Nobody is immune from the hazards of summer wildfires, even the experts. At the 天美影视传媒, researchers study both how to mitigate and understand wildfire behavior and how air quality degrades as a result of burning blazes. While UW faculty contribute to a rapidly emerging body of research into the risks of fire and smoke season, they also contend with the decisions that the rest of us face: how to protect themselves and their families, where to find reliable information, and how to manage the anxieties of summer smoke.听

Who better to learn from? As fires rage and smoke smothers the Pacific Northwest 鈥� including historic and devastating 鈥� UW News sat down with five UW experts in fire science, forestry, air pollution and more to ask how they manage wildfire season.听

This summer, the U.S. has been inundated with wildfire smoke, sometimes from fires burning hundreds of miles away. What sources do you use to track wildfires and air quality?

, research associate professor of environmental and forest sciences: The most reliable source, in my opinion, is the Fire and Smoke Map from . This map consolidates data from various government sources related to wildfires, prescribed burns, smoke emissions and up-to-date models. It serves as a comprehensive resource for smoke emissions information.

, research scientist in environmental and forest sciences: For smoke forecasts, I often turn to AirNow, but the is an excellent friend when we have been inundated with smoke for days and I鈥檓 looking for extended forecasts and analyses. is also an incredibly helpful site. I鈥檓 careful to check if the readings are U.S. EPA PM2.5 with the conversion applied 鈥� otherwise the readings generally are higher than reality.

, professor of environmental and forest sciences: For personal use and immediate up-to-date information, I really like . As a free app that has lots of options and configurations, it can be really helpful for getting immediate information on any ongoing fire incident and incorporates information from multiple sources. Second, for more detailed maps, photos, and daily incident updates, I frequently check , which is the U.S. government interagency website that provides real-time public information and updates on fire incidents. As a forest fire scientist, I also use these sources for archived information about past fires that can better help us in our research.

Let鈥檚 say you鈥檙e planning a weekend trip, or a hike you鈥檝e been looking forward to. How do you predict and plan around fire and smoke?听

E. Alvarado: I鈥檒l plan my outdoor activities while considering potential smoke impacts. I鈥檒l choose an area that鈥檚 unlikely to be affected by smoke for the duration of the activity. During the fire season, I鈥檒l avoid areas with thermal inversions, which can trap smoke at night. For example, canyons or valleys surrounded by mountains are risky.

To predict future smoke concentrations, the National Weather Service is the most reliable source of information. Their weather predictions can indicate fire weather for the duration of the forecast. This is also important for hiking the rest of the year to stay informed about the weather for any outdoor activity.

BH: has nice maps of the U.S. and Canada with high-resolution smoke forecasts over the coming day or two. These maps can be really helpful for planning ahead, though are always subject to change based on changing fire behavior or weather conditions. With our lab group doing field work outdoors all summer long every summer, these are critical tools for us to be able to do our work.听

Do you have an AQI threshold where you鈥檙e no longer comfortable being outside? Does that vary depending on what you鈥檙e doing outside? If so, how?

, professor of environmental and occupational health sciences: The AQI is designed for communicating health risk to both general populations as well as populations that may be more susceptible to smoke.听 Rather than focusing on the AQI number, I instead focus on the public health messaging (the 鈥淒escription of Air Quality鈥� column in this figure):

, associate professor of environmental and occupational health sciences: I generally become more concerned when air quality has remained consistently elevated for about 24 hours, because I think about smoke exposure cumulatively over the course of the day.

SP: If it looks like air quality is going to degrade over an AQI of 80, I start thinking about my health and what level of activity I鈥檓 going to do. As the science on smoke and human health only becomes more cautionary, I save strenuous exercise like running or climbing mountains for times when the AQI is below 80.听

If you have to be outside during smoky days, how do you protect yourself?听

E. Alvarado: Starting from AQI in the yellow zone, I may wear a . However, above the orange zone, an N95 mask is mandatory.

ES: If working outdoors during smoky days, you and your employer should be aware that in Washington State, Labor and Industries has established from hazardous smoke exposures. Also be aware that oftentimes smoke and heat co-occur, and there are for working outdoors too.

E. Austin: I always make contingency plans while hiking and camping. In that case, I identify egress routes prior to departing in case a wildfire event limits my ability to return using the route I had planned. I also sign up for emergency text alerts for the county where I am spending time, and check the current fire activity and nearby evacuation status.听

How do you keep your indoor spaces safe during smoke waves?

