthcare12030307] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2023] [Revised: 01/19/2024] [Accepted: 01/20/2024] [Indexed: 02/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Wildfires are a global natural phenomenon. In North America, wildfires have not only become more frequent, but also more severe and longer in duration, a trend ascribed to climate change combined with large fuel stores left from modern fire suppression. The intensification of wildfire activity has significant implications for planetary health and public health, as exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in wildfire smoke is linked to adverse health effects. This review focuses on respiratory morbidity from wildfire smoke exposure. Inhalation of wildfire PM2.5 causes lung injury via oxidative stress, local and systemic inflammation, airway epithelium compromise, and increased vulnerability to infection. Wildfire PM2.5 exposure results in exacerbations of pre-existing asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, with an escalation in healthcare utilization, including emergency department visits and hospitalizations. Wildfire smoke exposure may be associated with asthma onset, long-term impairment of lung function, and increased all-cause mortality. Children, older adults, occupationally-exposed groups, and possibly women are the most at risk from wildfire smoke. Future research is needed to clarify best practices for risk mitigation and wildfire management.
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Affiliation(s)
- May-Lin Wilgus
- Department of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1405, USA;
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5
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Ninneman M, Lyman S, Hu L, Cope E, Ketcherside D, Jaffe D. Investigation of Ozone Formation Chemistry during the Salt Lake Regional Smoke, Ozone, and Aerosol Study (SAMOZA). ACS EARTH & SPACE CHEMISTRY 2023; 7:2521-2534. [PMID: 38148992 PMCID: PMC10749563 DOI: 10.1021/acsearthspacechem.3c00235] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2023] [Revised: 10/13/2023] [Accepted: 11/13/2023] [Indexed: 12/28/2023]
Abstract
Salt Lake City (SLC), UT, is an urban area where ozone (O3) concentrations frequently exceed health standards. This study uses an observationally constrained photochemical box model to investigate the drivers of O3 production during the Salt Lake Regional Smoke, Ozone, and Aerosol Study (SAMOZA), which took place from August to September 2022 in SLC. During SAMOZA, a suite of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), oxides of nitrogen (NOx), and other parameters were measured at the Utah Technical Center, a high-NOx site in the urban core. We examined four high-O3 cases: 4 August and 3, 11, and 12 September, which were classified as a nonsmoky weekday, a weekend day with minimal smoke influence, a smoky weekend day, and a smoky weekday, respectively. The modeled O3 production on 4 August and 3 September was highly sensitive to VOCs and insensitive to NOx reductions of ≤50%. Box model results suggest that the directly emitted formaldehyde contributed to the rapid increase in morning O3 concentrations on 3 September. Model sensitivity tests for September 11-12 indicated that smoke-emitted VOCs, especially aldehydes, had a much larger impact on O3 production than NOx and/or anthropogenic VOCs. On 11 and 12 September, smoke-emitted VOCs enhanced model-predicted maximum daily 8 h average O3 concentrations by 21 and 13 parts per billion (ppb), respectively. Overall, our results suggest that regionwide VOC reductions of at least 30-50% or NOx reductions of at least 60% are needed to bring SLC into compliance with the national O3 standard of 70 ppb.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew Ninneman
- School
of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, University of Washington Bothell, 18115 Campus Way NE, Bothell, Washington 98011, United States
| | - Seth Lyman
- Bingham
Research Center, Utah State University, 320 North Aggie Boulevard, Vernal, Utah 84078, United States
- Department
of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Utah State
University, 4820 Old
Main Hill, Logan, Utah 84322, United States
| | - Lu Hu
- Department
of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University
of Montana, 32 Campus Drive, Missoula, Montana 59812, United States
| | - Emily Cope
- Department
of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University
of Montana, 32 Campus Drive, Missoula, Montana 59812, United States
| | - Damien Ketcherside
- Department
of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University
of Montana, 32 Campus Drive, Missoula, Montana 59812, United States
| | - Daniel Jaffe
- School
of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, University of Washington Bothell, 18115 Campus Way NE, Bothell, Washington 98011, United States
- Department
of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Washington, 3920 Okanogan Lane, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
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6
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Darling R, Hansen K, Aguilera R, Basu R, Benmarhnia T, Letellier N. The Burden of Wildfire Smoke on Respiratory Health in California at the Zip Code Level: Uncovering the Disproportionate Impacts of Differential Fine Particle Composition. GEOHEALTH 2023; 7:e2023GH000884. [PMID: 37869264 PMCID: PMC10586090 DOI: 10.1029/2023gh000884] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2023] [Revised: 09/08/2023] [Accepted: 09/09/2023] [Indexed: 10/24/2023]
Abstract
Wildfires constitute a growing source of extremely high levels of particulate matter that is less than 2.5 microns in diameter (PM2.5). Recently, toxicologic and epidemiologic studies have shown that PM2.5 generated from wildfires may have a greater health burden than PM2.5 generated from other pollutant sources. This study examined the impact of PM2.5 on hospitalizations for respiratory diseases in California between 2006 and 2019 using a health impact assessment approach that considers differential concentration-response functions (CRF) for PM2.5 from wildfire and non-wildfire sources of emissions. We quantified the burden of respiratory hospitalizations related to PM2.5 exposure at the zip code level through two different approaches: (a) naïve (considering the same CRF for all PM2.5 emissions) and (b) nuanced (considering different CRFs for PM2.5 from wildfires and from other sources). We conducted a Geographically Weighted Regression to analyze spatially varying relationships between the delta (i.e., the difference between the naïve and nuanced approaches) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Social Vulnerability Index (SVI). A higher attributable number of respiratory hospitalizations was found when accounting for the larger health burden of wildfire PM2.5. We found that, between 2006 and 2019, the number of hospitalizations attributable to PM2.5 may have been underestimated by approximately 13% as a result of not accounting for the higher CRF of wildfire-related PM2.5 throughout California. This underestimation was higher in northern California and areas with higher SVI rankings. The relationship between delta and SVI varied spatially across California. These findings can be useful for updating future air pollution guideline recommendations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel Darling
- Scripps Institution of OceanographyUC San DiegoSan DiegoCAUSA
| | - Kristen Hansen
- Scripps Institution of OceanographyUC San DiegoSan DiegoCAUSA
- Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity ScienceUC San DiegoSan DiegoCAUSA
| | - Rosana Aguilera
- Scripps Institution of OceanographyUC San DiegoSan DiegoCAUSA
| | - Rupa Basu
- Air and Climate Epidemiology SectionCalifornia Office of Environmental Health Hazard AssessmentOaklandCAUSA
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7
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Li G, Chen Q, Sun W, She J, Liu J, Zhu Y, Guo W, Zhang R, Zhu Y, Liu M. Updating and evaluating the NH 3 gas-phase chemical mechanism of MOZART-4 in the WRF-Chem model. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION (BARKING, ESSEX : 1987) 2023; 333:122070. [PMID: 37331578 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2023.122070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2023] [Revised: 05/31/2023] [Accepted: 06/15/2023] [Indexed: 06/20/2023]
Abstract
The accuracy of determining atmospheric chemical mechanisms is a key factor in air pollution prediction, pollution-cause analysis and the development of control schemes based on air quality model simulations. However, the reaction of NH3 and OH to generate NH2 and its subsequent reactions are often ignored in the MOZART-4 chemical mechanism. To solve this problem, the gas-phase chemical mechanism of NH3 was updated in this study. Response surface methodology (RSM), integrated gas-phase reaction rate (IRR) diagnosis and process analysis (PA) were used to quantify the influence of the updated NH3 chemical mechanism on the O3 simulated concentration, the nonlinear response relationship of O3 and its precursors, the chemical reaction rate of O3 generation and the meteorological transport process. The results show that the updated NH3 chemical mechanism can reduce the error between the simulated and observed O3 concentrations and better simulate the O3 concentration. Compared with the Base scenario (original chemical mechanism simulated), the first-order term of NH3 in the Updated scenario (updated NH3 chemical mechanism simulated) in RSM passed the significance test (p < 0.05), indicating that NH3 emissions have an influence on the O3 simulation, and the effects of the updated NH3 chemical mechanism on NOx-VOC-O3 in different cities are different. In addition, the analysis of chemical reaction rate changes showed that NH3 can affect the generation of O3 by affecting the NOx concentration and NOx circulation with radicals of OH and HO2 in the Updated scenario, and the change of pollutant concentration in the atmosphere leads to the change of meteorological transmission, eventually leading to the reduction of O3 concentration in Beijing. In conclusion, this study highlights the importance of atmospheric chemistry for air quality models to model atmospheric pollutants and should attract more research focus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guangyao Li
- Key Laboratory for Semi-Arid Climate Change of the Ministry of Education, College of Atmospheric Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China
| | - Qiang Chen
- Key Laboratory for Semi-Arid Climate Change of the Ministry of Education, College of Atmospheric Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China; Lanzhou University Applied Technology Research Institude Co., Ltd, Lanzhou, 730000, China.
