WASHINGTON COUNTY Air Quality PM2.5
Introduction Background This presentation explains an air quality issue in Washington County (WC) as it relates to fine particulate pollution (PM2.5). Immediate plan We will share an overview of immediate plans that Washington County Public Health (PH) is beginning to put in place. Long-term plan We will also discuss longer term plans for consideration.
Components As we talk about immediate and long-term plans for this community health issue, PH is using a four-pronged approach to find solutions and improve conditions in Washington County for all residents to be healthy and thrive: 1. Public education is frequently the first component of our toolbox. 2. As many community health issues are complex, building strong partnerships and connecting resources throughout systems is critical. 3. We also need to determine who will be affected by any decisions and ask if vulnerable populations are impacted. If so, we need to determine what can be done about it. 4. There will be policy questions and decisions that we need the Washington County Board of Commissioners to weigh in on.
Background The Clean Air Act requires the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to set health-based standards for air pollutants. Primary standards focus on public health protection, including sensitive populations. The secondary standards address issues of decreased visibility, and damage to animals, crops, vegetation and buildings.
What is an Air Temperature Inversion? In the winter, a temperature inversion occurs when cold air close to the ground is trapped by a layer of warmer air. As the inversion continues, air becomes stagnant and pollution becomes trapped close to the ground. Inversions also occur during the summer months, but are a product of even hotter upper air trapping warm air close to the ground. Regardless of what time of the year the inversion happens, the result is the same: We are unable to rid ourselves of the everyday pollution that we create. Air pollution will continue to accumulate until the weather pattern changes.
Air Temperature Inversion
Background: There is a Potential Air Quality Issue in Washington County Oregon s Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) alerted Washington County about an upward trend of particulate matter in our area. Particulate matter is the term for particles found in the air, including dust, dirt, soot, smoke and liquid droplets. Particles can be suspended in the air for long periods of time. Some particles are large or dark enough to be seen as soot or smoke. Others are so small that they can only be detected with an electron microscope. Fine particle pollution or PM2.5 describes particulate matter that is 2.5 micrometers in diameter and smaller (i.e. 1/30th the diameter of a human hair).
What s Wrong with Fine Particles? Particles less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter (PM2.5) are referred to as "fine" particles and are believed to pose the greatest health risks because they can lodge deeply into the lungs due to their small size. According to the EPA, health studies have shown a significant association between exposure to fine particles and premature death from heart or lung disease. Fine particles can aggravate heart and lung diseases and have been linked to effects such as cardiovascular symptoms, cardiac arrhythmias, heart attacks, respiratory symptoms, asthma attacks and bronchitis. These effects can result in increased hospital admissions, emergency room visits, absences from school or work, and restricted activity days. Individuals who may be particularly sensitive to fine particle exposure include people with heart or lung disease, older adults and children.
Air Quality Monitors in Washington County EPA s fine particle standards were issued in 1997. There are two air quality monitors in Washington County. They are managed by DEQ. One is located in Beaverton. It has not exceeded the standards. Another is located in Hillsboro. Data from this monitor demonstrates a concerning trend. EPA designates an area as being in nonattainment if it has violated the fine particle standards over a three-year period or if relevant information indicates that it contributes to violations in a nearby area. Although the data at the Beaverton monitor has not exceeded the standards (like the Hillsboro monitor has), the EPA s designation of nonattainment would more than likely affect the entire county.
2011 and 2013 High Level Readings In 2011 and 2013, DEQ monitored PM2.5 levels in Hillsboro that exceeded the national ambient air quality health standards for fine particulate (PM2.5). upward trend
High Particulate Levels 2013 Hillsboro Air Quality Index Based on PM2.5 AQI 200 190 180 170 160 150 140 130 120 110 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 AQI Count Good 281 Mod 71 UFSG 8 Unhealthy 1 Missing 4 Total 365 J F M A M J J A S O N D Month Unhealthy Unhealthy For Sensitive Groups Moderate Good High particulate levels occur during times of multi-day weather inversion and air stagnation in the winter months.
Air Quality Index The previous slide identified good to unhealthy days in 2013. Anytime the AQI is calculated above 100, it is designated an unhealthy day.
Hillsboro PM2.5 24-Hour Period This graph is a typical 24-hour period in the winter months during air stagnation or inversions. You can see PM2.5 increases starting at 3:30 p.m. and peak around 7:30 p.m. This is a signature pattern for wood burning.
Open burning such as backyard burning Washington County Annual PM2.5 Emission Estimates for 2011 DEQ identifies pollution sources via wood burning surveys, motor vehicle data and computer estimation models. Mobile sources This includes gasoline and diesel fueled cars, trucks, construction equipment, off-road vehicles, lawn and garden equipment. Residential wood combustion such as wood stove and fireplace use in the home Industrial boilers This includes industrial facilities utilizing a hog-fuel boiler that burns biomass materials but do not have an air quality permit under our program because their emission levels are too small to require one. Fires This can include controlled forestry burns and wildfires. Dust This includes road and construction.
Washington County Risks Without mitigation, Washington County is at risk of exceeding the PM2.5 standard. Poor health outcomes Nonattainment leads to significant economic threats
Immediate Action Plan
Initial Partners Department of Environmental Quality WCCCA Boy Scouts Business Oregon & other local businesses City policymakers Emergency management Citizen Participation Organizations Energy Trust Oregon Community Action NW Natural Gas PGE
Educational Material with Call to Action The immediate issue is the need to avoid high readings in the months of November and December. WCPH is launching an educational campaign in close proximity to the Hillsboro monitor to alert homeowners and residents about the conditions that could lead to poor air quality and the need to voluntarily avoid wood burning during periods of inversion. The Boy Scouts will hang these flyers on doors in approximately a one-mile radius of the monitor. The door hangers encourage residents to sign up for the public alert system already in place the WCCCA. Public Health can then work with WCCCA to send out educational alerts. We are looking for any other systems to quickly get this information out to a large number of residents such as our own employee newsletters and business newsletters, etc.
Environmental Health Program Website We have updated our website to include information on air quality through an EPA website called AirNow.gov. This will provide current air quality information on our web page in real time.
Long-term Action Plan
Long-term Action Plan Our immediate actions are targeted and limited to the resources Public Health can deploy through November and December. We are having conversations about how we can build partnerships and increase resources to deal with this air quality issue in 2015 and beyond. One very important area of conversation relates back to our need to find solutions that do not negatively impact vulnerable populations such as low-income residents, seniors on fixed incomes, etc. We know that those populations may be using wood burning stoves as a sole source of heating. So we are quickly looking for resources to help with loans or grants to either replace current equipment with newer/cleaning burning stove or convert to other sources of heating. Environmental Health is proposing a new full-time position to focus on air quality. We are looking into a wood burning appliance change-out program. Should the initial effort to encourage voluntary avoidance of wood and yard/debris burning not help curb the high data, then we will explore policy options with local jurisdictions.
What You Can Do 1. Avoid burning wood on poor air quality days. 2. Only burn dry, seasoned wood when you do burn. For more information visit http://www.epa.gov/burnwise/. 3. Sign up for general notifications from PublicAlerts.org to receive alerts when the air quality in your area becomes a health concern and you should avoid burning wood.
Questions? Call 503-846-8722.