Episode 56TP May 1, 2024. American Lung Association State of the Air podcast, Love My Air in Colorado.

In Episode 56TP, 1)American Lung Association. Lungcast on Spotify. Listen here. Air Quality Issues Due to Particle Pollution with John Balmes, MD – HCPLive. RAWSEP View: The synopsis of this podcast does not mention the contribution to PM2.5 from indoor residential wood burning. RAWSEP interjects that the professor does not mention the PM2.5 pollution emitted from wood burning power plants that have been deployed to replace coal burning power plants in recent years. Wood burning emissions are not counted when calculating if a nation like the United States is meeting its climate goals. Using Wood burning power plants instead of coal burning power plants actually creates more PM2.5 and CO2 pollution, which isn’t counted, so using wood burning power plants in reality brings us closer to climate change, not farther away,  Wood burning emits 2.8 times the PM2.5 and CO2 as the fossil fuel coal burning emits. Wood burning also emits 450 times the PM2.5 as the fossil fuel natural gas burning emits. 2)Colorado. Wheat Ridge. RAWSEP View: 10 Love my Air, PM2.5 monitors to be deployed. If the PM2.5 monitors are not located hyperlocally in the yards of near neighbors of indoor residential wood burners, the PM2.5 pollution that sickens the near neighbors of indoor residential wood burners will not be detected.  3)Alabama, Birmingham. Annual ban on open burning in a dozen counties goes into effect May 1, 4)California, Half Moon Bay. RAWSEP View: You can dispose of fallen tree debris without burning it, for instance compost it into usable soil. Soil is not flammable.  5)Florida, Tallahassee. Florida State University. Dog killed in fire. FSU student who lost dog in fire, other survivors get support from community, university. 6)New Mexico, Albuquerque. University of New Mexico (UNM), Lomas Chiller Plant, 1925 Las Lomas Rd. 7)Idaho, Bonner County. Try to avoid the dangers of breathing smoke from fires. 8)Minnesota, Winthroop. Heartland fined $11,200 for air permit violations. A filtering bag-house also failed a stack test for emitting very small particulate matter (PM 2.5). 9)Nevada, Lake Tahoe. Small scale prescribed fire operations continue. 10)New York, New York City. Goodbye, Gas. The Future of New York City’s Pizza Is Electric.  The New York Times.  And just in time for a new city ordinance regulating pollution emitted by wood- and coal-fired ovens. 11)Rhode Island, Providence. Brown University. A Looming Health Crisis Shadows the South’s Wood Pellet Boom. 12)Canada. Canada Needs to Get Tough on Wood Pellet Exports | The Tyee  Where to count emissions? Drax Power began burning wood instead of coal in 2012 and fully phased out fossil fuels last year. The power plant remains.  13)New Zealand, Taupo District. RAWSEP View: ;Do not burn wood at all in New Zealand.Taupō District Council’s Top Tips For Burning Smoke-free This Winter.  14)United Kingdom. The UK cities most impacted by toxic air particles mapped iNews. United Kingdom, Watford. Cause of fire investigated after dark smoke rose above Watford. United Kingdom, Yorkshire. Consultation launches on the use of domestic wood burners – East Riding of Yorkshire Council  wood burning stoves, or other solid fuel heating, in local households. The project aims to better understand the burning of solid fuels in East Riding of Yorkshire. 16)China. Government fiscal decentralization and haze and carbon reduction. 17)Indonesia, Jakarta. Jakarta’s Air Quality Is Getting Worse Until August. 18)Laos. Smoke-filled skies become growing concern in Laos. 19)Malaysia, Sarawak. Fire Engulfs Tyre And Wood Piles At Lumber Mill. 20)Nepal, Kathmandu. Kathmandu tops chart of world’s most polluted cities. 21)Taiwan. Environment Ministry Planning to Revise Rules for Air Quality Control Zones. 22)Thailand, Chiang Mai and Bangkok. Chiang Mai, Bangkok rank in world’s top 10 for worst air quality.1)American Lung Association. Lungcast on Spotify. Listen here. Air Quality Issues Due to Particle Pollution with John Balmes, MD – HCPLive  April 30, 2024. RAWSEP View: The synopsis of this podcast does not mention the contribution to PM2.5 from indoor residential wood burning. RAWSEP interjects that the professor does not mention the PM2.5 pollution emitted from wood burning power plants that have been deployed to replace coal burning power plants in recent years. Wood burning emissions are not counted when calculating if a nation like the United States is meeting its climate goals. Using Wood burning power plants instead of coal burning power plants actually creates more PM2.5 and CO2 pollution, which isn’t counted, so using wood burning power plants in reality brings us closer to climate change, not farther away,  Wood burning emits 2.8 times the PM2.5 and CO2 as the fossil fuel coal burning emits. Wood burning also emits 450 times the PM2.5 as the fossil fuel natural gas burning emits. Excerpts edited by RAWSEP for brevity and clarity and relationship to Residents Against Wood Smoke Emission Particulates, a 501c3 nonprofit organization.  