| | - Wei Sun
- Key Laboratory for Semi-Arid Climate Change of the Ministry of Education, College of Atmospheric Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China
| | - Jing She
- Key Laboratory for Semi-Arid Climate Change of the Ministry of Education, College of Atmospheric Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China
| | - Jia Liu
- Key Laboratory for Semi-Arid Climate Change of the Ministry of Education, College of Atmospheric Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China
| | - Yuhuan Zhu
- Key Laboratory for Semi-Arid Climate Change of the Ministry of Education, College of Atmospheric Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China
| | - Wenkai Guo
- Faculty of Geosciences and Environmental Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, 611756, China
| | - Ruixin Zhang
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055, China
| | - Yufan Zhu
- Key Laboratory for Semi-Arid Climate Change of the Ministry of Education, College of Atmospheric Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China
| | - Mingyue Liu
- Ordos Meteorological Bureau of Inner Mongolia, Ordos, 017000, China
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8
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Rickly PS, Coggon MM, Aikin KC, Alvarez RJ, Baidar S, Gilman JB, Gkatzelis GI, Harkins C, He J, Lamplugh A, Langford AO, McDonald BC, Peischl J, Robinson MA, Rollins AW, Schwantes RH, Senff CJ, Warneke C, Brown SS. Influence of Wildfire on Urban Ozone: An Observationally Constrained Box Modeling Study at a Site in the Colorado Front Range. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2023; 57:1257-1267. [PMID: 36607321 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.2c06157] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Increasing trends in biomass burning emissions significantly impact air quality in North America. Enhanced mixing ratios of ozone (O3) in urban areas during smoke-impacted periods occur through transport of O3 produced within the smoke or through mixing of pyrogenic volatile organic compounds (PVOCs) with urban nitrogen oxides (NOx = NO + NO2) to enhance local O3 production. Here, we analyze a set of detailed chemical measurements, including carbon monoxide (CO), NOx, and speciated volatile organic compounds (VOCs), to evaluate the effects of smoke transported from relatively local and long-range fires on O3 measured at a site in Boulder, Colorado, during summer 2020. Relative to the smoke-free period, CO, background O3, OH reactivity, and total VOCs increased during both the local and long-range smoke periods, but NOx mixing ratios remained approximately constant. These observations are consistent with transport of PVOCs (comprised primarily of oxygenates) but not NOx with the smoke and with the influence of O3 produced within the smoke upwind of the urban area. Box-model calculations show that local O3 production during all three periods was in the NOx-sensitive regime. Consequently, this locally produced O3 was similar in all three periods and was relatively insensitive to the increase in PVOCs. However, calculated NOx sensitivities show that PVOCs substantially increase O3 production in the transition and NOx-saturated (VOC-sensitive) regimes. These results suggest that (1) O3 produced during smoke transport is the main driver for O3 increases in NOx-sensitive urban areas and (2) smoke may cause an additional increase in local O3 production in NOx-saturated (VOC-sensitive) urban areas. Additional detailed VOC and NOx measurements in smoke impacted urban areas are necessary to broadly quantify the effects of wildfire smoke on urban O3 and develop effective mitigation strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pamela S Rickly
- Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Science, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado80305, United States
- NOAA Chemical Sciences Laboratory, Boulder, Colorado80305, United States
| | - Matthew M Coggon
- NOAA Chemical Sciences Laboratory, Boulder, Colorado80305, United States
| | - Kenneth C Aikin
- Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Science, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado80305, United States
- NOAA Chemical Sciences Laboratory, Boulder, Colorado80305, United States
| | - Raul J Alvarez
- NOAA Chemical Sciences Laboratory, Boulder, Colorado80305, United States
| | - Sunil Baidar
- Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Science, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado80305, United States
- NOAA Chemical Sciences Laboratory, Boulder, Colorado80305, United States
| | - Jessica B Gilman
- NOAA Chemical Sciences Laboratory, Boulder, Colorado80305, United States
| | | | - Colin Harkins
- Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Science, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado80305, United States
- NOAA Chemical Sciences Laboratory, Boulder, Colorado80305, United States
| | - Jian He
- Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Science, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado80305, United States
- NOAA Chemical Sciences Laboratory, Boulder, Colorado80305, United States
| | - Aaron Lamplugh
- Institute of Behavioral Science, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado80309, United States
| | - Andrew O Langford
- NOAA Chemical Sciences Laboratory, Boulder, Colorado80305, United States
| | - Brian C McDonald
- NOAA Chemical Sciences Laboratory, Boulder, Colorado80305, United States
| | - Jeff Peischl
- Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Science, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado80305, United States
- NOAA Chemical Sciences Laboratory, Boulder, Colorado80305, United States
| | - Michael A Robinson
- Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Science, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado80305, United States
- NOAA Chemical Sciences Laboratory, Boulder, Colorado80305, United States
| | - Andrew W Rollins
- NOAA Chemical Sciences Laboratory, Boulder, Colorado80305, United States
| | | | - Christoph J Senff
- Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Science, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado80305, United States
- NOAA Chemical Sciences Laboratory, Boulder, Colorado80305, United States
| | - Carsten Warneke
- NOAA Chemical Sciences Laboratory, Boulder, Colorado80305, United States
| | - Steven S Brown
- NOAA Chemical Sciences Laboratory, Boulder, Colorado80305, United States
- Department of Chemistry, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado80309, United States
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9
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D’Evelyn SM, Jung J, Alvarado E, Baumgartner J, Caligiuri P, Hagmann RK, Henderson SB, Hessburg PF, Hopkins S, Kasner EJ, Krawchuk MA, Krenz JE, Lydersen JM, Marlier ME, Masuda YJ, Metlen K, Mittelstaedt G, Prichard SJ, Schollaert CL, Smith EB, Stevens JT, Tessum CW, Reeb-Whitaker C, Wilkins JL, Wolff NH, Wood LM, Haugo RD, Spector JT. Wildfire, Smoke Exposure, Human Health, and Environmental Justice Need to be Integrated into Forest Restoration and Management. Curr Environ Health Rep 2022; 9:366-385. [PMID: 35524066 PMCID: PMC9076366 DOI: 10.1007/s40572-022-00355-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/08/2022] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW Increasing wildfire size and severity across the western United States has created an environmental and social crisis that must be approached from a transdisciplinary perspective. Climate change and more than a century of fire exclusion and wildfire suppression have led to contemporary wildfires with more severe environmental impacts and human smoke exposure. Wildfires increase smoke exposure for broad swaths of the US population, though outdoor workers and socially disadvantaged groups with limited adaptive capacity can be disproportionally exposed. Exposure to wildfire smoke is associated with a range of health impacts in children and adults, including exacerbation of existing respiratory diseases such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, worse birth outcomes, and cardiovascular events. Seasonally dry forests in Washington, Oregon, and California can benefit from ecological restoration as a way to adapt forests to climate change and reduce smoke impacts on affected communities. RECENT FINDINGS Each wildfire season, large smoke events, and their adverse impacts on human health receive considerable attention from both the public and policymakers. The severity of recent wildfire seasons has state and federal governments outlining budgets and prioritizing policies to combat the worsening crisis. This surging attention provides an opportunity to outline the actions needed now to advance research and practice on conservation, economic, environmental justice, and public health interests, as well as the trade-offs that must be considered. Scientists, planners, foresters and fire managers, fire safety, air quality, and public health practitioners must collaboratively work together. This article is the result of a series of transdisciplinary conversations to find common ground and subsequently provide a holistic view of how forest and fire management intersect with human health through the impacts of smoke and articulate the need for an integrated approach to both planning and practice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Savannah M. D’Evelyn
- Dept. of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington, 3980 15th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98105 USA
| | - Jihoon Jung
- Dept. of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington, 3980 15th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98105 USA
| | - Ernesto Alvarado
- School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, USA
| | - Jill Baumgartner
- Dept of Epidemiology, Biostatistics & Occupational Health, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
| | | | - R. Keala Hagmann
- School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, USA
- Applegate Forestry, LLC, Corvallis, USA
| | | | - Paul F. Hessburg
- School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, USA
- USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station, Wenatchee, WA USA
| | - Sean Hopkins
- Washington State Department of Ecology, Lacey, USA
| | - Edward J. Kasner
- Dept. of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington, 3980 15th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98105 USA
| | - Meg A. Krawchuk
- Dept. of Forest Ecosystems and Society, Oregon State University, Corvallis, USA
| | - Jennifer E. Krenz
- Dept. of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington, 3980 15th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98105 USA
| | - Jamie M. Lydersen
- California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, Sacramento, USA
| | - Miriam E. Marlier
- Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, USA
| | | | | | | | - Susan J. Prichard
- School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, USA
| | - Claire L. Schollaert
- Dept. of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington, 3980 15th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98105 USA
| | | | - Jens T. Stevens
- Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM USA
| | - Christopher W. Tessum
- Dept. of Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, USA
| | - Carolyn Reeb-Whitaker
- Safety & Health Assessment & Research for Prevention Program, Washington State Department of Labor and Industries, Tumwater, USA
| | - Joseph L. Wilkins
- School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, USA
- Interdisciplinary Studies Department, Howard University, Washington, DC USA
| | | | - Leah M. Wood
- Evan’s School of Public Policy and Governance and The Department of Global Health, University of Washington, 3980 15th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98105 USA
| | | | - June T. Spector
- Dept. of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington, 3980 15th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98105 USA
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10
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Australian Bushfires (2019–2020): Aerosol Optical Properties and Radiative Forcing. ATMOSPHERE 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/atmos13060867] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
In the present study, we present the aerosol optical properties and radiative forcing (RF) of the tropospheric and stratospheric smoke layers, observed by the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO) satellite, during the extraordinary Australian biomass burning (BB) event in 2019–2020. These BB layers were studied and analyzed within the longitude range 140° E–20° W and the latitude band 20°–60° S, as they were gradually transported from the Australian banks to the South American continent. These layers were found to be trapped within the Andes circulation, staying for longer time periods in the same longitude region. The BB aerosols reached altitudes even up to 22 km amsl., and regarding their optical properties, they were found to be nearly spherical (particle linear depolarization ratio (PLDR) < 0.10) in the troposphere; while, in the stratosphere, they were more depolarizing with PLDR values reaching up to 0.20. Fine and ultrafine smoke particles were dominant in the stratosphere, according to the observed Ångström exponent, related to the backscatter coefficients obtained by the pair of wavelengths 532 and 1064 nm (Åb up to 3), in contrast to the Åb values in the troposphere (Åb < 1) indicative of the presence of coarser particles. As the aerosols fend off the source, towards North America, a slightly descending trend was observed in the tropospheric Åb values, while the stratospheric ones were lightly increased. A maximum aerosol optical depth (AOD) value of 0.54 was recorded in the lower troposphere over the fire spots, while, in the stratosphere, AOD values up to 0.29 were observed. Sharp changes of carbon monoxide (CO) and ozone (O3) concentrations were also recorded by the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) in various atmospheric heights over the study region, associated with fire smoke emissions. The tropospheric smoke layers were found to have a negative mean radiative effect, ranging from −12.83 W/m2 at the top of the atmosphere (TOA), to −32.22 W/m2 on the surface (SRF), while the radiative effect of the stratospheric smoke was estimated between −7.36 at the TOA to −18.51 W/m2 at the SRF.
