Assessing the Impact of Aircraft Arrival on Ambient Ultrafine Particle Number Concentrations in Near-Airport Communities in Boston, Massachusetts

13-C-AJFE-BU-007, 020This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. Please cite this article as: Chloe S. Chung, Kevin J. Lane, Flannery Black-Ingersoll, Eric Kolaczyk, Claire Schollaert, Sijia Li, Matthew C. Simon, Jonathan I. Levy, Assessing the impact of aircraft arrival on ambient ultrafine particle number concentrations in near-airport communities in Boston, Massachusetts, Environmental Research, Volume 225, 2023, 115584, ISSN 0013-9351, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2023.115584.Aircraft emissions contribute to overall ambient air pollution, including ultrafine particle (UFP) concentrations. However, accurately ascertaining aviation contributions to UFP is challenging due to high spatiotemporal variability along with intermittent aviation emissions. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of arrival aircraft on particle number concentration (PNC), a proxy for UFP, across six study sites 3\u201317 km from a major arrival aircraft flight path into Boston Logan International Airport by utilizing real-time aircraft activity and meteorological data. Ambient PNC at all monitoring sites was similar at the median but had greater variation at the 95th and 99th percentiles with more than two-fold increases in PNC observed at sites closer to the airport. PNC was elevated during the hours with high aircraft activity with sites closest to the airport exhibiting stronger signals when downwind from the airport. Regression models indicated that the number of arrival aircraft per hour was associated with measured PNC at all six sites, with a maximum contribution of 50% of total PNC at a monitor 3 km from the airport during hours with arrival activity on the flight path of interest (26% across all hours). Our findings suggest strong but intermittent contributions from arrival aircraft to ambient PNC in communities near airports

Supporting Equitable Land Management Decisions Through the Characterization of Different Sources of Smoke Exposure for At-Risk Communities

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2023Communities across the western United States experience hazardous smoke exposures from multiple fire sources. As wildfires become more frequent and severe, smoke exposures stemming from these fires are also worsening. Prescribed burning is a promising forest management strategy that can mitigate future wildfire risk, but also contributes to biomass burning emissions and human exposure impacts. Agricultural burning is another commonly used management tool, implemented on agricultural landscapes across the West, but also contributes to ambient air pollution. Despite these multiple sources of smoke exposure, few studies have examined their differential exposure impacts, particularly among communities most at-risk. This dissertation seeks to address this gap, by characterizing smoke exposures from each of these fire types in the recent past and by examining how these exposures may change due to the implementation of new forest management strategies in the future. First, we generate a fire type-specific 1 km biomass burning emissions inventory, using the Fire INventory from NCAR (FINN) and a series of federal and state-level fire and fuel treatment inventories to distinguish between wildfire, prescribed, and agricultural burn emissions across Washington, Oregon, and California. We then use that emissions inventory to model surface-level PM2.5 concentrations and population-level exposures, using the GEOS-Chem atmospheric chemical transport model at a 0.25° x 0.3125° resolution from 2014-2020. We identify distinct spatiotemporal exposure patterns for each fire type, which differentially impact population sub-groups within states. For example, we observed disproportionately higher exposures to wildfire smoke among Native communities and higher exposures to agricultural burn smoke among lower socioeconomic groups in California. Next, we specifically focus on the relationship between wildfires and prescribed burns to assess the exposure and health impacts of six forest management scenarios proposed for a 2.4 million acre landscape in the Central Sierra, California. Using wildfire and prescribed burn emission estimates generated using a landscape forecasting model, we modeled fire type-specific smoke exposure impacts using the Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) model at a 27 km resolution. Among the general population, we estimated that moderate amounts of prescribed burning can reduce wildfire-specific smoke exposures and asthma-related health impacts. We observed a similar pattern when examining exposure impacts among outdoor agricultural workers in California, in which total smoke exposure is lowest under scenarios that call for moderate amounts of prescribed burning; however, we also observe a decreasing exposure benefit under scenarios that call for greater amounts of prescribed burning due to the smoke contributions from the fuel treatment themselves. Together, this two-part analysis describes the distinct exposure patterns from different types of fire on the landscape and what role management can play in reducing exposure burdens. The results of this dissertation emphasize the need for more tailored exposure reduction strategies that consider the source of smoke. Additionally, it highlights the importance of increased collaboration between public health and natural resource management agencies in a way that can optimize the achievement of management objectives, while simultaneously minimizing harmful exposure burdens among at-risk communities

A Comparative Assessment of Cooling Center Preparedness across Twenty-Five U.S. Cities

Cooling centers have played a significant role in reducing the risks of adverse health impacts of extreme heat exposure. However, there have been no comparative studies investigating cooling center preparedness in terms of population coverage, location efficiency, and population coverage disparities among different subpopulation groups. Using a catchment area method with a 0.8 km walking distance, we compared three aspects of cooling center preparedness across twenty-five cities in the U.S. We first calculated the percentage of the population covered by a single cooling center for each city. Then, the extracted values were separately compared to the city’s heat indexes, latitudes, and spatial patterns of cooling centers. Finally, we investigated population coverage disparities among multiple demographics (age, race/ethnicity) and socioeconomic (insurance, poverty) subpopulation groups by comparing the percentage of population coverage between selected subpopulation groups and reference subpopulation groups. Our results showed that cooler cities, higher latitude cities, and cities with dispersed cooling centers tend to be more prepared than warmer cities, lower latitude cities, and cities with clustered cooling centers across the U.S. Moreover, older people (≥65) had 9% lower population coverage than younger people (≤64). Our results suggest that the placement of future cooling centers should consider both the location of other nearby cooling centers and the spatial distribution of subpopulations to maximize population coverage and reduce access disparities among several subpopulations

An atypical relapse of acute myeloid leukemia diagnosed by 18F-FDG PET/CT.

