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Wildfire Smoke: Supporting Public Health Officials
Citation:
Maghran, L. AND S. Prince. Wildfire Smoke: Supporting Public Health Officials. NACCHO 2018, New Orleans, LA, July 10 - 12, 2018.
Impact/Purpose:
Presented at the NACCHO Annual Meeting.
Description:
With wildfires increasing in size, severity, and duration, communities are having to learn to live with unhealthy levels of smoke. Scientists at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have been working to address the challenges public health officials face. Decisions multiply rapidly, including whether to close local schools, restrict traffic, advise residents to stay indoors, and how to advise on the use of indoor air purifiers. Disparities in baseline health amplify the severity of respiratory and cardiovascular illness for those exposed to smoke from fires. This session discusses EPA’s efforts to support local health officials in addressing public health impacts from wildland fire smoke. Presentations will address enhanced access to information on air quality through EPA’s AirNow website, and use of citizen science and crowdsourcing about local smoke conditions and health symptoms. Other topics include the Air Resource Advisors program, a multi-agency collaboration that assists with understanding and predicting smoke impacts and communicating information during wildland fire events. Other practical support includes case studies of intervention programs to reduce exposure to wildfire smoke, such as the use of portable air cleaners, how they work, and what to look for in selecting one. EPA science and policy programs work together to provide local officials and the general public with the most relevant and robust data possible. The focus of this work is to help reduce public health risks from wildland fire smoke.
