Doctors, air pollution experts forecast worsening health effects of wildfire smoke

Posted on July 29, 2021 by Respro® UK Ltd

Advice for a five-day episode doesn’t work when you’re talking about an entire potential season

Health experts warn that a shift in mindset and new solutions are needed as exposure to smoke from bigger wildfires becomes a regular occurrence.

While the longer-term health effects of exposure to wildfire smoke have yet to be thoroughly studied, linkages between disease, death and air pollution in general offer hints, said Dr. Courtney Howard, an emergency physician in Yellowknife.

“Stroke, heart disease, cancer, chronic or respiratory diseases, these are all worsened by air pollution,” Howard said in a recent interview from Cranbrook, B.C., where smoke from a nearby wildfire had rolled in while her family was at the beach.

“The same reasons we want to quickly move to a low-carbon economy to decrease impacts from fossil fuel-related air pollution are reasons for us to worry about wildfire-related pollution we’re now seeing enhanced as a result of climate change.”

Until recently, smoky skies in Western Canada have been occasional, making it difficult to study health impacts, said Michael Brauer, a professor focused on environment and health at the University of British Columbia’s faculty of medicine.

“When we get into a situation now, where this is happening every summer in some communities, and it may only be one to two weeks, but … that’s definitely the highest air pollution you will face throughout the whole year, what does that mean?”

It’s unclear if the smoke that’s experienced year after year has a cumulative effect, he said.

“It probably depends on all kinds of specific conditions, other risk factors.”

However, Brauer said, there does not seem to be much of a difference between the smoke and general air pollution when measuring for fine particulate matter, a mixture of tiny pollutants that can penetrate deeply into the respiratory system.

The potential cardiovascular effects of wildfire smoke are less well known compared with other kinds of air pollution, he said, “but based on what we know from air pollution in general, there’s very few organ systems that are not affected.”

The clearest impacts of wildfire smoke exposure are felt by people with pre-existing conditions, such as asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and evidence is building that smoke exposure can affect people with heart disease, trigger a heart attack or stroke, and aggravate type two diabetes, Brauer said.

A few studies suggest that pregnant women who are in their last trimester when exposed to smoke are more likely to give birth to a baby of lower weight, he added.

Another study in Montana found the rate of influenza was higher a few months after a bad fire season, he said, suggesting people were less able to fight the illness.

“That’s not maybe a lifelong effect, but it does show that there seems to be something that persists, which is consistent with what we know for air pollution.”

Howard has seen firsthand the health impacts of what she called “one of the longest and most severe wildfire smoke exposures in the global literature base.”

As wildfires and smoke swept across the Northwest Territories in the summer of 2014, she said, it was harder and took longer than usual to treat and discharge people who showed up at the emergency department with symptoms of asthma.

Howard later worked on a study that found double the number of people with asthma showed up at the emergency department compared with earlier years.

Worsening wildfire seasons mean public health officials must rethink their existing advice, which tends to focus on sheltering from smoke in the short term, she said.

“Cut and dried advice that used to work for a three-day or a five-day episode, it doesn’t really work when you’re talking about an entire potential season.”

Communities in wildfire-prone areas must plan for clean-air shelters, well-ventilated recreation centres and other infrastructure to protect the most vulnerable, she said, from kids to seniors to outdoor workers and people experiencing homelessness.

Brauer also suggests that people with underlying health conditions install high-efficiency air filters at home and meet with their health-care providers in the spring to ensure they have enough medication to last through a prolonged wildfire season.

Failing to adapt and prepare for prolonged smoky periods is costly, both in lives and financially, said Brauer, pointingto a 2020 analysis of the impacts of fine particulate matter during recent wildfire seasons by researchers with Health Canada.They estimated the annual cost of associated with premature deaths due to acute or short-term exposure was between $410 million to $1.8 billion, depending on the severity of the fire season. The estimated cost of premature deaths attributable to chronic exposure was between $4.3 and $19 billion per year, the modelling found.