ES: Thinking ahead and preparing your indoor space for regularly occurring wildfire smoke episodes is just as important as planning for other emergency events.听 Can you close doors and windows tightly and have good weather sealing to avoid smoke from infiltrating indoors? Can you set your ventilation system to recirculate air?听 Have you replaced your ventilation system (e.g., furnace) filter recently? Have you considered getting a portable HEPA-rated air cleaner that is sized appropriately for your bedroom or living area?听 Have you considered building a DIY box-fan filter?

E. Austin: I create a smoke-ready space in my home. This is a separate area, where I set my ventilation system to recirculate indoor air rather than bringing in outdoor air. I also run a HEPA filter, rated to perform well for the square footage of my space, during wildfire events. Lastly, I try to reduce air exchange between the indoor space and outdoors by closing all windows, only opening outdoor doors when necessary, and weatherizing the space around doors and windows prior to the event.

SP: For indoor air, we make sure our HEPA air filters are clean at the end of each fire season so that they are ready to go the following year. When there鈥檚 smoke in the air, we make sure windows and doors are closed and use our air filters. We also just got a heat pump so that we can keep windows closed when smoke is a factor at night.

If you find yourself in close proximity to an active wildfire, what steps do you suggest taking?

BH: I suggest being as conservative and cautious as possible. Conditions can change rapidly, and being in the direct line of where a fire is spreading can be extremely dangerous and life-threatening. So first, I would make sure that there is a clear and safe route to safety via a road, trail, path, etc. Second, assessing the situation through any official information or local authorities is critical. If the fire has not been reported, calling 911 immediately is important to alert responders and others. If an evacuation order is issued, leaving immediately is critical to get to safety ASAP.

E. Austin: Many local districts allow you to register your phone and/or email to receive real-time alerts. I also suggest identifying your evacuation route, any obstacles or bottlenecks that would slow down your evacuation and to preplan and even pack critical items that you would need to take with you in an emergency.

SP: I live in the Methow Valley, and we鈥檝e been evacuated around five times in the last 20 years. As a fire ecologist who studies fire behavior and smoke, one of the most upsetting things for me has been to watch neighbors and friends stay to protect their places. We quickly pack a few valuable things 鈥� photo albums, laptops, wallets, and passports 鈥� and leave. My main message to friends over the years is that it鈥檚 not worth the risk 鈥� if flames are close that means that smoke and super-heated air may be close, too, and deadly.

How do you manage the stress and anxiety of fire season both here and elsewhere?

E. Austin: I manage that stress by preparing my home before fire season, relying on a small number of curated information sources rather than trying to identify reliable sources in the moment or checking multiple apps, and I try to make flexible backup plans for outdoor activities. I also suggest planning ahead to learn how to obtain and effectively use an N95 respirator to reduce exposures either at work or when outdoors for recreational activities.

SP: Fire and smoke season are stressful. I鈥檝e dealt with some stress and anxiety not only from fast-moving wildfires but also from long-duration smoke events that feel like they will never clear. We have a strong community that is very supportive and understands how fire season can bring up some PTSD-type symptoms. We take care of our place and make sure that we have as low of risk in and around our home as possible. We also remind ourselves how very lucky we are to be able to have flexibility in our work schedules and plenty of friends and family elsewhere to be able to leave when wildfires hit close to home.

BH: Fire is an integral part of life on earth, and in regions like the Pacific Northwest, fire is a key process that will continue to shape this region well into the future. Knowing that it is not if, but when, fire will return to any given area helps me embrace the reality of fire season. Like anything in life, being informed and prepared is a great way to lower stress and anxiety that comes with uncertainty.听

The UW has dozens of experts in wildfires, smoke and related topics. To reach an expert, contact Alden Woods at acwoods@uw.edu.

