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Wildfire Smoke Episodes: Working with Local and Tribal Partners to Enhance Understanding of Indoor Air Exposures
Citation:
Holder, A., G. Hagler, H. Vreeland, S. Katz, G. Robarge, C. Berg, L. Kashef-Hamadani, B. Hassett-Sipple, S. Coefield, B. Schmidt, C. Noonan, E. Walker, AND B. McCaughey. Wildfire Smoke Episodes: Working with Local and Tribal Partners to Enhance Understanding of Indoor Air Exposures. Presented at 2020 SETAC North America Annual Meeting, Virtual, November 15 - 19, 2020.
Impact/Purpose:
Sharing project experiences as part of a platform session at the SETAC-North America 41st Annual Meeting entitled Actively Engaging and Communicating with Stakeholders Throughout the Research Process.
Description:
Background: Wildland fire smoke is a global public health issue. Many communities are exposed to smoke from wildland fires, both wild and controlled burns, for days, weeks, or even months in a given year. With that smoke comes high concentrations of fine particles (PM2.5) and other pollutants that may cause adverse health risks. The number of individuals adversely impacted by smoke events is growing as the wildland urban interface (WUI) expands and at-risk populations increase. A common recommendation during smoke events to reduce exposure is to go indoors away from the smoke; however, wildland fire smoke can infiltrate indoors, emphasizing the importance of creating clean air spaces that effectively reduce smoke exposures. Approach: The U.S. EPA is partnering with Missoula City-County Health Department, University of Montana, Climate Smart Missoula, Hoopa Valley Tribe, and the United States Forest Service Fire Sciences Laboratory to expand our understanding of indoor exposures and air filtration approaches that are most effective during smoke episodes. This team brings together people knowledgeable about wildfire smoke measurement, new technologies for measuring air pollution, and indoor air quality assessment. Methods: This project has been and continues to be a true partnership as U.S. EPA scientists have collaborated with local and tribal colleagues throughout the research cycle. Team members have worked together to understand the broad research needs; to define the specific problem; to identify and prioritize the research questions to identify solutions; and to leverage available expertise and resources for specific project components. The local and tribal team members have provided critical input to determine the scope of and implement the field studies evaluating indoor and outdoor fine particle concentrations during smoke events in a range of community buildings in their locations. As we move into the second year, their input based on the first year of field testing has been crucial to identify opportunities to improve data collection. Conclusions: EPA has successfully engaged with local and tribal partners throughout the research process to identify common research interests and to plan and implement studies designed to inform solutions for complex scientific issues. This collaboration builds on the experiences and strengths of all team members with the goal of helping communities find solutions to their environmental problems, while helping EPA scientists learn how to solve problems better and faster. Our continuous interactions have been so important in so many aspects of the project - it has been a collaboration that has benefited all partners, at the Federal, local, and tribal levels.