Extramedullary relapse of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) after stem-cell transplant is very rare and often remains a diagnostic challenge. Although the diagnostic value of PET/CT has not been evaluated thoroughly in leukemia, it might be useful for detecting these focal localizations. We presented a case of a 58-year-old man, with a prior history of localized bladder cancer and a secondary AML, referred to our hospital with important thoracic backaches. PET/CT revealed the presence of meningeal carcinomatosis at the thoracic level, as well as lymph nodes, and muscular and bone metastases. Immunophenotyping of the cerebrospinal fluid aspirate showed a relapse of AML

A Mixed Methods Evaluation of Sharing Air Pollution Results with Study Participants via Report-Back Communication

We implemented a concurrent triangulation mixed-methods evaluation of an air pollution data report-back to study participants in Chelsea, Massachusetts. We aimed to determine whether the report-back was effective in the following three ways: engagement, understandability, and actionability for the participants. We also evaluated participants’ valuation of the report-back information and process. The evaluation involved both qualitative components, such as ethnographic observation, and quantitative components, such as closed-ended questionnaires and demographic data. The participants who engaged in the report-back process were significantly different from those who did not engage both in terms of their demographics, and in their indoor air pollutant concentrations. Participant understanding generally corresponded with the intended meaning of the research team, suggesting successful data communication. Additionally, many of the participants reported that they were inspired to take action in order to reduce their indoor air pollutant exposure as a result of the report-back process and information provided. These results identify areas of improvement for engagement, particularly regarding populations that may have higher exposures. This work outlines a framework with which to contextualize and evaluate the success of engagement with report-back efforts. Such evaluations can allow research teams to assess whether they are providing information that is equitably useful and actionable for all participants

Assessing the impact of aircraft arrival on ambient ultrafine particle number concentrations in near-airport communities in Boston, Massachusetts

Aircraft emissions contribute to overall ambient air pollution, including ultrafine particle (UFP) concentrations. However, accurately ascertaining aviation contributions to UFP is challenging due to high spatiotemporal variability along with intermittent aviation emissions. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of arrival aircraft on particle number concentration (PNC), a proxy for UFP, across six study sites 3–17 km from a major arrival aircraft flight path into Boston Logan International Airport by utilizing real-time aircraft activity and meteorological data. Ambient PNC at all monitoring sites was similar at the median but had greater variation at the 95th and 99th percentiles with more than two-fold increases in PNC observed at sites closer to the airport. PNC was elevated during the hours with high aircraft activity with sites closest to the airport exhibiting stronger signals when downwind from the airport. Regression models indicated that the number of arrival aircraft per hour was associated with measured PNC at all six sites, with a maximum contribution of 50% of total PNC at a monitor 3 km from the airport during hours with arrival activity on the flight path of interest (26% across all hours). Our findings suggest strong but intermittent contributions from arrival aircraft to ambient PNC in communities near airports.High arrival flight activity. [Display omitted]•Aircraft contribute to particle number concentrations (PNC) near airports.•Intermittent aircraft impacts are observed at upper percentiles of 1-s PNC.•During hours with arrivals, aircraft contribute 50% of PNC 3 km from the airport.•Regression models identify arrival aircraft contributions at sites up to 17 km away

Wildfire, Smoke Exposure, Human Health, and Environmental Justice Need to be Integrated into Forest Restoration and Management.

Purpose of reviewIncreasing wildfire size and severity across the western United States has created an environmental and social crisis that must be approached from a transdisciplinary perspective. Climate change and more than a century of fire exclusion and wildfire suppression have led to contemporary wildfires with more severe environmental impacts and human smoke exposure. Wildfires increase smoke exposure for broad swaths of the US population, though outdoor workers and socially disadvantaged groups with limited adaptive capacity can be disproportionally exposed. Exposure to wildfire smoke is associated with a range of health impacts in children and adults, including exacerbation of existing respiratory diseases such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, worse birth outcomes, and cardiovascular events. Seasonally dry forests in Washington, Oregon, and California can benefit from ecological restoration as a way to adapt forests to climate change and reduce smoke impacts on affected communities.Recent findingsEach wildfire season, large smoke events, and their adverse impacts on human health receive considerable attention from both the public and policymakers. The severity of recent wildfire seasons has state and federal governments outlining budgets and prioritizing policies to combat the worsening crisis. This surging attention provides an opportunity to outline the actions needed now to advance research and practice on conservation, economic, environmental justice, and public health interests, as well as the trade-offs that must be considered. Scientists, planners, foresters and fire managers, fire safety, air quality, and public health practitioners must collaboratively work together. This article is the result of a series of transdisciplinary conversations to find common ground and subsequently provide a holistic view of how forest and fire management intersect with human health through the impacts of smoke and articulate the need for an integrated approach to both planning and practice