Source

Bob Wilbur thought he鈥檇 found a retirement home that would be a place of peace. Nestled against Admiralty Bay on the western edge of Whidbey Island, the three-story house is surrounded by trees and shoreline. It offers the kind of quiet that only an island can provide. Except when the Growlers fly.听

As often as four days a week, Boeing EA-18G Growler electronic attack aircraft based at the nearby Naval Air Station Whidbey Island fly loops overhead as pilots practice touch-and-go landings. The noise is immense, around the level of a loud rock concert. 鈥淚t interrupts your day,鈥� Wilbur said. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e unable to have a pleasant evening at home. You can鈥檛 communicate. You constantly try to organize your day around being gone when the jets are flying.鈥�听

New research from the 天美影视传媒 shows that the noise isn鈥檛 just disruptive 鈥� it presents a substantial risk to public health. in the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology, an analysis of the Navy鈥檚 own acoustic monitoring data found that more than 74,000 people are exposed to noise levels with adverse health effects.听听

“Military aircraft noise is substantially more intense and disturbing than commercial jet noise,鈥� said lead author , a graduate student in the UW College of the Environment. 鈥淣oise exposure has many downstream effects beyond just annoyance and stress 鈥� high levels of sleep disturbance, hearing impairment, increased risk of cardiovascular disease 鈥� these have real impacts on human health and quality of life. We also found that several schools in the area are exposed to levels that have been shown to put children at risk of delayed learning.鈥�

Guided by conversations with community members and local advocacy groups, researchers analyzed four weeks of acoustic and flight operations data , in addition to prior-year data collected by a private acoustics company and the National Park Service. Researchers then mapped noise exposure across the region to estimate how much noise specific communities were exposed to in an average year.听

Researchers estimated that two-thirds of Island County residents, including everyone in the cities of Oak Harbor and Coupeville, were exposed to potentially harmful levels of noise, as was 85% of the population of the Swinomish Indian Reservation. 听

In total, an estimated 74,316 people were exposed to average noise levels that posed a risk of annoyance, 41,089 of whom were exposed to nighttime noise levels associated with adverse effects on sleep. Another 8,059 people 鈥� most of whom lived within fairly close proximity to aircraft landing strips 鈥� were exposed to noise levels that can pose a risk of hearing impairment over time.听

鈥淥ur bodies produce a lot of stress hormone response to noise in general, it doesn鈥檛 matter what kind of noise it is. But particularly if it鈥檚 this repeated acute noise, you might expect that stress hormone response to be exacerbated,鈥� said co-author , a UW professor of environmental and occupational health sciences. 鈥淲hat was really interesting was that we鈥檙e reaching noise exposure levels that are actually harmful for hearing. Usually I only think of hearing in the context of working in factories or other really, really loud occupational settings. But here, we鈥檙e reaching those levels for the community.鈥�听听

Taken as a whole, the potential harms can be quite serious, Seto said. 鈥淚magine people trying to sleep, or children in school trying to understand their teachers and you鈥檝e got these jets flying.鈥�听

Every monitoring station on Whidbey Island measured noise events in excess of 100 decibels when jets were flying. In some instances, noise levels were 鈥渙ff the charts鈥� 鈥� exceeding the limits of models used to predict the health effects of noise exposure around the world. 听

鈥淲e found it striking that Growler noise exceeds the scientific community鈥檚 current understanding of the potential health outcomes,鈥� said co-author , a UW professor of aquatic and fishery sciences. 鈥淔or this reason, our estimates of health impacts are conservative.鈥�听

The noise has been the subject of community disputes and legal controversy since 2013, when the U.S. Navy moved more Growler jets onto Whidbey Island and increased the number of flights to more than 110,000 per year. Bob Wilbur is a member and the current chair of Citizens of Ebey鈥檚 Reserve, a community group that has sued the Navy over the jet noise and increased flight operations. The group also helped facilitate the UW study, and Wilbur is a co-author.听听

Like other military aircraft, the Growlers鈥� noise differs significantly from commercial jets 鈥� louder and deeper, the kind of sound that people feel before they hear.听听

“It鈥檚 the intensity, the intermittent nature of the noise, and the low-frequency energy specifically,鈥� Jacuzzi said. 鈥淭hose three things are very different than what you experience from normal commercial flights, which are predictable and high in altitude. When Growlers fly over a home, they emit a rumbling noise that penetrates windows and shakes walls.鈥澨�听

While commercial jet noise has been the subject of extensive study, research into military aircraft noise is relatively rare. Previous UW-led research found that military flights were the largest cause of noise pollution on the Olympic Peninsula. While discussing that study, Whidbey residents complained that the noise disturbed their sleep and interfered with students鈥� schoolwork, which prompted this new line of inquiry. While conducting this study, researchers worked closely with community members and advocacy groups and held multiple webinars to share results and shape future work.听听

鈥淥ur research was motivated by the growing chorus of complaints by Washingtonians across multiple counties,鈥� Olden said. 鈥淲e believe the science speaks for itself. It鈥檚 no longer a question of whether noise impacts people, but how, where and how much these effects are experienced.鈥�听

Other authors are Lauren Kuehne of Omfishient Consulting, and Anne Harvey and Christine Hurley of Sound Defense Alliance. This research was funded by the UW Population Health Initiative.

