Citation:

Robarge, G. Wildfire Smoke: Supporting Public Health Officials -- final. Annual meeting of the National Association of County and City Health Officials, New Orleans, Louisiana, July 10 - 12, 2018.

Impact/Purpose:

This is a proposal for a session at the annual meeting of the National Association of County and City Health Officials. Problem/Goal Statement With wildfires increasing in size, severity, and duration, communities are having to live with unhealthy levels of smoke. Scientists at EPA have been working to address the challenges public health officials face in managing risks from wildfire smoke. Decisions multiply rapidly including whether to close local schools, send students home early, cancel outdoor recess, restrict traffic, advise residents to stay indoors, and advise on the use and selection of indoor air purifiers. EPA seeks to support public health decision-makers by providing accurate and timely information on air quality and the effectiveness of interventions to reduce exposure.

Description:

This session presents several EPA efforts to support public health officials in reducing risks from wildland fire smoke. To respond to the critical need for better information on air quality during wildfires, EPA staff will discuss several EPA programs. The redesigned AirNow website focuses on local information about smoke from fires, local advisories, and satellite maps for more site-specific decision making. The Smoke Sense App, a citizen science initiative, alerts individuals during air quality events, and encourages them to report smoke observations and track their health symptoms. This presentation also covers lessons learned from the successful 2017 Smoke Sense pilot, updates, new features and messaging for 2018, along with information about Wildfire Smoke: A Guide for Public Health Officials. In California, EPA employees work as part of a multi-agency team to model, monitor, and help communicate smoke impacts to communities through the US Forest Service Air Resource Advisor program. ARAs travel to fire areas to assist with understanding and predicting smoke impacts on the public. The presenter will describe services available from ARAs who communicate smoke impacts to air quality regulators, public health officials, and the public, providing information about steps communities can take during these large smoke events. She will also describe case studies of intervention programs using portable air cleaners to reduce indoor exposure to wildfire smoke. Public health officials often advise people to operate portable air cleaners during wildfire smoke events and some promising programs offer them to lower-income individuals with respiratory and cardiovascular disease.

Record Details: