Air Quality Climate Change Training Module Air Quality, Climate Change and Public Health Minnesota Climate and Health Program Minnesota Department of Health

Air QualityClimate Change Training Module

Air Quality, Climate Change

and Public HealthMinnesota Climate and Health Program

Minnesota Department of HealthEnvironmental Impacts Analysis Unit

October 2012

625 Robert Street NorthPO Box 64975

St. Paul, MN 55164-0975

Notice

MDH developed this presentation based on scientific research published in peer-reviewed journals. References for information can be found in the relevant slides and/or at the end of the presentation.

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Outline

Introduction to Air Quality and Public Health Climate Changes in MN Climate Change and Air Quality

Particulate matter Ground-level ozone Allergens

Public Health/Government Strategies

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Air Quality and Public Health

HistoryIn the twelfth century, air pollution was already associated with urban environments and their higher population densities1948, Donora, PA smog event:

20 dead, 4,000 hospitalized1952, “Great Smog” in London, England

4,000+ excess deaths during 5 day event (Dec 5 – 9, 1952)

12,000+ excess deaths estimated due to persisting effects between Dec 1952 – Feb 1953

4London, Dec 5-9, 1952

Donora, Oct 26-29, 1948


Air quality has been improving From 2001 to 2012:

Ground-level ozone is 13% lower Year-round particle pollution is 24% lower Short-term particle pollution is 28% lower

However, we still have a ways to goHealth impacts occur at lower levels of air pollutants than previously thought41% of U.S. population lives in counties that have unhealthful levels of either ground-level ozone or particle pollutionRamsey County received an “F” in the American Lung Association 2012 State of the Air report for short-term particle pollution

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People can be affected by poor air quality because of exposure and/or sensitivity

Persons affected due to exposure: Certain occupations, such as professional drivers (trucks, taxis), parking lot

attendants, construction workers and others living and working near pollution sources

Athletes and outdoor workers on high pollution daysPersons affected due to sensitivity:

Have existing health conditions: Asthma Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Heart disease Allergies Young children Elderly

Introduction to Air Quality and Public Health Climate Changes in Minnesota Climate Changes and Air Quality



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Weather versus Climate

Weather: conditions of the atmosphere over a short period of time

Climate: conditions of the atmosphere over long periods of time (30-year standard averaging period)

Climate Changes

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There have been three recent significant observed climate trends in Minnesota:

The average temperature is increasing The average number of days with a high

dew point may be increasing The character of precipitation is changing

Climate Changes: Temperature

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Temperature has been rising in Minnesota.

Climate Changes: Temperature

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Three significant observations in this overall warming:

Winter temperatures have been rising about twice as fast as annual average temperatures

Minimum or 'overnight low' temperatures have been rising faster than the maximum temperature, or ‘daytime high’

Since the early 1980s, the temperature has risen slightly over 1°F in southern Minnesota to a little over 2°F in much of the northern part of the state

Climate Changes: Dew Point

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Dew point definition: Dew point is a measure of water vapor in the air

The higher the dew point, the more difficult it is for people's sweat to evaporate, which is how we cool ourselves

The number of days with high dew point temperatures (≥ 70°F) may be increasing in Minnesota

Climate Changes: Dew Point

13Source: Dr. Mark Seeley, Climatologist, University of Minnesota

Climate Changes: Precipitation

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On average, the total precipitation in the state has increased since the Dust Bowl era of the 1930s.

Climate Changes: Precipitation

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The character of precipitation in Minnesota is changing More localized, heavy

precipitation events Potential to cause both

increased flooding and drought

Climate Changes

What do the trends mean?

Extreme Weather:Increased extreme heat events and reduced cooling overnight Increased intense, localized storms and floodingIncreased localized drought and fires

Changing ecosystems:Earlier ice outEarlier flowering and longer growing season

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Climate Change

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Climate changes have not only brought Minnesota an earlier growing season but changes in the types of plants that will thrive here

Outline

Introduction to Air Quality and Public Health Climate Change in Minnesota Climate Change and Air Quality



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Climate Change and Air Quality

One study estimates that each one degree Celsius (1.8°F) increase in temperature would cause about 1,000 additional deaths in the US associated with air pollution. (Jacobson, 2008)

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Climate Change and Air Quality

Climate change may affect exposures to air pollutants by: Creating both more windiness and more air stagnation events

Increasing temperatures which . . .

Increase pollution from fossil fuel combustion to meet electricity demand for increased air conditioner use

Increase production of natural sources of air pollutant emissions

Increase formation of ground-level ozone

Lengthening the allergy season, creating more potent allergens

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Outline




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Particulate Matter

Particulate matter is a major pollutant for which concentrations are anticipated to be affected by climate change, and is therefore emphasized for public health impacts.

Particulate matter comes in different sizes (coarse and fine) from a number of sources including:Dust and other small particles from construction, mining and agriculturePollenFine particles from burning fossil fuels in factories, power plants, and diesel- and gasoline-powered motor vehicles

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Particulate Matter

Particulate matter (PM) can have serious health impacts

Effects of acute exposure : Short-term decrease in lung

function Exacerbation of respiratory and

cardiovascular diseases Hospitalizations and deaths

Effects of long term exposure: Respiratory and cardiovascular

diseases Cardiopulmonary and lung

cancer deaths

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Potential health effects of PM exposure, increased risk of:impaired respiratory function

chronic cough

bronchitis

chest illness

chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)

pneumonia

cardiovascular diseases

allergic disease and asthma

cardiopulmonary diseases

cancer

Particulate Matter

Populations at risk of health effects from particulate matter

At risk from exposure: Persons living or working in urban

areas, especially near high-traffic corridors and/or stationary sources of PM (such as factories or power plants)

At risk from sensitivity: Persons with respiratory and

cardiovascular diseases Elderly and children Persons with asthma and/or

allergies

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Particulate Matter

Climate change may affect exposures to PM by: Increasing emissions from fossil fuel-fired power

plants due to demand for electricity for cooling Increasing natural sources of air pollutant emissions

Wildfire smoke induced by drought and heat

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Particulate Matter

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2011 Boundary Waters Canoe Area wildfire burned nearly 145 square miles and costs reached $21 million. Smoke and ash spread as far as northeast Wisconsin and Traverse City, Michigan.

(MPR News, 2011)

Outline




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Ground-Level Ozone

Ground-level ozone is a main pollutant for which concentrations are anticipated to be affected by climate change, and is therefore emphasized for public health impacts.

Ground-level ozone is formed by the reaction of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and nitrogen oxide (NOx) in the presence of sunlight and heat.

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Source: American Lung Association

Ground-Level Ozone

Ground-level ozone exposure is linked to harmful respiratory conditions and cardiopulmonary impacts

Short-term exposure to elevated ozone can lead to hospitalizations or death

Long-term exposure to lower levels of ozone can decrease lung function, and may also cause new-onset asthma

Elevated ozone levels can exacerbate other conditions, such as asthma and allergies

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Ground-Level Ozone

Populations at risk of health effects from ground-level ozone:

At risk from exposure: Healthy people, especially athletes

and outdoor workers in landscape and construction who may be exposed to higher levels of ozone for longer periods of time on high pollution days

At risk from sensitivity: Persons with respiratory and

cardiovascular diseases Older adults and children

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Ground-Level Ozone

Climate change could significantly increase summertime ground-level ozone by:

Increasing temperatures Creating stagnant air conditions Affecting natural sources of air pollutant

emissions (biogenic VOCs) Overall, increase poor air quality index (AQI) days

Effect is most likely during the summer months, downwind of urban areas

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Minnesota Pollution Control AgencyAir Quality Indexhttp://aqi.pca.state.mn.us/

Outline




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Allergens

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An allergy is the body’s immune system overreacting to certain substances

Common allergens that may be affected by climate changes include: Pollen Mold

Approximately 25 million Americans suffer from hay fever (allergic rhinitis)

It costs approximately $11.2 billion per year to treat allergic rhinitis in the U.S. Giant Ragweed plant

Source: Mary Jelks, MD, AAAAI

Allergens

Allergens can affect persons with allergies and asthma

Allergens can interact with air pollution to amplify their individual effects: When ground-level ozone levels

are high, it takes much less ragweed pollen to trigger an asthmatic or allergic response

Particulate matter also increases allergic responses by extending how long the allergens stay in the body

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Climate Change Impacts on Pollen

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Temperature

Carbon dioxide

Precipitation

Climate change impacts on pollen:

Increased pollen production, longer pollen season, increased potency airborne allergens

Proliferation of weedy plant species that are known producers of allergenic pollen

Introduction of new allergen-producing plant species

Allergens: Pollen

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Allergenic pollen will be worse in urban areas: up to 7x higher than surrounding rural areas