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11
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Abstract
The spatiotemporal patterns of ground level ozone (O3) concentrations in the New York City (NYC) metropolitan region for the 2007–2017 period were examined conjointly with local emissions of O3 precursors and the frequency of wildfires. Daily 8-h and 1-h O3 and nitric oxide (NO) concentrations were retrieved from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Air Data. Annual emission inventories for 2008 and 2017 were acquired from EPA National Emissions Inventory (NEI). The number and area burnt by natural and human-ignited wildfires were acquired from the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC). The highest daily 8-h max O3 concentrations varied from 90 to 111 parts per billion volume (ppbv) with the highest concentrations measured perimetrically to NYC urban agglomeration. The monthly 8-h max O3 levels have been declining for most of the peri-urban sites but increasing (from +0.18 to +1.39 ppbv/year) for sites within the urban agglomeration. Slightly higher O3 concentrations were measured during weekend than those measured during the weekdays in urban sites probably due to reduced O3 titration by NO. Significant reductions of locally emitted anthropogenic nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) may have triggered the transition from VOC-limited to NOX-limited conditions, with downwind VOCs sources being critically important. Strong correlations between the monthly 8-h max O3 concentrations and wildfires in Eastern US were computed. More and destructive wildfires in the region were ignited by lightning for years with moderate and strong La Niña conditions. These findings indicate that climate change may counterbalance current and future gains on O3 precursor’s reductions by amending the VOCs-to-NOx balance.
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12
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Wang W, Liu X, Bi J, Liu Y. A machine learning model to estimate ground-level ozone concentrations in California using TROPOMI data and high-resolution meteorology. ENVIRONMENT INTERNATIONAL 2022; 158:106917. [PMID: 34624589 DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2021.106917] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2021] [Revised: 09/30/2021] [Accepted: 10/01/2021] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
Estimating ground-level ozone concentrations is crucial to study the adverse health effects of ozone exposure and better understand the impacts of ground-level ozone on biodiversity and vegetation. However, few studies have attempted to use satellite retrieved ozone as an indicator given their low sensitivity in the boundary layer. Using the Troposphere Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI)'s total ozone column together with the ozone profile information retrieved by the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI), as TROPOMI ozone profile product has not been released, we developed a machine learning model to estimate daily maximum 8-hour average ground-level ozone concentration at 10 km spatial resolution in California. In addition to satellite parameters, we included meteorological fields from the High-Resolution Rapid Refresh (HRRR) system at 3 km resolution and land-use information as predictors. Our model achieved an overall 10-fold cross-validation (CV) R2 of 0.84 with root mean square error (RMSE) of 0.0059 ppm, indicating a good agreement between model predictions and observations. Model predictions showed that the suburb of Los Angeles Metropolitan area had the highest ozone levels, while the Bay Area and the Pacific coast had the lowest. High ozone levels are also seen in Southern California and along the east side of the Central Valley. TROPOMI data improved the estimate of extreme values when compared to a similar model without it. Our study demonstrates the feasibility and value of using TROPOMI data in the spatiotemporal characterization of ground-level ozone concentration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenhao Wang
- Gangarosa Department of Environmental Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Xiong Liu
- Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Jianzhao Bi
- Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Yang Liu
- Gangarosa Department of Environmental Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
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13
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Observed Relationship between Ozone and Temperature for Urban Nonattainment Areas in the United States. ATMOSPHERE 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/atmos12101235] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
This study examined the observed relationship between ozone (O3) and temperature using data from 1995 to 2020 at 20 cities across the United States (U.S.) that exceed the O3 National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS). The median slope of the O3 versus temperature relationship decreased from 2.8 to 1.5 parts per billion per degrees Celsius (ppb °C−1) in the eastern U.S., 2.2 to 1.3 ppb °C−1 in the midwestern U.S., and 1.7 to 1.1 ppb °C−1 in the western U.S. O3 in the eastern and midwestern U.S. has become less correlated with temperature due to emission controls. In the western U.S., O3 concentrations have declined more slowly and the correlation between O3 and temperature has changed negligibly due to the effects of high background O3 and wildfire smoke. This implies that meeting the O3 NAAQS in the western U.S. will be more challenging compared with other parts of the country.
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14
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Wu Y, Nehrir AR, Ren X, Dickerson RR, Huang J, Stratton PR, Gronoff G, Kooi SA, Collins JE, Berkoff TA, Lei L, Gross B, Moshary F. Synergistic aircraft and ground observations of transported wildfire smoke and its impact on air quality in New York City during the summer 2018 LISTOS campaign. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2021; 773:145030. [PMID: 33940711 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.145030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2020] [Revised: 12/24/2020] [Accepted: 01/04/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Air pollution associated with wildfire smoke transport during the summer can significantly affect ozone (O3) and particulate matter (PM) concentrations, even in heavily populated areas like New York City (NYC). Here, we use observations from aircraft, ground-based lidar, in-situ analyzers and satellite to study and assess wildfire smoke transport, vertical distribution, optical properties, and potential impact on air quality in the NYC urban and coastal areas during the summer 2018 Long Island Sound Tropospheric Ozone Study (LISTOS). We investigate an episode of dense smoke transported and mixed into the planetary boundary layer (PBL) on August 15-17, 2018. The horizontal advection of the smoke is shown to be characterized with the prevailing northwest winds in the PBL (velocity > 10 m/s) based on Doppler wind lidar measurements. The wildfire sources and smoke transport paths from the northwest US/Canada to northeast US are identified from the NOAA hazard mapping system (HMS) fires and smoke product and NOAA-HYbrid Single Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) backward trajectory analysis. The smoke particles are distinguished from the urban aerosols by showing larger lidar-ratio (70-sr at 532-nm) and smaller depolarization ratio (0.02) at 1064-nm using the NASA High Altitude Lidar Observatory (HALO) airborne high-spectral resolution lidar (HSRL) measurements. The extinction-related angstrom exponents in the near-infrared (IR at 1020-1640 nm) and Ultraviolet (UV at 340-440 nm) from NASA-Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) product show a reverse variation trend along the smoke loadings, and their absolute differences indicate strong correlation with the smoke-Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) (R > 0.94). We show that the aloft smoke plumes can contribute as much as 60-70% to the column AOD and that concurrent high-loadings of O3, carbon monoxide (CO), and black carbon (BC) were found in the elevated smoke layers from the University of Maryland (UMD) aircraft in-situ observations. Meanwhile, the surface PM2.5 (PM with diameter ≤ 2.5 μm), organic carbon (OC) and CO measurements show coincident and sharp increase (e.g., PM2.5 from 5 μg/m3 before the plume intrusion to ~30 μg/m3) with the onset of the plume intrusions into the PBL along with hourly O3 exceedances in the NYC region. We further evaluate the NOAA-National Air Quality Forecasting Capability (NAQFC) model PBL-height, PM2.5, and O3 with the observations and demonstrate good consistency near the ground during the convective PBL period, but significant bias at other times. The aloft smoke layers are sometimes missed by the model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yonghua Wu
- City College of New York, New York, NY 10031, USA; NOAA - Cooperative Science Center for Earth System Sciences and Remote Sensing Technologies, New York, NY 10031, USA.
| | - Amin R Nehrir
- NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA 23681, USA
| | - Xinrong Ren
- Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA; Air Resources Laboratory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), College Park, MD 20740, USA
| | - Russell R Dickerson
- Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - Jianping Huang
- NOAA/NCEP/Environmental Modeling Center and I.M. System Group, College Park, MD 20740, USA
| | - Phillip R Stratton
- Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - Guillaume Gronoff
- NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA 23681, USA; Science Systems Applications, Inc., Hampton, VA 23666, USA
| | - Susan A Kooi
- NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA 23681, USA; Science Systems Applications, Inc., Hampton, VA 23666, USA
| | - James E Collins
- NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA 23681, USA; Science Systems Applications, Inc., Hampton, VA 23666, USA
| | | | - Liqiao Lei
- NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA 23681, USA; Universities Space Research Association, Columbia, MD 21046, USA
| | - Barry Gross
- City College of New York, New York, NY 10031, USA; NOAA - Cooperative Science Center for Earth System Sciences and Remote Sensing Technologies, New York, NY 10031, USA
| | - Fred Moshary
- City College of New York, New York, NY 10031, USA; NOAA - Cooperative Science Center for Earth System Sciences and Remote Sensing Technologies, New York, NY 10031, USA
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15
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Aguilera R, Corringham T, Gershunov A, Benmarhnia T. Wildfire smoke impacts respiratory health more than fine particles from other sources: observational evidence from Southern California. Nat Commun 2021; 12:1493. [PMID: 33674571 PMCID: PMC7935892 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-21708-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 150] [Impact Index Per Article: 50.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2020] [Accepted: 02/03/2021] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Wildfires are becoming more frequent and destructive in a changing climate. Fine particulate matter, PM2.5, in wildfire smoke adversely impacts human health. Recent toxicological studies suggest that wildfire particulate matter may be more toxic than equal doses of ambient PM2.5. Air quality regulations however assume that the toxicity of PM2.5 does not vary across different sources of emission. Assessing whether PM2.5 from wildfires is more or less harmful than PM2.5 from other sources is a pressing public health concern. Here, we isolate the wildfire-specific PM2.5 using a series of statistical approaches and exposure definitions. We found increases in respiratory hospitalizations ranging from 1.3 to up to 10% with a 10 μg m-3 increase in wildfire-specific PM2.5, compared to 0.67 to 1.3% associated with non-wildfire PM2.5. Our conclusions point to the need for air quality policies to consider the variability in PM2.5 impacts on human health according to the sources of emission.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rosana Aguilera
- grid.266100.30000 0001 2107 4242Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA USA
| | - Thomas Corringham
- grid.266100.30000 0001 2107 4242Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA USA
| | - Alexander Gershunov
- grid.266100.30000 0001 2107 4242Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA USA
| | - Tarik Benmarhnia
- grid.266100.30000 0001 2107 4242Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA USA ,grid.266100.30000 0001 2107 4242Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA USA
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16
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Long RW, Whitehill A, Habel A, Urbanski S, Halliday H, Colón M, Kaushik S, Landis MS. Comparison of ozone measurement methods in biomass burning smoke: an evaluation under field and laboratory conditions. ATMOSPHERIC MEASUREMENT TECHNIQUES 2021; 14:1783-1800. [PMID: 34017362 PMCID: PMC8128704 DOI: 10.5194/amt-14-1783-2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
In recent years wildland fires in the United States have had significant impacts on local and regional air quality and negative human health outcomes. Although the primary health concerns from wildland fires come from fine particulate matter (PM2.5), large increases in ozone (O3) have been observed downwind of wildland fire plumes (DeBell et al., 2004; Bytnerowicz et al., 2010; Preisler et al., 2010; Jaffe et al., 2012; Bytnerowicz et al., 2013; Jaffe et al., 2013; Lu et al., 2016; Lindaas et al., 2017; McClure and Jaffe, 2018; Liu et al., 2018; Baylon et al., 2018; Buysse et al., 2019). Conditions generated in and around wildland fire plumes, including the presence of interfering chemical species, can make the accurate measurement of O3 concentrations using the ultraviolet (UV) photometric method challenging if not impossible. UV photometric method instruments are prone to interferences by volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that are present at high concentrations in wildland fire smoke. Four different O3 measurement methodologies were deployed in a mobile sampling platform downwind of active prescribed grassland fire lines in Kansas and Oregon and during controlled chamber burns at the United States Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station Fire Sciences Laboratory in Missoula, Montana. We demonstrate that the Federal Reference Method (FRM) nitric oxide (NO) chemiluminescence monitors and Federal Equivalent Method (FEM) gas-phase (NO) chemical scrubber UV photometric O3 monitors are relatively interference-free, even in near-field combustion plumes. In contrast, FEM UV photometric O3 monitors using solid-phase catalytic scrubbers show positive artifacts that are positively correlated with carbon monoxide (CO) and total gas-phase hydrocarbon (THC), two indicator species of biomass burning. Of the two catalytic scrubber UV photometric methods evaluated, the instruments that included a Nafion® tube dryer in the sample introduction system had artifacts an order of magnitude smaller than the instrument with no humidity correction. We hypothesize that Nafion®-permeating VOCs (such as aromatic hydrocarbons) could be a significant source of interference for catalytic scrubber UV photometric O3 monitors and that the inclusion of a Nafion® tube dryer assists with the mitigation of these interferences. The chemiluminescence FRM method is highly recommended for accurate measurements of O3 in wildland fire plume studies and at regulatory ambient monitoring sites frequently impacted by wildland fire smoke.