Doctors, air pollution experts forecast worsening health effects of wildfire smoke – Saanich News

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Particles from Paints, Pesticides Have Deadly Impact

Posted on July 28, 2021 by Respro® UK Ltd

Air pollution triggered by use of common chemicals, fuels may kill 10 times more people than previously recognized

Hundreds of thousands of people around the world die too soon every year because of exposure to air pollution caused by our daily use of chemical products and fuels, including paints, pesticides, charcoal and gases from vehicle tailpipes, according to a new CU Boulder-led study.

The new work, led by former CIRES postdoctoral researcher Benjamin Nault and CIRES Fellow Jose-Luis Jimenez, calculated that air pollution caused by “anthropogenic secondary organic aerosol” causes 340,000-900,000 premature deaths. Those are tiny particles in the atmosphere that form from chemicals emitted by human activities. 

And “that’s more than 10 times as many deaths as previously estimated,” said Nault, who is now a scientist at Aerodyne Research, Inc. His work, published today in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, builds on findings by CU Boulder, NOAA, NASA, and others that emissions from everyday products are increasingly important in forming pollutants in urban air.

“The older idea was that to reduce premature mortality, you should target coal-fired power plants or the transportation sector,” Nault said. “Yes, these are important, but we’re showing that if you’re not getting at the cleaning and painting products and other everyday chemicals, then you’re not getting at a major source.”

Atmospheric researchers have long understood that particles in the atmosphere small enough to be inhaled can damage people’s lungs and increase mortality. Studies have estimated that fine particle pollution, often called PM2.5, leads to 3-4 million premature deaths globally per year, possibly more. 

Many countries, including the United States, therefore have laws limiting how many of those particles get into the atmosphere. We regulate soot from power plants and diesel exhaust, for example, which are “direct” sources of particulate matter. And regulations also target fossil fuel emissions of sulfur and nitrogen oxides, which can react in the atmosphere to form fine particles—an indirect, “secondary inorganic” source of particles.

The new work suggests that a third broad category of chemicals—anthropogenic secondary organic pollutants—is a significant indirect source of deadly fine particles. 

To determine the mortality impact of several sources of fine particles, the team dug into data from 11 comprehensive air quality studies carried out in cities around the world in the last two decades. They drew on detailed databases of chemical emissions from cities including Beijing, London and New York City, and they ran those numbers through sophisticated air quality models that also incorporate satellite data. 

They found that the production of secondary organic aerosol in those 11 cities was strongly correlated with specific organic compounds emitted by people’s activities. The chemicals at issue—called aromatics and intermediate- and semi-volatile organic compounds—are emitted from tailpipes and cooking fuels like wood and charcoal, and increasingly also from industrial solvents, house paints, cleaning products and other chemicals.

In previous work in Los Angeles, CIRES, NOAA and other scientists have reported that such volatile chemical products contribute as much as vehicles do to the formation of particle pollution. “What’s new here,” said co-author Brian McDonald, a NOAA scientist, “is that we are showing this is an issue in cities on three continents, North America, Europe and east Asia.” 

Air quality regulations have tended to focus on volatile chemicals that produce ozone, another hazardous pollutant, said Jimenez, who is also a professor of chemistry at CU Boulder. But it is increasingly clear, most recently from the new work, that chemicals which contribute little to ozone formation may still contribute seriously to particle formation. 

“Because this effect has been thought to be small, it hasn’t been targeted for control,” Jimenez said. “But when you take the atmospheric chemistry into account and put it into a model, you find that this particular source is killing a lot of people.”

Nault and Jimenez said they hope to expand their work to include more urban areas of the world, where there haven’t been enough measurements yet to confirm that volatile chemical products contribute substantially to fine particles. But the trend is holding so far in all places where there are enough measurements. 

“If you care about air pollution impacts on health and mortality, you have to take this problem seriously,” Jimenez concluded. 