Minneapolis has already experienced a 16 day increase in length of ragweed pollen season from 1995 to 2009

Check pollen report at http://pollen.aaaai.org/

Allergens: Pollen

37Source: National Wildlife Federation, 2010

Allergens: Mold

Mold growth is enhanced by moisture Increase in precipitation/floods Increase in temperature and/or humidity Increase in plant growth/plant biomass decay (leaf litter) Improper installation or management of air conditioning systems can

create conditions ripe for mold Mold can cause coughing, wheezing, nasal and throat conditions, and adversely affect persons with asthma or weakened immune systems

38Extensive mold contamination of ceiling and walls

(Source Terry Brennan, http://www.epa.gov/mold/moldcourse/imagegallery5.html)

Outline




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Public Health/Gov’t Strategies

MitigationEffective policies to mitigate health impacts from exposure to air pollutants focus on the reduction of air pollutant emissions

Reduce production of harmful air pollutants Improve energy efficiency Use alternatives to fossil fuels Reduce combustion of fossil fuels

Reduce urban heat island effect Maintain green space

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Example of urban heat island mitigation:

Target Center Green Roof

Minneapolis, MN

Public Health/Gov’t Strategies

Adaptation

Policies/strategies to adapt to health impacts from exposure to air pollutants include:

Monitor AQI days Promote awarenessSupport public health tracking of diseases such as asthma and allergic diseaseUtilize low allergenic pollen producing plants for landscaping

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Summary

Minnesota’s climate is changing: Increases in temperature Increases in high dew point temperatures Increases in extreme precipitation events

Climate changes will likely increase: Particulate matter Formation of ozone Pollen and mold

Certain populations are at greater risk from exposure to pollution and allergens, especially those with existing respiratory and cardiovascular conditions, the elderly, and children

Public health awareness, education and coordinated mitigation planning with other agencies can reduce the health impacts

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Thank You

Questions?

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Contact Minnesota Climate and Health Program:

651-201-4893

[email protected]

http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/climatechange/index.html October 3, 2012

Acknowledgements

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This work was supported by cooperative agreement 5UE1EH000738 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Special thanks to the following people for their contributions to the creation of this training module:

Wendy Brunner, Minnesota Department of HealthHillary Carpenter, Minnesota Department of Health Anne Claflin, Minnesota Pollution Control AgencyGregory Pratt, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Naomi Shinoda, Minnesota Department of Health

References

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http://www.lung.org/lung-disease/copd/about-copd/understanding-copd.html American Lung Association. 2012c. Particle Pollution: State of the Air 2011. Accessed online May 7, 2012: http://www.stateoftheair.org/2012/health-risks/health-risks-particle.html Bell ML, Dominici F, and Samet JM. 2005. A Meta-Analysis of Time-Series Studies of Ozone and Mortality with Comparison to the National

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Atmospheric Environment Vol. 43, 23-36.Horstmeyer, SL. 2008. Relative humidity . . . Relative to what? The dew point temperature . . . a better approach. Available online:

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References

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Minnesota Public Radio News. 2011. Pagami fire smoke visible deep into Wis., Mich. September 13, 2011. Available online:

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2011/09/13/pagami-fire-smoke-visible-deep-into-wisconsin/ Costs of fighting BWCA forest fire reach $21M. October 17, 2011. Available online:

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online: http://www.agingsociety.org/agingsociety/pdf/chronic.pdf National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). 2005. What’s the Difference Between Weather and Climate? Available online:

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/noaa/climate/climate_weather.html National Wildlife Federation. 2010. Extreme Allergies and Global Warming. Available online: www.nwf.org/extremeweather Parker JD, Akinbami LJ, Woodruff TJ. 2009. Air Pollution and Childhood Respiratory Allergies in the United States. Environ Health Perspect 2009;

117: 140-147.Patz JA. 2000. Climate change and health: new research challenges. Ecosyst Health 6:52–58.Pope CA, Thun MJ, Namboodiri MM, Dockery DW, Evans JS, Speizer FE, Heath CW. 1995. Particulate air pollution as a predictor of mortality in a

prospective study of U.S. adults. Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. vol. 151 no. 3 669-674 Pope CA III. 2000. Epidemiology of fine particulate air pollution and human health: biologic mechanisms and who’s at risk? Environ Health

Perspect; 108:Supple 4:713-23.Rogers, CA, PM Wayne, EA Macklin, et al. 2006. Interaction of the onset of spring and elevated atmospheric CO 2 on ragweed pollen production.