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Affiliation(s)
- Russell W. Long
- Center for Environmental Measurement and Modeling, Office of Research and Development, United States Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Andrew Whitehill
- Center for Environmental Measurement and Modeling, Office of Research and Development, United States Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Andrew Habel
- Jacobs Technology Inc., Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Shawn Urbanski
- U.S. Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Missoula, Montana, United States of America
| | - Hannah Halliday
- Center for Environmental Measurement and Modeling, Office of Research and Development, United States Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Maribel Colón
- Center for Environmental Measurement and Modeling, Office of Research and Development, United States Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Surender Kaushik
- Center for Environmental Measurement and Modeling, Office of Research and Development, United States Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Matthew S. Landis
- Center for Environmental Measurement and Modeling, Office of Research and Development, United States Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, United States of America
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17
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Wildfire particulate matter in Shasta County, California and respiratory and circulatory disease-related emergency department visits and mortality, 2013-2018. Environ Epidemiol 2020; 5:e124. [PMID: 33778357 PMCID: PMC7939433 DOI: 10.1097/ee9.0000000000000124] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2020] [Accepted: 11/10/2020] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text. Wildfire smoke harms health. We add to this literature by evaluating the health effects of California’s 2018 Carr Fire and preceding wildfire seasons in Shasta County.
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18
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O'Dell K, Hornbrook RS, Permar W, Levin EJT, Garofalo LA, Apel EC, Blake NJ, Jarnot A, Pothier MA, Farmer DK, Hu L, Campos T, Ford B, Pierce JR, Fischer EV. Hazardous Air Pollutants in Fresh and Aged Western US Wildfire Smoke and Implications for Long-Term Exposure. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2020; 54:11838-11847. [PMID: 32857515 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.0c04497] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
Wildfires have a significant adverse impact on air quality in the United States (US). To understand the potential health impacts of wildfire smoke, many epidemiology studies rely on concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM) as a smoke tracer. However, there are many gas-phase hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) identified by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that are also present in wildfire smoke plumes. Using observations from the Western Wildfire Experiment for Cloud Chemistry, Aerosol Absorption, and Nitrogen (WE-CAN), a 2018 aircraft-based field campaign that measured HAPs and PM in western US wildfire smoke plumes, we identify the relationships between HAPs and associated health risks, PM, and smoke age. We find the ratios between acute, chronic noncancer, and chronic cancer HAPs health risk and PM in smoke decrease as a function of smoke age by up to 72% from fresh (<1 day of aging) to old (>3 days of aging) smoke. We show that acrolein, formaldehyde, benzene, and hydrogen cyanide are the dominant contributors to gas-phase HAPs risk in smoke plumes. Finally, we use ratios of HAPs to PM along with annual average smoke-specific PM to estimate current and potential future smoke HAPs risks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katelyn O'Dell
- Department of Atmospheric Science, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80521, United States
| | - Rebecca S Hornbrook
- Atmospheric Chemistry Division, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado 80301, United States
| | - Wade Permar
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana 59812, United States
| | - Ezra J T Levin
- Department of Atmospheric Science, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80521, United States
| | - Lauren A Garofalo
- Department of Chemistry, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523, United States
| | - Eric C Apel
- Atmospheric Chemistry Division, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado 80301, United States
| | - Nicola J Blake
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Irvine, California 92697, United States
| | - Alex Jarnot
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Irvine, California 92697, United States
| | - Matson A Pothier
- Department of Chemistry, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523, United States
| | - Delphine K Farmer
- Department of Chemistry, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523, United States
| | - Lu Hu
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana 59812, United States
| | - Teresa Campos
- Atmospheric Chemistry Division, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado 80301, United States
| | - Bonne Ford
- Department of Atmospheric Science, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80521, United States
| | - Jeffrey R Pierce
- Department of Atmospheric Science, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80521, United States
| | - Emily V Fischer
- Department of Atmospheric Science, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80521, United States
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19
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Jaffe DA, O’Neill SM, Larkin NK, Holder AL, Peterson DL, Halofsky JE, Rappold AG. Wildfire and prescribed burning impacts on air quality in the United States. JOURNAL OF THE AIR & WASTE MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION (1995) 2020; 70:583-615. [PMID: 32240055 PMCID: PMC7932990 DOI: 10.1080/10962247.2020.1749731] [Citation(s) in RCA: 103] [Impact Index Per Article: 25.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
UNLABELLED Air quality impacts from wildfires have been dramatic in recent years, with millions of people exposed to elevated and sometimes hazardous fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) concentrations for extended periods. Fires emit particulate matter (PM) and gaseous compounds that can negatively impact human health and reduce visibility. While the overall trend in U.S. air quality has been improving for decades, largely due to implementation of the Clean Air Act, seasonal wildfires threaten to undo this in some regions of the United States. Our understanding of the health effects of smoke is growing with regard to respiratory and cardiovascular consequences and mortality. The costs of these health outcomes can exceed the billions already spent on wildfire suppression. In this critical review, we examine each of the processes that influence wildland fires and the effects of fires, including the natural role of wildland fire, forest management, ignitions, emissions, transport, chemistry, and human health impacts. We highlight key data gaps and examine the complexity and scope and scale of fire occurrence, estimated emissions, and resulting effects on regional air quality across the United States. The goal is to clarify which areas are well understood and which need more study. We conclude with a set of recommendations for future research. IMPLICATIONS In the recent decade the area of wildfires in the United States has increased dramatically and the resulting smoke has exposed millions of people to unhealthy air quality. In this critical review we examine the key factors and impacts from fires including natural role of wildland fire, forest management, ignitions, emissions, transport, chemistry and human health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel A. Jaffe
- School of STEM and Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | | | | | - Amara L. Holder
- Office of Research and Development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA
| | - David L. Peterson
- School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington Seattle, Seattle WA, USA
| | - Jessica E. Halofsky
- School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington Seattle, Seattle WA, USA
| | - Ana G. Rappold
- National Health and Environmental Effects Research Lab, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA
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20
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Peng Q, Palm BB, Melander KE, Lee BH, Hall SR, Ullmann K, Campos T, Weinheimer AJ, Apel EC, Hornbrook RS, Hills AJ, Montzka DD, Flocke F, Hu L, Permar W, Wielgasz C, Lindaas J, Pollack IB, Fischer EV, Bertram TH, Thornton JA. HONO Emissions from Western U.S. Wildfires Provide Dominant Radical Source in Fresh Wildfire Smoke. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2020; 54:5954-5963. [PMID: 32294377 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.0c00126] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Wildfires are an important source of nitrous acid (HONO), a photolabile radical precursor, yet in situ measurements and quantification of primary HONO emissions from open wildfires have been scarce. We present airborne observations of HONO within wildfire plumes sampled during the Western Wildfire Experiment for Cloud chemistry, Aerosol absorption and Nitrogen (WE-CAN) campaign. ΔHONO/ΔCO close to the fire locations ranged from 0.7 to 17 pptv ppbv-1 using a maximum enhancement method, with the median similar to previous observations of temperate forest fire plumes. Measured HONO to NOx enhancement ratios were generally factors of 2, or higher, at early plume ages than previous studies. Enhancement ratios scale with modified combustion efficiency and certain nitrogenous trace gases, which may be useful to estimate HONO release when HONO observations are lacking or plumes have photochemical exposures exceeding an hour as emitted HONO is rapidly photolyzed. We find that HONO photolysis is the dominant contributor to hydrogen oxide radicals (HOx = OH + HO2) in early stage (<3 h) wildfire plume evolution. These results highlight the role of HONO as a major component of reactive nitrogen emissions from wildfires and the main driver of initial photochemical oxidation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qiaoyun Peng
- Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
| | - Brett B Palm
- Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
| | - Kira E Melander
- Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
| | - Ben H Lee
- Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
| | - Samuel R Hall
- Atmospheric Chemistry Observations & Modeling Laboratory, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado 80301, United States
| | - Kirk Ullmann
- Atmospheric Chemistry Observations & Modeling Laboratory, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado 80301, United States
| | - Teresa Campos
- Atmospheric Chemistry Observations & Modeling Laboratory, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado 80301, United States
| | - Andrew J Weinheimer
- Atmospheric Chemistry Observations & Modeling Laboratory, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado 80301, United States
| | - Eric C Apel
- Atmospheric Chemistry Observations & Modeling Laboratory, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado 80301, United States
| | - Rebecca S Hornbrook
- Atmospheric Chemistry Observations & Modeling Laboratory, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado 80301, United States
| | - Alan J Hills
- Atmospheric Chemistry Observations & Modeling Laboratory, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado 80301, United States
| | - Denise D Montzka
- Atmospheric Chemistry Observations & Modeling Laboratory, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado 80301, United States
| | - Frank Flocke
- Atmospheric Chemistry Observations & Modeling Laboratory, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado 80301, United States
| | - Lu Hu
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana 59812, United States
| | - Wade Permar
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana 59812, United States
| | - Catherine Wielgasz
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana 59812, United States
| | - Jakob Lindaas
- Department of Atmospheric Science, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523, United States
| | - Ilana B Pollack
- Department of Atmospheric Science, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523, United States
| | - Emily V Fischer
- Department of Atmospheric Science, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523, United States
| | - Timothy H Bertram
- Department of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin, Madison Wisconsin 53706, United States
| | - Joel A Thornton
- Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
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21
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Liu T, He G, Lau AKH. Statistical evidence on the impact of agricultural straw burning on urban air quality in China. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2020; 711:134633. [PMID: 32000317 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.134633] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2019] [Revised: 09/19/2019] [Accepted: 09/23/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Agricultural straw burning is prevalent globally with a long history, but evidence on its pollution and health impact is limited in many countries. This study quantifies the effect of agricultural straw burning on urban air quality in China. Fixed-effects (FE) panel regression models are employed to link straw burning points detected by high-resolution satellites to air quality monitored at 1650 ground-level stations from 2013 to 2015. The method can explain over 80% of the monthly variation in urban air quality during straw burning seasons. The results show that straw burning primarily affects particulate matter, and has negligible effects on other pollutants. Specifically, ten additional burning points in a month in the rural farmland of a city can lead to a 5.19 ± 2.54 µg/m3 (3.67%±1.76%) increase in urban PM10 concentration. The effect is statistically significant for monthly burnings over 20 points. Upwind burnings' effect is 2-4 times larger than that of non-upwind burnings. The contribution from straw burning remains significant for daily and annual PM10 in urban areas. These estimates imply that straw burning should be properly regulated to improve air quality and protect public health in China, and the method and findings have broad implications for other agrarian regions with similar issues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tong Liu
- Division of Social Science, and Institute for Advanced Study, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China.