Particles from Paints, Pesticides Have Deadly Impact | CIRES
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Smoke Across North America

Posted on July 26, 2021 by Respro® UK Ltd

While plumes of wildfire smoke from western North America have passed over the northeastern U.S. and Canada multiple times each summer in recent years, they often go unnoticed. That is because smoke that spreads far from its source typically moves at a fairly high altitude—between 5 and 10 kilometers—as winds blow it eastward.

The situation has been quite different this week, as attention-grabbing smoke poured into the eastern U.S. on July 20-21, 2021. Data from NASA’s Micro-Pulse Lidar Network (MPLNET) and Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) indicated that a significant amount of smoke was hovering between the land surface and 2 kilometers (1 mile) altitude. Haze darkened skies and reddened sunsets, unleashed a rash of code red and orange air quality warnings, and even left the scent of smoke in the air in some areas.

Of the large cities in the northeast, Philadelphia and New York City had some of the haziest skies. The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on NOAA-20 captured the natural-color image of smoke over the northeast shown above on July 20.

In New York City, levels of fine particulate pollution rose above 170 on the air quality index, a level considered harmful even for healthy people. “That’s a magnitude of particle pollution that New York City hasn’t seen in more than a decade,” said Ryan Stauffer, an atmospheric scientist based at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. The haze grew so thick at times that it even partially obscured the city’s iconic skyline.

While several forest fires are raging across North America, most of the smoke that found its way to the eastern U.S. likely originated from a cluster of fires near the border of the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario, just north of Minnesota. Fires burning farther to the west in British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest of the United States may have contributed a small amount of smoke as well.

This map at the top of the page shows the concentration of black carbon particulates—commonly called soot—over North America on July 21, 2021. It is just one of several types of particles and gases found within wildfire smoke. The black carbon data come from the GEOS forward processing (GEOS-FP) model, which assimilates data from satellite, aircraft, and ground-based observing systems. To simulate black carbon, modelers include satellite observations of aerosols and fires. GEOS-FP also ingests meteorological data like air temperature, moisture, and winds to simulate the plume’s behavior.

NASA Earth Observatory images by Joshua Stevens, using GEOS-5 data from the Global Modeling and Assimilation Office at NASA GSFC and VIIRS data from NASA EOSDIS LANCE, GIBS/Worldview, and the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS). Story by Adam Voiland.

via Smoke Across North America

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New analysis reveals global distribution of toxic pollution and climate change: And provides top-ten list of countries at highest risk — and likely most equipped to immediately begin pollution risk reduction

Posted on July 23, 2021 by Respro® UK Ltd

A new analysis of global datasets shows low-income countries are significantly more likely to be impacted by both toxic pollution and climate change — and provides a list of at-risk countries most (and least) able to immediately begin direct efforts toward pollution risk reduction, according to a study published July 7, 2021 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Richard Marcantonio from the University of Notre Dame, Indiana, USA, and colleagues.

In this age of the Anthropocene, it’s clear that human activities are destabilizing our planet across multiple systems. Previous research has shown that low-income countries face higher risks than high-income countries from toxic pollution and climate change; however, few studies have explored the relationship between these two risks.

To test the relationship between toxic pollution and climate change, the authors collated and analyzed three frequently used public datasets, ND-GAIN (Notre Dame Global Adaptation Index), EPI (Yale Environmental Performance Index), and GAHP (Global Alliance on Health and Pollution), using data for 176 countries from 2018.