For more information, contact Jacuzzi at gioj@uw.edu.听

Source

What started as a 天美影视传媒-led project to measure air pollution near Sea-Tac International Airport has led to schools in the area installing portable air filters to improve indoor air quality.

First, UW researchers found they were able to in the communities under Sea-Tac International Airport flight paths and map the air quality impacts of the ultrafine particles associated with planes. Then they discovered that the mix of particle pollution, black carbon and other pollutants from both sources was infiltrating school buildings in the area.

Alerted that this pollution was getting into schools, community advisors to the study wondered if the UW crew could find a way to remove the pollution and protect children, teachers and workers in those buildings. They were concerned because evidence is emerging that suggests this pollution is , particularly children and older adults. Poor indoor air quality may also and increased absenteeism from school.

鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 clear from the outset of the project that we could measure significant infiltration indoors,鈥� said , assistant professor of environmental and occupational health sciences in the UW School of Public Health. 鈥淣ot all particles act the same. They don鈥檛 behave the same in the brain or in the body, and they also don鈥檛 penetrate into buildings through the same routes. However, we did measure significant infiltration.鈥�

In Phase One of their , funded primarily by the Washington State Legislature, the UW team discovered that portable air cleaners with HEPA, or High Efficiency Particulate Air, filters in classrooms reduced pollution levels dramatically.

In their recent , the researchers wrote that the filters reduced all ultrafine particles by 83%, aircraft-specific particles by 67% and heavy-duty truck particles by 73% over a two-day test period (see graphic above for more reduction details).

鈥淲e have to consider outdoor air pollution when we鈥檙e thinking about healthy schools, and the answer to addressing outdoor air pollution is twofold: The first is reducing the emissions from their sources, but that is not always possible. So, when that is not possible, effective interventions are critical. This project demonstrates that HEPA filters can be a viable intervention,鈥� Austin said.

The team鈥檚 data was so stark that community advisors encouraged school districts to use these filters in their buildings. In response, Austin said, the two school districts the UW team worked with, Federal Way Public Schools and Highline Public Schools, purchased air filters for most of their classrooms to improve indoor air quality and to combat the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19.

鈥淲hen many of the school districts we鈥檙e working with saw the results and heard concerns from parents, teachers and unions about air quality, they went ahead and used federal funds to purchase HEPA filters for their classrooms,鈥� Austin said.

And all of that was just Phase One of the team鈥檚 project.

For , the researchers are working on a two-year study in 20 schools across Washington where they will deploy more air filters and learn more about student health and academic performance in classrooms with cleaner air. They also hope to help school districts balance the benefits of these filters with their energy use and explore other methods for reducing air pollution, such as upgrading buildings.

鈥淥ur first phase of the study was over a couple of days, so we want to be able to show that over the course of a longer term there鈥檚 a significant improvement in air quality when the HEPA filters are deployed. Then, we want to see what benefits that improved indoor air quality has on student health, performance and absenteeism,鈥� Austin said.

###

Co-authors are Nancy Carmona, Jeffry H. Shirai, B.J. Cummings, Lisa Hayward and Edmund Seto from the UW Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences; Timothy Gould from the UW Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering; and Timothy Larson, a professor in both UW departments.

In addition to funding from the Washington State Legislature and the EPA, regional partners for the study include the cities of SeaTac, Burien,听Federal Way, Normandy Park and Des Moines; Federal Way Public Schools; Highline Public Schools; and the 天美影视传媒 Ultrafine Advisory Group.

For more information, contact Austin at elaustin@uw.edu.

Source

is a 天美影视传媒-wide institute connecting scholars with community partners to address environmental challenges. The institute announced awards for its 2020 on May 5.