| | - Guojun He
- Division of Social Science, and Institute for Advanced Study, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China; Division of Social Science, Division of Environment and Sustainability, and Department of Economics, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China.
| | - Alexis Kai Hon Lau
- Division of Environment and Sustainability, and Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China.
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22
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Impact of Fire Emissions on U.S. Air Quality from 1997 to 2016–A Modeling Study in the Satellite Era. REMOTE SENSING 2020. [DOI: 10.3390/rs12060913] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
A regional modeling system that integrates the state-of-the-art emissions processing (SMOKE), climate (CWRF), and air quality (CMAQ) models has been combined with satellite measurements of fire activities to assess the impact of fire emissions on the contiguous United States (CONUS) air quality during 1997–2016. The system realistically reproduced the spatiotemporal distributions of the observed meteorology and surface air quality, with a slight overestimate of surface ozone (O3) by ~4% and underestimate of surface PM2.5 by ~10%. The system simulation showed that the fire impacts on primary pollutants such as CO were generally confined to the fire source areas but its effects on secondary pollutants like O3 spread more broadly. The fire contribution to air quality varied greatly during 1997-2016 and occasionally accounted for more than 100 ppbv of monthly mean surface CO and over 20 µg m−3 of monthly mean PM2.5 in the Northwest U.S. and Northern California, two regions susceptible to frequent fires. Fire emissions also had implications on air quality compliance. From 1997 to 2016, fire emissions increased surface 8-hour O3 standard exceedances by 10% and 24-hour PM2.5 exceedances by 33% over CONUS.
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23
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Optimization of a Method for the Detection of Biomass-Burning Relevant VOCs in Urban Areas Using Thermal Desorption Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry. ATMOSPHERE 2020. [DOI: 10.3390/atmos11030276] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Forest fire smoke influence in urban areas is relatively easy to detect at high concentrations but more challenging to detect at low concentrations. In this study, we present a simplified method that can reliably quantify smoke tracers in an urban environment at relatively low cost and complexity. For this purpose, we used dual-bed thermal desorption tubes with an auto-sampler to collect continuous samples of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). We present the validation and evaluation of this approach using thermal desorption gas chromatography mass spectrometry (TD-GC-MS) to detect VOCs at ppt to ppb concentrations. To evaluate the method, we tested stability during storage, interferences (e.g., water and O3), and reproducibility for reactive and short-lived VOCs such as acetonitrile (a specific chemical tracer for biomass burning), acetone, n-pentane, isopentane, benzene, toluene, furan, acrolein, 2-butanone, 2,3-butanedione, methacrolein, 2,5- dimethylfuran, and furfural. The results demonstrate that these VOCs can be quantified reproducibly with a total uncertainty of ≤30% between the collection and analysis, and with storage times of up to 15 days. Calibration experiments performed over a dynamic range of 10–150 ng loaded on to each thermal desorption tube at different relative humidity showed excellent linearity (r2 ≥ 0.90). We utilized this method during the summer 2019 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fire Influence on Regional to Global Environments Experiment–Air Quality (FIREX-AQ) intensive experiment at the Boise ground site. The results of this field study demonstrate the method’s applicability for ambient VOC speciation to identify forest fire smoke in urban areas.
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24
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Oliveira M, Delerue-Matos C, Pereira MC, Morais S. Environmental Particulate Matter Levels during 2017 Large Forest Fires and Megafires in the Center Region of Portugal: A Public Health Concern? INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2020; 17:E1032. [PMID: 32041266 PMCID: PMC7036973 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17031032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2020] [Revised: 01/31/2020] [Accepted: 02/04/2020] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
This work characterizes the dimension and the exceptionality of 2017 large- and mega-fires that occurred in the center region of Portugal through the assessment of their impact on the ambient levels of particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), retrieved from local monitoring stations, and the associated public health risks. PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations were increased during the occurrence of large fires and megafires, with daily concentrations exceeding the European/national guidelines in 7-14 and 1-12 days of 2017 (up to 704 µg/m3 for PM10 and 46 µg/m3 for PM2.5), respectively. PM10 concentrations were correlated with total burned area (0.500 < r < 0.949; p > 0.05) and with monthly total burned area/distance2 (0.500 < r < 0.667; p > 0.05). The forest fires of 2017 took the life of 112 citizens. A total of 474 cases of hospital admissions due to cardiovascular diseases and 3524 cases of asthma incidence symptoms per 100,000 individuals at risk were assessed due to exposure to 2017 forest fires. Real-time and in situ PM methodologies should be combined with protection action plans to reduce public health risks. Portuguese rural stations should monitor other health-relevant pollutants (e.g., carbon monoxide and volatile organic compounds) released from wildfires to allow performing more robust and comprehensive measurements that will allow a better assessment of the potential health risks for the exposed populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marta Oliveira
- REQUIMTE/LAQV, Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Instituto Politécnico do Porto, 4249-015 Porto, Portugal;
| | - Cristina Delerue-Matos
- REQUIMTE/LAQV, Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Instituto Politécnico do Porto, 4249-015 Porto, Portugal;
| | - Maria Carmo Pereira
- LEPABE, Departamento de Engenharia Química, Faculdade de Engenharia, Universidade do Porto, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal;
| | - Simone Morais
- REQUIMTE/LAQV, Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Instituto Politécnico do Porto, 4249-015 Porto, Portugal;
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25
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Brey SJ, Barnes EA, Pierce JR, Swann ALS, Fischer EV. Past Variance and Future Projections of the Environmental Conditions Driving Western U.S. Summertime Wildfire Burn Area. EARTH'S FUTURE 2020; 9:e2020EF001645. [PMID: 33681404 PMCID: PMC7900977 DOI: 10.1029/2020ef001645] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2020] [Revised: 07/09/2020] [Accepted: 07/15/2020] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
Increases in vapor pressure deficit (VPD) have been hypothesized as the primary driver of future fire changes. The Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) models agree that western U.S. surface temperatures and associated dryness of air as defined by the VPD will increase in the 21st century for Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) 4.5 and 8.5. However, we find that averaged over seasonal and regional scales, other environmental variables demonstrated to be relevant to flammability, moisture abundances, and aridity-such as precipitation, evaporation, relative humidity, root zone soil moisture, and wind speed-can be used to explain observed variance in wildfire burn area as well or better than VPD. However, the magnitude and sign of the change of these variables in the 21st century are less certain than the predicted changes in VPD. Our work demonstrates that when objectively selecting environmental variables to maximize predictive skill of linear regressions (minimize square error on unseen data) VPD is not always selected and when it is not, the magnitude of future increases in burn area becomes less certain. Hence, this work shows that future burn area predictions are sensitive to what environmental predictors are chosen to drive burn area.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steven J. Brey
- Department of Atmospheric ScienceColorado State UniversityFort CollinsCOUSA
| | | | - Jeffrey R. Pierce
- Department of Atmospheric ScienceColorado State UniversityFort CollinsCOUSA
| | | | - Emily V. Fischer
- Department of Atmospheric ScienceColorado State UniversityFort CollinsCOUSA
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26
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Moreira I, Linares C, Follos F, Sánchez-Martínez G, Vellón JM, Díaz J. Short-term effects of Saharan dust intrusions and biomass combustion on birth outcomes in Spain. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2020; 701:134755. [PMID: 31704398 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.134755] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2019] [Revised: 09/24/2019] [Accepted: 09/29/2019] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
The objective of this study is to analyze the short-term effects of atmospheric pollutant concentrations (PM10, NO2 and O3) and heat and cold waves on the number of pre-term births and cases of low birth weight related to Saharan dust advection and biomass combustion. The dependent variables used in this analysis were the total number of births, births with low weight (>2.500 g) and pre-term births (<37 weeks), that occurred at the province level. Data provided by the NSI included: days with Saharan dust intrusion or biomass advection classified in terms of information provided by MITECO for each of the nine regions in Spain. A representative city was selected for reach region in which the registered average daily concentrations of PM10, NO2 and O3 (μg/m3) were used. These were also provided by MITECO. The daily maximum and daily minimum temperature (°C) used was those registered by the meteorological observatory station located in each province capital, provided by AEMET. Using Poisson log linear regression models, the associated relative risks (RR) were measured as well as the population attributable risk (PAR) corresponding to the variables that resulted statistically significant at p < 0.05 for days with and without intrusion of natural particulate matter. The results obtained show that the days with Saharan dust intrusion or advections due to biomass combustion- beyond the impact of PM10, primary pollutants such as NO2 (in Saharan intrusions), heat waves and O3 - are associated with the number of births, low birth weight and pre-term birth. The RR and percent PAR of the pollutants and the heat waves are greater than those obtained for PM10. The results of this study indicate that days with natural particulate matter due to biomass combustion or advection of Saharan dust put pregnant women at risk.