They found a strong (rs = -0.798; 95% CI -0.852, -0.727) and statistically significant (p<0.0001) relationship between the spatial distribution of global climate risk and toxic pollution — in other words, countries most at risk for impacts of climate change were most often also the countries facing highest risks of toxic pollution. (And as other studies show, climate change and toxic pollution interact to create compounding issues: e.g. warming temperatures increase rates of heat-related illness/death as well as enhance the toxicity of environmental contaminants.) The top one-third of countries most at-risk represented over two-thirds of the world’s population, geographically concentrated in low-income countries across Africa and Southeast Asia. The authors note that the demographic, ecological, and social factors at work are interconnected and demonstrate broader patterns of inequality, and also emphasize that physical geography, local structural conditions (such as a relatively low capacity for environmental policy and enforcement), and external factors (such as foreign firms taking advantage of reduced environmental regulation) all play a role in exacerbating risks in these countries. Based on their analysis, the authors went on to create a “Target” list of top-ten countries that could provide maximum returns on any investment for risk reduction based on their risk as well as their structural capacity to enact changes (respectively: Singapore, Rwanda, China, India, Solomon Islands, Bhutan, Botswana, Georgia, the Republic of Korea, and Thailand).

The data used in this study do not capture all forms of harm or potential risk from toxic pollution and climate change — only those measured in the initial datasets. Additionally, the authors note that addressing impacts may require a finer intra-country assessment, since risks can vary widely within countries. However, the immediate findings clearly point to a need to jointly address the effects of pollution and climate change globally, while also suggesting an approach for policymakers worldwide.

The authors add: “Vast work has been done to understand the magnitude and distribution of risk from climate change and toxic pollution, separately. We wanted to know if the spatial distribution of these two types of environmental risks are similar and, unfortunately, our results say that in general they are.”

New analysis reveals global distribution of toxic pollution and climate change: And provides top-ten list of countries at highest risk — and likely most equipped to immediately begin pollution risk reduction — ScienceDaily
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New York air quality among worst in world as haze from western wildfires shrouds city

Posted on July 22, 2021 by Respro® UK Ltd

Smoke from wildfires in the west caused hazy skies as air quality index surged to 157 in Manhattan, well above threshold of 100

New York City air quality was among the worst in the world as cities across the eastern US were shrouded in smoke from wildfires raging several thousand miles away on the country’s west coast.

State officials in New York advised vulnerable people, such as those with asthma and heart disease, to avoid strenuous outdoor activity as air pollution soared to eclipse Lima in Peru and Kolkata in India to be ranked as the worst in the world on Tuesday.

Smoke from more than 80 major wildfires burning in the US west has caused hazy skies and plunging air quality in eastern American and Canadian cities including Philadelphia, Washington DC, Pittsburgh and Toronto, as well as New York, causing fiery sunrises and even bathing the moon in an unusual red tinge on Tuesday night.

On Wednesday morning, the air quality index surged to 157 in Manhattan, well above the threshold of 100 where health is considered to be threatened. Vulnerable people include pregnant women and the elderly, although even healthy people outside these groups can experience breathing difficulty, throat irritation and runny eyes when exposed to air this bad.

“I think it’s unusual to have this kind of haze, I don’t recall seeing this kind of thing,” said George Pope, professor of earth and environmental studies at Montclair State University, who added that he could not see Manhattan from his New Jersey office. “You can pretty much always see the skyline, at least a silhouette, if it’s a hazy day. This is, like, this is unprecedented.”

Satellite imagery shows that the smoke from the western fires has billowed into Canada and unfurled to the east, plunging states such as Minnesota into unhealthy air conditions. Winds are able to easily carry tiny sooty particles emitted from burning trees and vegetation, known as PM2.5, large distances. These PM2.5 particles can, when inhaled, burrow into the lungs and cause a variety of health problems.

“We’re seeing lots of fires producing a tremendous amount of smoke,” said David Lawrence, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. “By the time that smoke gets to the eastern portion of the country where it’s usually thinned out, there’s just so much smoke in the atmosphere from all these fires that it’s still pretty thick.”

The smoke is set to shift away from New York in the coming days but further widespread wildfires are expected in the coming months, with people in the US west hit worst by the smoke as well as the direct threat of the flames.