Four research teams were chosen from 43 that applied. Proposals were reviewed by an 11-member committee including faculty and staff in several areas as well as an outside community member. This is the program’s second year.

Each team will receive up to $75,000 as well as administrative and communications support for a 16-month period ending in September 2021.

Crucially, the researchers also plan to collaborate with community partners from El Centro de la Raza locally to universities internationally for these projects. All of the community partners involved are listed on the .

Does vegetation help mitigate roadway and aircraft-related air pollution in Seattle?

, associate professor of environmental and occupational health sciences, is principal investigator on this community-engaged study using drones for 3D air quality measurements.

Co-investigators are professor and assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering, and , professor of atmospheric sciences.

According to their proposal, “Findings from this study will provide local and highly relevant evidence on the effectiveness of urban planning initiatives that may utilize greenery as an approach to address particulate air pollution.”

Hazard planning, food sovereignty and climate adaptation in the Alaskan Arctic听

, assistant professor in the Department of American Indian Studies and the School of Marine and Environmental Affairs, is this project’s principal investigator and co-director.

is a 500-person community in Northwest Alaska about 80 miles above the Arctic Circle. Sea-ice cover around this area has decreased dramatically in the last two decades, increasing coastal erosion during storms and the frequency of traveler distress calls, among other concerns.

For this research, an interdisciplinary team of UW polar researchers will work with area search and rescue volunteers to help Kivalina and its residents achieve more safety, resilience and food sovereignty, and become a model of community-driven polar research. The team also plans to develop new methods in sea ice forecasting to support local decision-making, among several other goals.

Other UW researchers involved are , chair and professor; and , research assistant professor, both in atmospheric sciences.

P铆kyav on the Mid-Klamath River: Peeshk锚esh Y谩v Um煤saheesh

The flows through parts of Oregon and Northern California. Four hydroelectric dams along the river are scheduled for removal in 2022. The , in that area, is among the largest in California.

This research team proposes a river restoration process on the Klamath that centers on Karuk tribal sovereignty using a model of justice, helping to bring tribal perspectives to large-scale governance. The title of the project, they write, translates to “the river will look good” 鈥� and the phrase “goes far below the surface to include function, connection and ceremonial renewal.”

The team plans an intergenerational, field-based school on the river, working with Karuk youth and cultural practitioners to gather historical maps, stories and spatial data on Karuk uses of floodplain ecosystems.

UW team members for this project are , assistant professor in the School of Marine and Environmental Affairs; , a lecturer in Comparative History of Ideas and the Program on the Environment; and Karuk tribal member Kimberly Yazzie, a doctoral student in the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences.

Lessons from urban indigenous immigrants 听

“This project will compare a self-managed indigenous immigrant community still using traditional practices in Iquitos, Peru,” the team wrote, “to a similar indigenous immigrant community nearby that developed with social and political pressures to colonially urbanize and leave traditional practices behind.”

UW members of the research team are , affiliate assistant professor of landscape architecture; , photographer with the UW Center for One Health Research; , lecturer in the UW Bothell School of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences; Kathleen Wolf, research social scientist with the School of Environment and Forest Sciences; and doctoral student of the School of Public Health.

“We use an innovative, mixed-methods approach by combining indigenous knowledge, science and art to document environmental conditions, ecosystem health, traditional knowledge practices, and human-nature connections in each community,” the team wrote.

Environmental and human health impacts of a new invasive species in Madagascar

A fifth project was in March, representing the second project funded in collaboration with the UW Population Health Initiative. The project’s UW leads are , assistant professor in the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences; and , professor in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences.

For more information, contact the EarthLab Innovation Grants program lead at elgrants@uw.edu.

Source

Communities underneath and downwind of jets landing at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport are exposed to a type of ultrafine particle pollution that is distinctly associated with aircraft, according to a new 天美影视传媒 study, the first to identify the unique signature of aircraft emissions in the state of Washington.

The finding comes from the two-year Mobile ObserVations of Ultrafine Particles or 鈥淢OV-UP鈥� funded by the Washington State Legislature to examine the air-quality impacts of aircraft traffic on communities located within 10 miles of Sea-Tac Airport.

Researchers at the UW Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences and the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering collected air samples at numerous locations around Sea-Tac Airport over the course of a year between 2018 and 2019.