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Affiliation(s)
- I Moreira
- Escuela Nacional de Sanidad, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
| | - C Linares
- Escuela Nacional de Sanidad, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
| | - F Follos
- Tdot Soluciones Sostenibles, S.L. Ferrol, A Coruña, Spain
| | | | - J M Vellón
- Tdot Soluciones Sostenibles, S.L. Ferrol, A Coruña, Spain
| | - J Díaz
- Escuela Nacional de Sanidad, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.
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27
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Buysse CE, Kaulfus A, Nair U, Jaffe DA. Relationships between Particulate Matter, Ozone, and Nitrogen Oxides during Urban Smoke Events in the Western US. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2019; 53:12519-12528. [PMID: 31597429 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.9b05241] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
Urban ozone (O3) pollution is influenced by the transport of wildfire smoke but observed impacts are highly variable. We investigate O3 impacts from smoke in 18 western US cities during July-September, 2013-2017, with ground-based monitoring data from air quality system sites, using satellite-based hazard mapping system (HMS) fire and smoke product to identify overhead smoke. We present four key findings. First, O3 and PM2.5 (particulate matter <2.5 μm in diameter) are elevated at nearly all sites on days influenced by smoke, with the greatest mean enhancement occurring during multiday smoke events; nitrogen oxides (NOx) are not consistently elevated across all sites. Second, PM2.5 and O3 exhibit a nonlinear relationship such that O3 increases with PM2.5 at low to moderate 24 h PM2.5, peaks around 30-50 μg m-3, and declines at higher PM2.5. Third, the rate of increase of morning O3 is higher and NO/NO2 ratios are lower on smoke-influenced days, which could result from additional atmospheric oxidants in smoke. Fourth, while the HMS product is a useful tool for identifying smoke, O3 and PM2.5 are elevated on days before and after HMS-identified smoke events implying that a significant fraction of smoke events is not detected.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claire E Buysse
- Department of Atmospheric Sciences , University of Washington , Seattle , Washington 98195 , United States
| | - Aaron Kaulfus
- Department of Atmospheric Science , University of Alabama in Huntsville , Huntsville , Alabama 35899 , United States
| | - Udaysankar Nair
- Department of Atmospheric Science , University of Alabama in Huntsville , Huntsville , Alabama 35899 , United States
| | - Daniel A Jaffe
- Department of Atmospheric Sciences , University of Washington , Seattle , Washington 98195 , United States
- School of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics , University of Washington-Bothell , Bothell , Washington 98011 , United States
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28
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Jiang X, Enki Yoo EH. Modeling Wildland Fire-Specific PM 2.5 Concentrations for Uncertainty-Aware Health Impact Assessments. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2019; 53:11828-11839. [PMID: 31533425 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.9b02660] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
Wildland fire is a major emission source of fine particulate matter (PM2.5), which has serious adverse health effects. Most fire-related health studies have estimated human exposures to PM2.5 using ground observations, which have limited spatial/temporal coverage and could not separate PM2.5 emanating from wildland fires from other sources. The Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model has the potential to fill the gaps left by ground observations and estimate wildland fire-specific PM2.5 concentrations, although the issues around systematic bias in CMAQ models remain to be resolved. To address these problems, we developed a two-step calibration strategy under the consideration of prediction uncertainties. In a case study of the eastern U.S. in 2014, we evaluated the calibration performance using three cross-validation methods, which consistently indicated that the prediction accuracy was improved with an R2 of 0.47-0.64. In a health impact study based on the wildland fire-specific PM2.5 predictions, we identified regions with excess respiratory hospital admissions due to wildland fire events and quantified the estimation uncertainty propagated from multiple components in health impact function. We concluded that the proposed calibration strategy could provide reliable wildland fire-specific PM2.5 predictions and health burden estimates to support policy development for reducing fire-related risks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiangyu Jiang
- Department of Geography , University at Buffalo-The State University of New York , Buffalo , New York 14261 , United States
| | - Eun-Hye Enki Yoo
- Department of Geography , University at Buffalo-The State University of New York , Buffalo , New York 14261 , United States
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29
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Luo N, Weng W, Xu X, Hong T, Fu M, Sun K. Assessment of occupant-behavior-based indoor air quality and its impacts on human exposure risk: A case study based on the wildfires in Northern California. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2019; 686:1251-1261. [PMID: 31412521 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.05.467] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2019] [Revised: 05/26/2019] [Accepted: 05/30/2019] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
The recent wildfires in California, U.S., have caused not only significant losses to human life and property, but also serious environmental and health issues. Ambient air pollution from combustion during the fires could increase indoor exposure risks to toxic gases and particles, further exacerbating respiratory conditions. This work aims at addressing existing knowledge gaps in understanding how indoor air quality is affected by outdoor air pollutants during wildfires-by taking into account occupant behaviors (e.g., movement, operation of windows and air-conditioning) which strongly influence building performance and occupant comfort. A novel modeling framework was developed to simulate the indoor exposure risks considering the impact of occupant behaviors by integrating building energy and occupant behaviour modeling with computational fluid dynamics simulation. Occupant behaviors were found to exert significant impacts on indoor air flow patterns and pollutant concentrations, based on which, certain behaviors are recommended during wildfires. Further, the actual respiratory injury level under such outdoor conditions was predicted. The modeling framework and the findings enable a deeper understanding of the actual health impacts of wildfires, as well as informing strategies for mitigating occupant health risk during wildfires.
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Affiliation(s)
- Na Luo
- Institute of Public Safety Research, Department of Engineering Physics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, PR China; Beijing Key Laboratory of City Integrated Emergency Response Science, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, PR China; Building Technology and Urban Systems Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, USA
| | - Wenguo Weng
- Institute of Public Safety Research, Department of Engineering Physics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, PR China; Beijing Key Laboratory of City Integrated Emergency Response Science, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, PR China.
| | - Xiaoyu Xu
- Institute of Public Safety Research, Department of Engineering Physics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, PR China; Beijing Key Laboratory of City Integrated Emergency Response Science, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, PR China
| | - Tianzhen Hong
- Building Technology and Urban Systems Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, USA
| | - Ming Fu
- Hefei Institute for Public Safety Research, Tsinghua University, Hefei, Anhui Province 320601, PR China
| | - Kaiyu Sun
- Building Technology and Urban Systems Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, USA
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30
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Bytnerowicz A, Fenn ME, Cisneros R, Schweizer D, Burley J, Schilling SL. Nitrogenous air pollutants and ozone exposure in the central Sierra Nevada and White Mountains of California - Distribution and evaluation of ecological risks. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2019; 654:604-615. [PMID: 30447599 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.11.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2018] [Revised: 10/30/2018] [Accepted: 11/01/2018] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Ammonia (NH3), nitric oxide (NO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), nitric acid (HNO3), and ozone (O3) were measured in summers of 2012 and 2013 with passive samplers. Nine monitoring sites were on W-E transect (511 to 3490 m) across central Sierra Nevada Mountains (SNM), and five sites on elevational gradient (1237 to 4346 m) in White Mountains (WM) of California. Levels of pollutants were similar in 2012 and 2013 in all sites. NH3, NO2, and HNO3 were highest near highly polluted Central Valley of California (CVC): maximum summer season means 7.8 μg m-3, 3.0 ppb, and 3.0 μg m-3, respectively. Regional background for NH3, NO2, and HNO3 in SNM occurred >20 km from CVC and >1500 m with seasonal averages: 2.1-4.8 μg m-3; 0.8-1.7 ppb; 1.0-1.8 μg m-3, respectively, during two seasons. Levels of NH3, NO2, and HNO3 in WM remote locations were similar: 1.2-3.3 μg m-3, 0.6-1.1 ppb, and 1.0-1.3 μg m-3, respectively. Seasonal mean O3 (38-60 ppb) in SNM did not change with distance from CVC nor elevation. In WM, O3 and NO mixing ratios were 41-61 ppb and 2.3-4.1 ppb, respectively, increasing with elevation. Even the lowest NH3 concentrations determined in this study were higher than NH3 continental background. This fact, as well as high values of Nreduced/Noxidized near CVC of 1.9 in 2012 and 2.0 in 2013, decreasing with distance to 0.7 in 2012 and 0.8 in 2013, show importance of NH3 emissions from CVC as a contributor to N deposition and ecological impacts in SNM. The phytotoxic O3 indices, AOT40 and W126, for selected sites on SNM and WM transects, showed high potential for negative O3 impacts on vegetation, including forest trees. CAPSULE: Elevated NH3, NO2, and HNO3 on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada Mountains (SNM) near the Central Valley of California (CVC) decreased with distance from CVC and elevation to regional background levels also recorded at high elevation sites of the White Mountains (WM).