David Turnbull, an activist at the US Climate Action Network who lives in Portland, Oregon, tweeted that people on the eastern seaboard should take care in the unhealthy air but also “take care of how you talk about the hazy skies. Your wonderment about it is our dread here in the west. Your curiosity is our constant fear. We live every day for months fearing the winds will shift, the fires will rage, and the smoke will come.”Topics

New York air quality among worst in world as haze from western wildfires shrouds city | New York | The Guardian

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‘Worst Ever’ Air Pollution Event Hits Wildfire-Plagued Siberia

Posted on July 21, 2021 by Respro® UK Ltd

A northern Siberian region plagued by unprecedented fires is experiencing one of the world’s “worst ever” air pollution events with the concentration of pollutants in the air far exceeding global standards, according to The Guardian.

The republic of Sakha’s capital of Yakutsk has been under stay-home orders due to fast-spreading wildfires that blanketed dozens of cities with smoke and prompted regional authorities to declare a state of emergency nearly a month ago. 

Atmospheric monitoring services have reported tiny particles of soot known as PM2.5 in Yakutsk at more than 40 times the World Health Organization’s recommended safe guideline. Screenshots shared by local residents showed readings 17 times worse than average in India’s and China’s most polluted cities. 

Various air-quality apps describe the situation on the ground as “hazardous” and as an “airpocalypse,” with advisories to close windows, keep babies indoors, wear masks outside and avoid outdoor exercise.

“High levels of particulate matter and possibly also chemicals including ozone, benzene and hydrogen cyanide are thought likely to make this one of the world’s worst ever air pollution events,” The Guardian reported.

Sakha, Russia’s largest and coldest region, is particularly prone to wildfires due to more than 80% of its area covered by boreal forests known as the taiga.

With winter temperatures reaching as low as minus 60 degrees Celsius, Sakha has so far this year already seen record-breaking droughts and abnormally high temperatures — ideal conditions for severe wildfires.

Sakha Governor Aisen Nikolaev attributed the wildfires to climate change, saying Tuesday “we’re living through the hottest, driest summer in the history of meteorological measurements.”

Residents painted a dire picture of living close to the wildfires, telling The Guardian that they are “both depressed and angry” amid concerns for their relatives’ health.

“The fires have touched absolutely every single person’s life in Yakutia,” said gym owner and volunteer firefighter Grigory Mochkin. “And since the smoke has gotten to Yakutsk, people are very vocal on social networks because every person’s life has been affected.”

‘Worst Ever’ Air Pollution Event Hits Wildfire-Plagued Siberia – The Moscow Times
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New study examines commuter characteristics and traffic pollution exposure among commuters

Posted on July 20, 2021 by Respro® UK Ltd

New research examines commuter characteristics to better understand how factors such as departure time, frequency, and commute length are associated with exposure to air pollution. Using personal air pollution monitors, the research clustered commuters to determine whether these clusters were associated with traffic pollution exposures. The study reveals that commuters that travel during rush hour have higher overall exposure to traffic-related air pollution compared to sporadic commuters, though the difference was not statistically significant.

The link between on-road traffic and air pollution is well-known, as are the negative health impacts of pollution exposure. However, the many factors that may influence commuters’ exposure to pollutants — such as frequency, time, and duration of commute — and the overall impact of commuting remains a matter of on-going scientific discovery.

Dr. Jenna Krall, assistant professor at the George Mason University College of Health and Human Services, is using statistical methods to better understand exposure to air pollution. Krall studies how commuting patterns impact exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) from various traffic-related sources such as tailpipe emissions, road salts, and brake wear.

New research from Krall and colleagues published in Environmental Research examines commuter characteristics to better understand how factors such as departure time, commute length, and number of trips are associated with exposure to PM2.5. Building on a study of 46 women’s exposure to PM2.5 using personal air pollution monitors, the new research clustered commuters to determine whether these clusters were associated with traffic pollution exposures. The new study reveals that commuters that travel to work during rush hour have higher overall exposure to traffic-related air pollution compared to sporadic commuters, though the difference was not statistically significant.