Environmental Health Perspectives 114: 865-869.Seeley M. 2012. Climate Trends and Climate Change in Minnesota: A Review. Minnesota State Climatology Office. Available online:

http://climate.umn.edu/seeley/ Shea K et al. 2008. Climate change and allergic disease. American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. Doi:10.1016/j.jaci.2008.06.032State Climatology Office. Department of Natural Resources – Division of Ecological and Water Resources and the University of Minnesota –

Department of Soil, Water, and Climate. Available online: http://climate.umn.edu/ Dew Point (http://climate.umn.edu/doc/twin_cities/mspdewpoint.htm)Dew Point July 19, 2011 Technical Analysis (http://climate.umn.edu/pdf/july_19_2011_ technical.pdf)

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References

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U.S. EPA. 2003. Ozone: good up high, bad nearby. Office of Air and Radiation. EPA-451/K-03-001 . http://www.epa.gov/glo/pdfs/ozonegb.pdf U.S. EPA. 2008. A Review of the Impact of Climate Variability and Change on Aeroallergens and Their Associated Effects (Final Report). U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/600/R-06/164F, 2008. Available online: http://www.epa.gov/research/gems/scinews_aeroallergens.htm U.S. EPA. 2011. Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Prevalence and Mortality. Accessed online May 8, 2012: http://cfpub.epa.gov/eroe/index.cfm?fuseaction=detail.viewInd&lv=list.listByAlpha&r=235293&subtop=381U.S. EPA. 2012. Ground-level ozone: Health effects. Accessed May 8, 2012: http://www.epa.gov/air/ozonepollution/health.html Western Regional Climate Center. (WRCC) 2011a. Minnesota Temperature 1890 – 2010: 12 month period ending in December. Generated

online November 2011. Available online: http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/spi/divplot1map.html Western Regional Climate Center. (WRCC) 2011b. Minnesota Precipitation 1890 – 2010: 12 month period ending in December. Generated online November 2011. Available online: http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/spi/divplot1map.htmlZandlo, Jim 2008. Observing the climate. Minnesota State Climatology Office. Available online: http://climate.umn.edu/climateChange/climateChangeObservedNu.htm Ziska L, et al. 2011. Recent warming by latitude associated with increased length of ragweed pollen season in central North America. PNAS vol

108 no 10.

Photo Credits

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Slide 4: Top image of Donora, PA smog event of 1948 from Prints and Photographs Collection, History of Medicine Division, National Library of Medicine, as cited in Helfand et al. 2001. “Donora , Pennsylvania: An Environmental Disaster of the 20 th Century,” American Journal of Public Health Vol 91, No 4, pp553. Bottom image of London, UK smog event of 1952 from Wikipedia “Great Smog”, available online: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Smog

Slide 6: Image source – Microsoft Clip Art Slide 8: Image source – Microsoft Clip Art Slide 15: Image source – Microsoft Clip Art Slide 17: 2006 The National Arbor Day Foundation, taken from “Extreme Allergies and Global Warming: National Wildlife Federations 2010”

available online at: http://www.nwf.org/~/media/PDFs/Global-Warming/Reports/NWF_AllergiesFinal.ashx Slide 19: Image source – Microsoft Clip Art Slide 20: Top Image source – Microsoft Clip Art; Bottom Image source – Microsoft Clip Art Slide 22: Image source – U.S. EPA, available online: http://www.epa.gov/airscience/air-particulatematter.htm Slide 24: Image source – Microsoft Clip Art Slide 25: Image source – Microsoft Clip Art Slide 26: Image source – Microsoft Clip Art Slide 28: Image source – American Lung Association, available online: http://www.stateoftheair.org/2012/health-risks/health-risks-

ozone.html Slide 29: Image source – Microsoft Clip Art Slide 30: Image source – Microsoft Clip Art Slide 31: AQI image source – Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, available online: http://aqi.pca.state.mn.us/ Slide 33: Giant Ragweed plant image source – Mary Jelks, MD, AAAAI, available online:

http://www.aaaai.org/about-the-aaaai/newsroom/media-gallery/photos---graphics--plants.aspx Slide 34: Image source – Microsoft Clip Art Slide 36: Screen shot of AAAAI pollen report Slide 37: Image source - National Wildlife Federation, 2010 Slide 38: Image source – Source Terry Brennan, http://www.epa.gov/mold/moldcourse/imagegallery5.html Slide 40: Image source – Pam Blixt, City of Minneapolis