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Wildfire Smoke and Public Health: Science and Technology Development to Reduce Risk
Citation:
Gilliland, A. AND T. Watkins. Wildfire Smoke and Public Health: Science and Technology Development to Reduce Risk. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH. National Environmental Health Association, Denver, CO, 84(9):38-41, (2022).
Impact/Purpose:
Wildfire prevalence and intensity are expected to worsen as climate change continues, with one report estimating that the Southwestern U.S. area burned by wildfire from 1984-2015 was twice what would have burned had climate change not occurred (Abatzoglou & Williams, 2016). The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) Office of Research and Development (ORD) in partnership with other federal agencies; states; localities; tribes; and state, local, and tribal organizations conducts research and provides technical solutions to characterize wildfire smoke emissions and evaluate strategies to reduce health and environmental risks. This article summarizes these ongoing ORD activities.
Description:
Startling images of smoke-filled skies have filled the news and social media in recent years during major wildfires in the U.S. (Figure 1). In 2020, over 10 million acres burned from nearly 59,000 wildland fires, including wildfires and prescribed fires (National Interagency Coordination Center, 2021). As wildfires burn, they generate smoke that contains substantial amounts of air pollutants [e.g., fine particulate matter (PM2.5), carbon monoxide] that threaten the health of people nearby and sometimes at distances far from fire areas (Jaffe et al., 2020; Reid et al., 2016; Cascio, 2018). The continued growth of the wildland-urban interface (WUI) amplifies risk of smoke exposure as more people relocate to fire-prone areas; between 1990-2010, the WUI area grew by 41 percent in terms of number of new homes (Radeloff et al., 2018). Wildfire prevalence and intensity are expected to worsen as climate change continues, with one report estimating that the southwestern U.S. area burned by wildfire from 1984 to 2015 was twice what would have burned had climate change not occurred (Abatzoglou and Williams, 2016). The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Research and Development (ORD), in partnership with other federal agencies, states, localities, tribes and state/local/tribal organizations, conducts research and provides technical solutions to characterize wildfire smoke emissions and evaluate strategies to reduce health and environmental risks.