As COVID-19 infection rates decline in most areas of the country and employers weigh whether to continue work-from-home policies, studies such as this provide important insight into the role that daily commutes can play in personal air pollution exposure and the public’s health. “

This is one of the first studies to utilize in-vehicle monitoring, specifically on-board diagnostics data loggers, to understand real-world commuting behaviors for environmental health,” said Krall, “Linking these data with personal air pollution monitoring allowed us to better understand how commuter characteristics are associated with sources of air pollution exposures.”

“The current research cannot tell us whether modifying commutes, for example by avoiding highways or commuting outside of rush hour, will lower traffic pollution exposures for commuters. More research is needed to determine what changes would be effective to lower exposures,” says Krall.

Krall’s on-going research seeks to distinguish between similar sources of traffic pollution, such as pollution generated by brake wear or from tailpipe emissions, and to develop statistical methods to better estimate exposure to pollution sources.

Study participants included 46 women commuters in northern Virginia who were exposed to pollution generated by mobile vehicles, road salts, and other sources throughout a 48-hour period.

New study examines commuter characteristics and traffic pollution exposure among commuters — ScienceDaily
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Doctors issue official guidance on effects of air pollution and bushfire smoke on pregnant people

Posted on July 19, 2021 by Respro® UK Ltd

Information should serve as ‘wake-up call’ that action on climate change is needed to protect people and their children

New patient resources warning of the dangers of air pollution and bushfire smoke to pregnant people or those planning to conceive have been issued by the Royal Australian College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG), in what is thought to be a world-first.

Patients are warned to avoid exposureto air pollution on heavily trafficked roads, bushfire smoke or indoor smoke from things such as cigarettes, unflued fireplaces or incense.

The groundbreaking document explains that exposure to air pollution during pregnancy is conclusively linked to gestational diabetes, pre-term birth and growth restriction, while studies conducted in countries with high pollution also show a link to high blood pressure, miscarriage and fertility issues.

“Most airborne particles [such as PM2.5 or PM10] are not directly poisonous but can be harmful because they provoke low grade immune and stress responses in the body,” the document says.

“These include increased inflammation, increased blood glucose, changes to regulation of heart rhythms, blood vessel function, and blood clotting regulation.”

Tasmanian-based obstetrician Dr Kristine Barnden, who helped RANZCOG develop the document said she hopes the information “serves as a wake-up call to policymakers and the general public that action in the form of regulation and response to climate change is important to protect women and their children”.

“We’re aware that no one can completely escape air pollution and that some women have less options than others,” she said.

The pamphlet – which acknowledges that studies in Australia suggest low-level day-to-day exposure to air pollution may influence foetal growth – also outlines a number of actions that can be taken to mitigate risk, including use of high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) cleaners and apps that monitor air quality, as well as wearing masks and recommends avoidance strategies such as not walking down busy roads at rush hour.

Barnden said RANZCOG first became aware of the lack of information available in 2020.

“There was a lot of concern amongst pregnant women, and a lot of talk on social media about potential risk of smoke for pregnancy, but we found there was really no resource to which we could direct women and caregivers for more information,” she said.

“We also wanted to be able to reassure women that if they are healthy and if they do take whatever steps they can to minimise the exposure to pollution, that the effects on pregnancy will actually be relatively small.”

Barnden hopes the pamphlet will raise awareness about the various sources of air pollution, because “there is certainly a lot more than just bushfires that can affect pregnancy”, and how this exposure can be minimised.

The issuing of the pamphlet follows reporting by Guardian Australia in January and March of this year, detailing how Australian public health messaging was not fully informing or explaining the risks of exposure to pregnant patients or those planning to conceive, nor did it outline concrete mitigation or minimisation strategies.

“Articles published in the Guardian did an excellent job of pulling together the available research on air pollution and pregnancy and communicating it to the public, when there was really very little else around,” said Barnden.

“The concern voiced by women and health professionals in response to these articles made it clear to us that a resource for women and health professionals was necessary.”

Doctors issue official guidance on effects of air pollution and bushfire smoke on pregnant people | Climate change | The Guardian

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