Transcript PowerPoint Presentation - AIR QUALITY RULES OVERVIEW …

PNW Interagency Burn Boss
Refresher Workshop
Smoke Management
Jim Russell
State Office/Regional Office
Air and Smoke Program Manager
503.808.2956
[email protected]
Deschutes County Expo Center
Redmond, Oregon
February 24-25, 2009
Outline of Topics/Questions
to Be Covered
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Introduction - Basic Primer to Smoke and Air Resource Management
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Your Report Card for 2008 – How you did.
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Update of the Web-based (FASTRAC) Linked Smoke Reporting System
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Health and Safety Consideration - Do we need personal protective equipment for
smoke
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Non-attainment area designation – what does it mean to you?
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Smoke Considerations Under the Revised Federal Fire Policy
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Communication Strategy with our Air Regulatory Agencies -Can we agree on a list of
factual statements?
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What else?
AIR QUALITY Definition of Terms
Basic Primer
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Air pollution : presence in the atmosphere of a substance or substances
added directly or indirectly by a human act, in such amounts as to adversely
affect humans, animals, vegetation, human enjoyment, or cultural
preservation
Federal Clean Air Act is a legal mandate designed to protect human health
and welfare from air pollution.
Air pollutants: Two categories(primary and secondary) Primary
pollutants are those directly emitted into the air established to protect
human health. Secondary pollutants are primary pollutants that undergo
chemical reactions within the atmosphere and produce new substances that
are described to protect human welfare.
State Implementation Plans (SIP's) are developed to control primary
and secondary pollutants. States can be more restrictive but not less. Except
in California during the Bush Administration.
National Ambient Air Quality
Standards (NAAQS)
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Criteria Pollutants defined in the Clean Air Act as levels of pollutant above which detrimental
effects on human health or welfare. The standards are expressed in different averaging times, for
example, annual, 24-hour, and 3-hour.
Particulate matter (PM2.5)
Sulfur dioxide (SO2)
Nitrogen dioxide (NO2)
Ozone,
Carbon monoxide
Lead
Forest Service’s activities primarily that contributes to criteria pollutants is the use of
Prescribed Fire
PM 2.5
Carbon monoxide,
nitrous oxides (NOx),
Volatile organic compounds (VOC's)
NOx and VOC's can react with sunlight to form the secondary pollutant ozone.
PM2.5
Fine Particulates either alone or in combination with other pollutants, can
constitute a public and fire fighter health hazard.
1. Fine particulates enter the body mainly via the respiratory system. Fine
particulate matter may exert a toxic effect on the body.
2. Toxicity of the particles because of its chemical or physical characteristics
3. 70-90% of smoke from wildland fire is PM2.5
4. The particle may interfere with one or more of the mechanisms which
normally clear the respiratory tract.
4. Medical studies have shown a solid relationship between increases in
particulate concentrations and rises in the number of clinic and hospital visits
for upper respiratory infections, cardiac diseases, bronchitis, asthma,
pneumonia, and emphysema.
Carbon monoxide (CO)
This pollutant is a poisonous inhalant that deprives the body tissues of necessary oxygen and replaces
it with CO
1. Extreme exposure (>750 ppm) can cause death.
2. Impaired time-interval discrimination can occur when humans are exposed to concentrations as
low as 10 to 15 ppm for 8 hours.
3.CO exposure can also result in central nervous system effects such as impairment of visual acuity,
brightness discrimination, and psychomotor functions.
4.Symptoms include headache, fatigue, and drowsiness.
5. CO exposure from wildfires and prescribed fire sources can be significant for fireline workers, but
CO dilutes very rapidly in the atmosphere and probably is not a concern even a short distance
downwind.
6.One study measured CO concentrations as high as 200 ppm close to flames but observed that the
concentration was reduced to less than 10 ppm just 100 feet from the fire. Meteorological and
topograhic features can trap and increase concentration of CO.
Oregon Smoke Intrusions for
2008/2009
No.
Date
Location
Landowner
1
4/17
Medford AQMA
BLM
2
5/5
Medford
BLM
.5
Light
3
5/9
Medford
BLM
3.5
Light
4
6/16
Cottage Grove
Private
3.5
Heavy
5
10/18
Lakeview
USFS
3.5
Moderate
6
10/28
Mid Will Valley
Private
8
Heavy
7
10/30
Newport
Private
So far there have been no intrusions for 2009.
Length (hrs)
2.5
3
Intensity
Light
Moderate
Washington Smoke
Management Plan
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No specific instrusions reported under the SMP
Issues associated with coordination of burning
(Federal, Tribal, and Private) and curtailment of
burning have occurred in the Yakama Valley
Issues with the decision to apply Air Stagnation
Burn Bans at the County Level needs to be
Reviewed
Smoke Management for this year function at a
successful level (Wash. Dept. of Ecology
Meterologist)
Update of the web-based (FASTRAC) Linked Smoke
Reporting System
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Web-based system does less error capturing than state system. Check entries carefully.
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Only register the acres you plan to blacken in Oregon
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Fees are only collected for treatment on Forested Land and not rangeland
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Register at least a week ahead. Plan the afternoon prior to burning. Report results the business
day after burning.
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Change from two servers to one, and from two distinct code bases to a more singular one. This
increases reliability, shortens programmer hours, and simplifies our lives as administrators of the
system.
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All of those efficiencies mean less duplicate data entries and generally a better time for the users.
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Plan to attend the breakout sessions to get answers to your questions from our crack IT Group of
Dale Guenther and Jim Edmonds.
Washington Smoke Management
Reporting System
Smoke
Main Menu
Permit
(Planned
Units)
Request
Post-Burn
Oregon Web-based Link (FASTRAC)
Health and Safety Consideration - Personal
Monitoring Equipment for Prescribed Fire
1. Passive CO Monitors to detect hourly/daily
exposure
2 Respirators
3. Fixed nephelometers
CO Monitoring
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San Dimas/MTDC are testing several brands of personal CO for use on the fireline
and in fire camp. Some of the evaluation criteria include:
– Cost
– Calibration
– Durability
– Battery life
– Data storage
– Weight and size
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Currently testing CO monitors on prescribed fires in the southern United States
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CO monitoring may be recommended for fire camps and on firelines
CO monitors may become available at the fire cache
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Respirators (NFPA Task Order)
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Team convened at request of NFPA to design requirements for a wildfire fighter
respirator. Design considerations included:
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Weight
Durability
Heat resistance
Visibility
Communication
Hazards to remove
Airflow
Cost
Protective case
Filter types
Testing procedures
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Draft wildland fire respirator specification document has been completed and is out
for review.
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Specification document will be submitted to private industry for development
Smoke Exposure Management Tactics
on Prescribed Fire
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High moisture content of the large fuel
and duff
Reduce aggressive mop-up
Fireline location, barriers
Lighting techniques
Sprinklers/foam
Rotate crews
Monitor
Training
Improve nutrition/
health habits
Smoke
Exposure
Where do we go from here?
Implement:
• Awareness training
• CO monitoring protocols
• Health surveillance/improved record
keeping
• Risk management strategies
Research:
• Crystalline silica assessment
• Exposure in other geographic areas
• Long term health risk assessment
• Fire camp exposure
• NFPA
2008 Proposed PM 2.5 Non Attainment Areas
(Current and Future)
Non-Attainment is due to woodstove smoke during the heating
season. Contributions from other open burning can cause an
exceedance of the annual standard that would force the state to
look for higher mitigation for prescribed fire smoke.
Current:
– Oakridge
– Klamath Falls
Future:
– Burns
– Lakeview
Maybe:
– John Day
– Baker City
– Redmond, Sisters, Prineville, and La Pine?
Smoke Considerations Under the Revised Federal Fire Policy
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Two Kinds of Fire – Unplanned Wildfire and Planned Prescribed
Fire
Two strategies can be applied to an individual Wildfire
Questions on how to apply smoke management to a portion of the
unplanned ignition managed for resource benefits.
Each such ignition requires a FUMA be assigned by the ICT. Do
have have enough FUMA’s to meet the needs this season. We
currently don’t have any air resource/smoke management positions
identified within the hierarchy.
Smoke and the Federal Fire Policy
(Cont.)
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How comfortable our the state air regulators in our
ability operate under the new policy and what are the
reason for this change. Who should communicate with
the states, both operational and smoke management
strategy.
Key as always is timely communications with our state
partners.
So do we (prescribed fire managers/smoke managers)
have a role in managing fires under the Resided Federal
Fire Policy.
We don’t what will be the role of the people in this room.
Communication Strategy with our Air Regulatory
Agencies
Can we agree on a list of factual statements?
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Smoke is bad for human health – prescribed or wildfire
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Public agencies have a responsibility to reduce smoke impacts from all types of fire
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The PNW smoke management plans are continuously reviewed for improvement
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Wildfire is rarely managed (for smoke)
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Wildfires result in far more serious smoke episodes than do prescribed fire
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Vegetation treatment can reduce wildfire smoke production
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Human health and safety are higher priority than Forest Health
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Increased participation by air regulators in management of wildfire smoke is needed
(Ken Snell - Director F&AM Pacific Northwest Region)