The research team then developed a new method to distinguish between pollution from jet traffic and pollution from other sources such as roadway traffic. Ultrafine pollution particles are emitted from both sources, but the research team found key differences in the particle size and mixture of particles they emit.

The researchers then mapped each type of emission mixture to show its specific geographic footprint around the airport.

鈥淲e found that communities under the flight paths near the airport are exposed to higher proportions of smaller-sized, 鈥榰ltra-ultrafine鈥� pollution particles and over a larger area compared to pollution particles associated with roadways,鈥� said , co-principal investigator and associate professor of environmental and occupational health sciences in the UW School of Public Health.

Ultrafine particles are less than 0.1 micron in diameter 鈥� 700 times thinner than the width of a single human hair. The research team coined the term 鈥渦ltra-ultrafine鈥� particles to refer to the proportion of smaller ultrafine particles between 0.01 to 0.02 microns in diameter.

Although this study did not consider the health effects of exposure to roadway or aircraft-related pollution, previous studies suggest smaller pollution particles are more likely to be inhaled and to penetrate the body than larger particles.

Other studies have linked exposure to ultrafine particles to breast cancer, heart disease, prostate cancer and a variety of lung conditions. The Washington State Department of Health is currently preparing a comprehensive literature review of the potential health effects associated with ultrafine particles.

The discovery of the unique signature of aircraft pollution opens up opportunities for follow-up studies, said , professor and chair of the Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences.

鈥淲e can now study the specific health effects of aircraft-related pollution, how different neighborhoods may be affected by it and specific interventions that could reduce human exposure to these pollutants,鈥� said Yost, who is also a co-investigator on the study. 鈥淲e hope to work with state and local policymakers as well as affected communities to pursue these questions.鈥�

The team gathered air samples from fixed locations, including a former elementary school south of the airport and SeaTac Community Center north of the airport. Researchers also collected air samples through mobile monitors mounted on hybrid vehicles that were driven on 11 routes north and south of the airport in time periods that covered all four seasons of the year.

The researchers used data from the Federal Aviation Administration and other sources to track the number and direction of flights, their altitudes and the wind speed and direction, temperature and relative humidity at the airport.

Their analysis showed that roadway air pollution particles consist of relatively larger particle sizes and higher black carbon concentrations. These particles tend to disperse over relatively short distances downwind of major roadways such as Interstate 5 and SR 99, affecting a narrow swath of near-roadway residences and buildings.

In contrast, emissions associated with aircraft consist of the relatively smaller ultra-ultrafine particle sizes and lower black carbon concentrations. Areas exposed to higher levels of aircraft-related particles tend to be larger, meaning more people are potentially affected.

The research team coordinated closely with local governments, community groups and state and federal agencies throughout the two-year project, soliciting feedback on the study design, analysis and next steps.

Sea-Tac Airport is the eighth busiest U.S. airport. In 2018, the airport served nearly 50 million passengers and saw 438,391 takeoffs and landings.

Co-authors include Elena Austin, Jianbang Xiang and Jeffry Shirai of UW Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences; Tim Gould and Sukyong Yun from UW Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering; and co-senior author Timothy Larson, a professor in both departments.听This research was funded by the Washington State Legislature.

This release was written by听Jolayne Houtz, director of communications for the UW Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences

Statement from the Port of Seattle:

鈥淲e are pleased to see the UW MOV-UP Study completed and turned into the Legislature. The Port strongly supports this effort and helped fund this study which we see as critical to advancing the science needed to understand and reduce fine particulate emissions. Our Commission remains committed to reducing the emissions associated with using fossil fuels, and one way to reduce emissions is through the use of lower-carbon transportation fuels. Many of these fuels including renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel reduce ultra-fine particulate in addition to greenhouse gases, the pollution that causes global warming. For this reason, we continue to urge the Washington State Legislature to move quickly towards statewide progressive carbon policy that encourages the adoption of low-carbon transportation fuels. That kind of policy framework could generate real progress on the full-scale implementation of sustainable fuels at the state鈥檚 airports and seaports.”

Statement from the Washington State Department of Health:

“Our comprehensive literature review of the potential health effects of ultrafine particle pollution is being completed alongside the UW study. Together, these studies will provide state policymakers and communities with evidence about where and how this type of traffic-related pollution affects people and inform future steps to protect public health,鈥� said Julie Fox, environmental epidemiologist, Washington State Department of Health.

Source