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrzej Bytnerowicz
- USDA Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station, 4955 Canyon Crest Drive, Riverside, CA 92507, USA
| | - Mark E Fenn
- USDA Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station, 4955 Canyon Crest Drive, Riverside, CA 92507, USA.
| | | | - Donald Schweizer
- USDA Forest Service, Inyo National Forest, 351 Pacu Lane, Suite 200, Bishop, CA 93514, USA
| | - Joel Burley
- Saint Mary's College of California, Moraga, CA, USA
| | - Susan L Schilling
- USDA Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station, 4955 Canyon Crest Drive, Riverside, CA 92507, USA
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31
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Linares C, Carmona R, Salvador P, Díaz J. Impact on mortality of biomass combustion from wildfires in Spain: A regional analysis. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2018; 622-623:547-555. [PMID: 29223078 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.11.321] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2017] [Revised: 11/27/2017] [Accepted: 11/27/2017] [Indexed: 04/13/2023]
Abstract
Studies that analyse the impact on mortality of particulate matter (PM) produced by biomass combustion from wildfires mostly focus on a single city or on cities in different countries, with very few concentrating on one country as a whole. Accordingly, the aim of this paper was to analyse the impact that PM has on daily mortality in Spain on days with biomass combustion from wildfires. To analyse natural PM advections the Ministry of Agriculture and Fishing, Food & Environment divides Spain into 9 geographical regions. One province representative of each region for was selected analysis purposes, with provincial daily natural-cause mortality across the period 2004-2009 as the dependent variable, and daily mean PM concentrations in the provincial capital as the independent variable. We controlled for the effect of other chemical pollutants (NO2 and O3), maximum daily temperature on heat-wave days, day of the week, trends, seasonalities and the autoregressive nature of the series, using generalised linear models with the Poisson regression link to calculate relative risks (RRs) and the increase in RR (IRR) of PM-related mortality. The analysis was performed for days with and without biomass advections (DBA and DNBA respectively), with a breakdown by year, summer, and the remainder of the year (i.e., excluding summer). The results indicated that daily mean PM concentrations were higher on DBA than on DNBA, with statistically significant differences in most provinces. Furthermore, PM10 was associated with higher daily mortality on DBA in regions where wildfires were most frequent, but not in the remaining provinces. This translated as an IRR per 10μg/m3 of PM of 7.93 (2.36-13.81) in the North-west, 3.76 (1.36-6.22) in the Centre and 4.46 (2.99-5.94) in the South-west, values which in all cases were statistically higher than those obtained on DNBA. The increase in PM caused by biomass advections from wildfires is linked to a significant IRR of mortality in Spain. Hence, the fact that wildfires are likely to become increasingly frequent in the context of climate change makes this type of analysis particularly necessary.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Linares
- National School of Public Health, Carlos III Institute of Health, Madrid, Spain
| | - R Carmona
- National School of Public Health, Carlos III Institute of Health, Madrid, Spain
| | - P Salvador
- Environmental Department of Research, Centre for Energy, Environment and Technology (Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas/CIEMAT), Madrid, Spain
| | - J Díaz
- National School of Public Health, Carlos III Institute of Health, Madrid, Spain.
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32
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Koplitz SN, Nolte CG, Pouliot GA, Vukovich JM, Beidler J. Influence of uncertainties in burned area estimates on modeled wildland fire PM 2.5 and ozone pollution in the contiguous U.S. ATMOSPHERIC ENVIRONMENT (OXFORD, ENGLAND : 1994) 2018; 191:328-339. [PMID: 31019376 PMCID: PMC6476193 DOI: 10.1016/j.atmosenv.2018.08.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
Wildland fires are a major source of fine particulate matter (PM2.5), one of the most harmful ambient pollutants for human health globally. To represent the influence of wildland fire emissions on atmospheric composition, regional and global chemical transport models rely on emission inventories developed from estimates of burned area (i.e. fire size and location). While different methods of estimating annual burned area agree reasonably well in the western U.S. (within 20-30% for most years during 2002-2014), estimates for the southern U.S. can vary by more than a factor of 5. These differences in burned area lead to significant variability in the spatial and temporal allocation of emissions across fire emission inventory platforms. In this work, we implement wildland fire emission estimates for 2011 from three different products - the USEPA National Emission Inventory (NEI), the Fire Inventory of NCAR (FINN), and the Global Fire Emission Database (GFED4s) - into the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model to quantify and characterize differences in simulated PM and ozone concentrations across the contiguous U.S. (CONUS) due to the fire emission inventory used. The NEI is developed specifically for the U.S., while both FINN and GFED4s are available globally. We find that NEI emissions lead to the largest increases in modeled annual average PM2.5 (0.85 μg m-3) and April-September maximum daily 8-h ozone (0.28 ppb) nationally compared to a "no fire" baseline, followed by FINN (0.33 μg m-3 and 0.22 ppb) and GFED4s (0.12 μg m-3 and 0.17 ppb). Annual mean enhancements in wildland fire pollution are highest in the southern U.S. across all three inventories (over 4 μg m-3 and 2 ppb in some areas), but show considerable spatial variability within these regions. We also examine the representation of five individual fire events during 2011 and find that of the two global inventories, FINN reproduces more of the acute changes in pollutant concentrations modeled with NEI and shown in surface observations during each of the episodes investigated compared to GFED4s. Understanding the sensitivity of modeling fire-related PM2.5 and ozone in the U.S. to burned area estimation approaches will inform future efforts to assess the implications of present and future fire activity for air quality and human health at national and global scales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shannon N. Koplitz
- US EPA Office of Research and Development, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA
| | - Christopher G. Nolte
- US EPA Office of Research and Development, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA
| | - George A. Pouliot
- US EPA Office of Research and Development, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA
| | - Jeffrey M. Vukovich
- US EPA Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA
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Jaff DA, Cooper OR, Fiore AM, Henderson BH, Tonnesen GS, Russell AG, Henze DK, Langford AO, Lin M, Moore T. Scientific assessment of background ozone over the U.S.: Implications for air quality management. ELEMENTA (WASHINGTON, D.C.) 2018; 6:56. [PMID: 30364819 PMCID: PMC6198683 DOI: 10.1525/elementa.309] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
Ozone (O3) is a key air pollutant that is produced from precursor emissions and has adverse impacts on human health and ecosystems. In the U.S., the Clean Air Act (CAA) regulates O3 levels to protect public health and welfare, but unraveling the origins of surface O3 is complicated by the presence of contributions from multiple sources including background sources like stratospheric transport, wildfies, biogenic precursors, and international anthropogenic pollution, in addition to U.S. anthropogenic sources. In this report, we consider more than 100 published studies and assess current knowledge on the spatial and temporal distribution, trends, and sources of background O3 over the continental U.S., and evaluate how it inflattainment of the air quality standards. We conclude that spring and summer seasonal mean U.S. background O3 (USB O3), or O3 formed from natural sources plus anthropogenic sources in countries outside the U.S., is greatest at high elevation locations in the western U.S., with monthly mean maximum daily 8-hour average (MDA8) mole fractions approaching 50 parts per billion (ppb) and annual 4th highest MDA8s exceeding 60 ppb, at some locations. At lower elevation sites, e.g., along the West and East Coasts, seasonal mean MDA8 USB O3 is in the range of 20-40 ppb, with generally smaller contributions on the highest O3 days. The uncertainty in U.S. background O3 is around ±10 ppb for seasonal mean values and higher for individual days. Noncontrollable O3 sources, such as stratospheric intrusions or precursors from wildfires, can make significant contributions to O3 on some days, but it is challenging to quantify accurately these contributions. We recommend enhanced routine observations, focused fi studies, process-oriented modeling studies, and greater emphasis on the complex photochemistry in smoke plumes as key steps to reduce the uncertainty associated with background O3 in the U.S.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel A Jaff
- University of Washington, School of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, Bothell, Washington, US
- Department of Atmospheric Science, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, US
| | - Owen R Cooper
- Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, US
- NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory, Chemical Sciences Division, Boulder, Colorado, US
| | - Arlene M Fiore
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences and Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, New York, US
| | | | | | - Armistead G Russell
- Georgia Institute of Technology, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Atlanta, Georgia, US
| | - Daven K Henze
- University of Colorado, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Boulder, Colorado, US
| | - Andrew O Langford
- NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory, Chemical Sciences Division, Boulder, Colorado, US
| | - Meiyun Lin
- NOAA Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, Princeton, New Jersey, US
| | - Tom Moore
- Western States Air Resources (WESTAR) Council and Western Regional Air Partnership (WRAP), Fort Collins, Colorado, US
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Gong X, Kaulfus A, Nair U, Jaffe DA. Quantifying O 3 Impacts in Urban Areas Due to Wildfires Using a Generalized Additive Model. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2017; 51:13216-13223. [PMID: 29065684 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.7b03130] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
Wildfires emit O3 precursors but there are large variations in emissions, plume heights, and photochemical processing. These factors make it challenging to model O3 production from wildfires using Eulerian models. Here we describe a statistical approach to characterize the maximum daily 8-h average O3 (MDA8) for 8 cities in the U.S. for typical, nonfire, conditions. The statistical model represents between 35% and 81% of the variance in MDA8 for each city. We then examine the residual from the model under conditions with elevated particulate matter (PM) and satellite observed smoke ("smoke days"). For these days, the residuals are elevated by an average of 3-8 ppb (MDA8) compared to nonsmoke days. We found that while smoke days are only 4.1% of all days (May-Sept) they are 19% of days with an MDA8 greater than 75 ppb. We also show that a published method that does not account for transport patterns gives rise to large overestimates in the amount of O3 from fires, particularly for coastal cities. Finally, we apply this method to a case study from August 2015, and show that the method gives results that are directly applicable to the EPA guidance on excluding data due to an uncontrollable source.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xi Gong
- School of Resource and Environmental Sciences, Wuhan University , Wuhan 430079, China
- School of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, University of Washington-Bothell , 18115 Campus Way NE, Bothell, Washington 98011, United States
| | - Aaron Kaulfus
- Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alabama-Huntsville , Huntsville, Alabama 35899, United States
| | - Udaysankar Nair
- Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alabama-Huntsville , Huntsville, Alabama 35899, United States
| | - Daniel A Jaffe
- School of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, University of Washington-Bothell , 18115 Campus Way NE, Bothell, Washington 98011, United States
- Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Washington-Seattle , Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
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Chen J, Li C, Ristovski Z, Milic A, Gu Y, Islam MS, Wang S, Hao J, Zhang H, He C, Guo H, Fu H, Miljevic B, Morawska L, Thai P, Lam YF, Pereira G, Ding A, Huang X, Dumka UC. A review of biomass burning: Emissions and impacts on air quality, health and climate in China. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2017; 579:1000-1034. [PMID: 27908624 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.11.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 342] [Impact Index Per Article: 48.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2016] [Revised: 11/04/2016] [Accepted: 11/04/2016] [Indexed: 05/17/2023]
Abstract
Biomass burning (BB) is a significant air pollution source, with global, regional and local impacts on air quality, public health and climate. Worldwide an extensive range of studies has been conducted on almost all the aspects of BB, including its specific types, on quantification of emissions and on assessing its various impacts. China is one of the countries where the significance of BB has been recognized, and a lot of research efforts devoted to investigate it, however, so far no systematic reviews were conducted to synthesize the information which has been emerging. Therefore the aim of this work was to comprehensively review most of the studies published on this topic in China, including literature concerning field measurements, laboratory studies and the impacts of BB indoors and outdoors in China. In addition, this review provides insights into the role of wildfire and anthropogenic BB on air quality and health globally. Further, we attempted to provide a basis for formulation of policies and regulations by policy makers in China.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianmin Chen
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Particle Pollution and Prevention, Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Institute of Atmospheric Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China; Collaborative Innovation Center of Climate Change, School of Atmospheric Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China.
