Grantee Research Project Results

2024 Progress Report: Integrated Communication and Intervention Strategies to Reduce Exposure to Prescribed Wildland Fire Emissions in Schools, Schoolchildren and Communities

EPA Grant Number: R840246
Title: Integrated Communication and Intervention Strategies to Reduce Exposure to Prescribed Wildland Fire Emissions in Schools, Schoolchildren and Communities
Investigators: Russell, Armistead G. , Odman, Mehmet Talat , Ng, Nga Lee , Vaidyanathan, Ambarish
Institution: Georgia Institute of Technology , Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
EPA Project Officer: Chung, Serena
Project Period: September 1, 2021 through May 8, 2025
Project Period Covered by this Report: September 1, 2023 through August 31,2024
Project Amount: $1,000,000
RFA: Interventions and Communication Strategies to Reduce Health Risks of Wildland Fire Smoke Exposures (2021) RFA Text |  Recipients Lists
Research Category: Watersheds , Endocrine Disruptors , Environmental Engineering , Air Quality and Air Toxics , Wildfires

Objective:

Prescribed burning air pollution forecasting, on-site low- cost monitoring and air cleaning, and coordinated communication approaches will be employed and assessed for their effectiveness at reducing exposures of schoolchildren in southern Georgia and Alabama to elevated levels of PM2.5 and other pollutants. This will involve addressing three hypotheses: 1) An integrated strategy containing both interventions and communications can reduce wildland fire pollution exposure in children and youth; 2) Targeted intervention, e.g., classroom-based air cleaning, can be used to effectively reduce exposures of school community members, including students, to wildland fire burn emissions; and 3) Wildland fire impact forecasting can be used to reduce exposures, both by adjusting the timing of burn activities that would lead to large population exposures and by alerting and providing guidance to potentially impacted areas in advance.

Progress Summary:

Research Conducted and Results Generated:

1. Teaming with East Columbus Magnet Academy (ECMA), sampling at the school, discussions with Muscogee County School District Administration: As noted in the last progress report, the Muscogee County School District requested that we remove our sampling equipment from ECMA and cease sampling and analysis of the data.  Further discussions with the administration have not changed their stance.  We suggested working with them to identify potential solutions, modifying our sampling approach and other potential strategies to alleviate concerns.  Their decision did not change, leading ot our trying to find alternative sampling approaches aligned with our project.  We have discussed this with the EPA project officer and others at EPA and elsewhere.  This has led us to look to identify alternative approaches of sampling and to test communication strategies. 
2. Find alternative project approaches.  Given the lack of success (so far) in finding alternate schools, we are looking to identify alternate approaches to address how prescribed fire air quality forecasting and the advanced communication of potential impacts can be used to mitigate exposures.  A series of alternatives have been considered, and have been communicated with the EPA project officer for comment.  A potential alternative, sampling at Columbus State University, is now being pursued via a potential faculty collaborator, but has not been finalized.  This activity continues.  We also have worked with CEISMC and a Community Engagement professional at the Brook Byers Institute for Sustainable Systems (BBISS) for potential alternatives as well.
3. Prescribed Fire Impact Forecasting: We continue to improve our prescribed fire impact forecasting system, upgrading it with the latest versions of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) and Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) models, and updating the non-fire anthropogenic emissions used as inputs We have been using WRF-Fire (for fire-atmosphere coupling) and using a BlueSky-CMAQ combination. A new deep learning model has been tested for burn activity forecast. The model needs refinements for more accurate forecasts. The forecast website has been ported on a new server to improve response speed and data security. Methods to display the meteorological forecasts along with prescribed fire and air quality impacts forecasts have been developed. This activity is proceeding well as the new system has an improved interface and an updated computational environment

The major results are:

Future projection of fire impacts. The fire forecasting system has been upgraded.

Future Activities:

1. Continue pursuit of alternative sampling locations
2. Continue fire impact forecasting
3. Continue to analyze data, prepare manuscripts, and present results at meetings.

Supplemental Keywords:

Prescribed burning; Fire plumes; Wildland fire, Intervention, Communication, Air Quality, Pollution Control, Forecasting

Relevant Websites:

 

 

Progress and Final Reports:

Original Abstract

2022 Progress Report

2023 Progress Report

Final