| | - Chunlin Li
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Particle Pollution and Prevention, Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Institute of Atmospheric Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
| | - Zoran Ristovski
- International Laboratory for Air Quality and Health, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD 4001, Australia
| | - Andelija Milic
- International Laboratory for Air Quality and Health, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD 4001, Australia
| | - Yuantong Gu
- International Laboratory for Air Quality and Health, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD 4001, Australia
| | - Mohammad S Islam
- International Laboratory for Air Quality and Health, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD 4001, Australia
| | - Shuxiao Wang
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Jiming Hao
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
| | - Hefeng Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China
| | - Congrong He
- International Laboratory for Air Quality and Health, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD 4001, Australia
| | - Hai Guo
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China
| | - Hongbo Fu
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Particle Pollution and Prevention, Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Institute of Atmospheric Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
| | - Branka Miljevic
- International Laboratory for Air Quality and Health, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD 4001, Australia
| | - Lidia Morawska
- International Laboratory for Air Quality and Health, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD 4001, Australia.
| | - Phong Thai
- International Laboratory for Air Quality and Health, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD 4001, Australia
| | - Yun Fat Lam
- School of Energy and Environment, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Gavin Pereira
- School of Public Health, Curtin University, Perth, WA, 6000, Australia
| | - Aijun Ding
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Climate Change, School of Atmospheric Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Xin Huang
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Climate Change, School of Atmospheric Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Umesh C Dumka
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Particle Pollution and Prevention, Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Institute of Atmospheric Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China; Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences, Manora Peak, Nainital 263001, India
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You Z, Zhu Y, Jang C, Wang S, Gao J, Lin CJ, Li M, Zhu Z, Wei H, Yang W. Response surface modeling-based source contribution analysis and VOC emission control policy assessment in a typical ozone-polluted urban Shunde, China. J Environ Sci (China) 2017; 51:294-304. [PMID: 28115141 DOI: 10.1016/j.jes.2016.05.034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2016] [Revised: 05/16/2016] [Accepted: 05/16/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
To develop a sound ozone (O3) pollution control strategy, it is important to well understand and characterize the source contribution due to the complex chemical and physical formation processes of O3. Using the "Shunde" city as a pilot summer case study, we apply an innovative response surface modeling (RSM) methodology based on the Community Multi-Scale Air Quality (CMAQ) modeling simulations to identify the O3 regime and provide dynamic analysis of the precursor contributions to effectively assess the O3 impacts of volatile organic compound (VOC) control strategy. Our results show that Shunde is a typical VOC-limited urban O3 polluted city. The "Jiangmen" city, as the main upper wind area during July 2014, its VOCs and nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions make up the largest contribution (9.06%). On the contrary, the contribution from local (Shunde) emission is lowest (6.35%) among the seven neighbor regions. The local VOCs industrial source emission has the largest contribution comparing to other precursor emission sectors in Shunde. The results of dynamic source contribution analysis further show that the local NOx control could slightly increase the ground O3 under low (10.00%) and medium (40.00%) reduction ratios, while it could start to turn positive to decrease ground O3 under the high NOx abatement ratio (75.00%). The real-time assessment of O3 impacts from VOCs control strategies in Pearl River Delta (PRD) shows that the joint regional VOCs emission control policy will effectively reduce the ground O3 concentration in Shunde.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhiqiang You
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Environment and Pollution Control, College of Environment and Energy, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center, Guangzhou 510006, China
| | - Yun Zhu
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Environment and Pollution Control, College of Environment and Energy, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center, Guangzhou 510006, China; State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
| | - Carey Jang
- USEPA/Office of Air Quality Planning & Standards, RTP, NC 27711, USA
| | - Shuxiao Wang
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Jian Gao
- Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China.
| | - Che-Jen Lin
- Department of Civil Engineering, Lamar University, Beaumont, TX 77710-0024, USA
| | - Minhui Li
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Environment and Pollution Control, College of Environment and Energy, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center, Guangzhou 510006, China
| | - Zhenghua Zhu
- Guangzhou Urban Environmental Cloud Information Technology R&D Co. Ltd, Guangzhou 511400, China
| | - Hao Wei
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Environment and Pollution Control, College of Environment and Energy, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center, Guangzhou 510006, China
| | - Wenwei Yang
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Environment and Pollution Control, College of Environment and Energy, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center, Guangzhou 510006, China
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Stevens JT, Collins BM, Long JW, North MP, Prichard SJ, Tarnay LW, White AM. Evaluating potential trade‐offs among fuel treatment strategies in mixed‐conifer forests of the Sierra Nevada. Ecosphere 2016. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.1445] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Jens T. Stevens
- John Muir Institute of the Environment University of California Davis California 95616 USA
| | - Brandon M. Collins
- Center for Fire Research and Outreach University of California Berkeley California 94720 USA
- USDA Forest Service Pacific Southwest Research Station Davis California 95618 USA
| | - Jonathan W. Long
- USDA Forest Service Pacific Southwest Research Station Davis California 95618 USA
| | - Malcolm P. North
- John Muir Institute of the Environment University of California Davis California 95616 USA
- USDA Forest Service Pacific Southwest Research Station Davis California 95618 USA
| | - Susan J. Prichard
- College of Forest Resources University of Washington Seattle Washington 98195 USA
| | - Leland W. Tarnay
- USDA Forest Service Pacific Southwest Research Station Davis California 95618 USA
| | - Angela M. White
- USDA Forest Service Pacific Southwest Research Station Davis California 95618 USA
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VanCuren RT, Gustin MS. Identification of sources contributing to PM2.5 and ozone at elevated sites in the western U.S. by receptor analysis: Lassen Volcanic National Park, California, and Great Basin National Park, Nevada. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2015; 530-531:505-518. [PMID: 25864796 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.03.091] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2015] [Revised: 03/16/2015] [Accepted: 03/22/2015] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
The proposed revision of the United States (US) air quality standard for ozone will result in violations in sparsely populated remote rural areas in the Western US. Replicating air quality as measured at surface monitoring sites by modeling is particularly difficult in this region due to complex terrain, poorly represented in regional and global models, and uncertainties in emission rates and timing at all scales (locally as well as hundreds to thousands of km upwind). As an alternative method, a fully empirical, receptor-based scheme using in situ aerosol composition and simple meteorological variables to simulate ozone (O3) measurements was tested and found to produce O3 simulation results comparable in uncertainty to regional modeling, and supporting trajectory-based identification of O3 source regions. This approach was tested using two widely-separated (650 km) high altitude (approx. 2 km above sea level) monitoring sites, Lassen Volcanic National Park, in northern California (LAVO) and Great Basin National Park in eastern Nevada (GRBA). Comparing correlations between observed O3 and aerosols, and examining back-trajectories associated with peak concentrations for the two sites permitted distinguishing among local, distant North American, and Asian sources of particulate matter (PM2.5) and O3. This analysis indicates that anthropogenic enhancement of O3 at LAVO is primarily due to transport from Asia. Asia is also the dominant source of anthropogenic O3 at GRBA in spring, but regional North American sources of O3 appear to drive additional ozone peaks in late summer and fall at this more interior site.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Mae Sexauer Gustin
- Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Science, University of Nevada-Reno, Reno, NV 89557, USA
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Miller MB, Fine R, Pierce AM, Gustin MS. Identifying sources of ozone to three rural locations in Nevada, USA, using ancillary gas pollutants, aerosol chemistry, and mercury. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2015; 530-531:483-492. [PMID: 25957787 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.03.146] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2014] [Revised: 03/18/2015] [Accepted: 03/22/2015] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Ozone (O3) is a secondary air pollutant of long standing and increasing concern for environmental and human health, and as such, the US Environmental Protection Agency will revise the National Ambient Air Quality Standard of 75 ppbv to ≤ 70 ppbv. Long term measurements at the Great Basin National Park (GBNP) indicate that O3 in remote areas of Nevada will exceed a revised standard. As part of the Nevada Rural Ozone Initiative, measurements of O3 and other air pollutants were made at 3 remote sites between February 2012 and March 2014, GBNP, Paradise Valley (PAVA), and Echo Peak (ECHO). Exceptionally high concentrations of each air pollutant were defined relative to each site as mixing ratios that exceeded the 90th percentile of all hourly data. Case studies were analyzed for all periods during which mean daily O3 exceeded the 90th percentile concurrently with a maximum 8-h average (MDA8) O3 that was "exceptionally high" for the site (65 ppbv at PAVA, 70 ppbv at ECHO and GBNP), and of potential regulatory significance. An MDA8 ≥ 65 ppbv occurred only five times at PAVA, whereas this occurred on 49 and 65 days at GBNP and ECHO, respectively. The overall correlation between O3 and other pollutants was poor, consistent with the large distance from significant primary emission sources. Mean CO at these locations exceeded concentrations reported for background sites in 2000. Trajectory residence time calculations and air pollutant concentrations indicate that exceedances at GBNP and ECHO were promoted by air masses originating from multiple sources, including wildfires, transport of pollution from southern California and the marine boundary layer, and transport of Asian pollution plumes. Results indicate that the State of Nevada will exceed a revised O3 standard due to sources that are beyond their control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthieu B Miller
- Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Science, University of Nevada-Reno, 1664 N. Virginia St, Reno NV, USA.
| | - Rebekka Fine
- Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Science, University of Nevada-Reno, 1664 N. Virginia St, Reno NV, USA
| | - Ashley M Pierce
- Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Science, University of Nevada-Reno, 1664 N. Virginia St, Reno NV, USA
| | - Mae S Gustin
- Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Science, University of Nevada-Reno, 1664 N. Virginia St, Reno NV, USA.
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