A discussion over the ALA’s State of the Air Report and the impacts of particle pollution. Around 40% of US citizens now reside in a region with unhealthy air pollution levels and the American Lung Association (ALA) added to these statistics in its 2024 State of the Air report when it gave a failing grade for ≥1 measure of pollution in the air. These environmental issues, their impact on lung health, and the biggest causes were all topics of conversation in the recent episode of Lungcast. John Balmes, MD, is a professor of medicine emeritus at the University of California, San Francisco. Balmes also serves as professor of environmental health sciences emeritus for the School of Public Health at Berkeley. “I’ll start with wildfires, because I live in California and Northern California, where we’ve had a lot of wildfires. All the progress that we’ve made in recent years with the Clean Air Act enforcement and reducing particle pollution from coal fired power plants have been almost eliminated. the main particle pollution is PM 2.5, even smaller particles called ultra fine particles which can go across the alveolar capillary membrane between the air sacs and the bloodstream and then circulate around the body, These fine particles cause problems for people with lung disease, especially with asthma, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbations can occur from inhalation to PM2.6, They also can get to the brain, as there is now evidence that PM2.5 Pollution is associated with dementia.” Lungcast is a monthly respiratory news podcast series hosted by Al Rizzo, MD, chief medical officer of the ALA, and produced by HCPLive. view the full video segment posted above. Subscribe to Lungcast on Spotify here, or listen to the episode below. 2)Colorado. Wheat Ridge. RAWSEP View: 10 Love my Air, PM2.5 monitors to be deployed. If the PM2.5 monitors are not located hyperlocally in the yards of near neighbors of indoor residential wood burners, the PM2.5 pollution that sickens the near neighbors of indoor residential wood burners will not be detected.  New Air Quality Program Helps Wheat Ridge Stay Healthy – Neighborhood Gazette  The monitors, which were awarded to the county through a grant provided by the Environmental Protection Agency, measure pm 2.5 pollutant particulate. Excerpts edited by RAWSEP for brevity and clarity and relationship to Residents Against Wood Smoke Emission Particulates, a 501c3 nonprofit organization.  New Air Quality Program Helps Wheat Ridge Stay Healthy. May 2024.  Share this article: The Jefferson County Love My Air Program adds air quality monitors.  The environmental justice coordinator at Jefferson County Public Health explains why this is important.  It is a strategic placement of these new devices with the dashboard for citizens, found at prod.lovemyair.com/jeffco, makes monitoring the air quality of the community a breeze. Of the ten monitors that the county was granted, our community has five in place. In Wheat Ridge there is one at the Wheat Ridge Rec Center, and another at Panorama park. Edgewater has the other three, with one at the Civic Center, another at the Edgewater Collective site and the third at Jefferson Junior/Senior high school.  The monitors, which were awarded to the county through a grant provided by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), measure pm 2.5 pollutant particulate. The Love My Air program has just begun in Jeffco, however, Denver has been participating much longer.  “In Jeffco, we had no PM2.5 monitors prior, Nothing was as precise and as specific as these.”  On the dashboard, users can select a particular sensor to check out that sensor’s air quality in an easy-to-read meter. Next to the reading there is a box with a call to action based on the pollution levels. “We are hopeful that this is a way to help people make safe choices, educate and provide a resource with up-to-date, real time air quality. As we work toward creating better air quality overall, the first step is to be able to accurately track the data. These monitors create an educational opportunity.”3)Alabama, Birmingham. Annual ban on open burning in a dozen counties goes into effect May 1  WVTM 13.  “Prohibiting the open burning of wood, tree trimmings, brush and debris generated by land clearing and construction or demolition activities is an.4)California, Half Moon Bay. RAWSEP View: You can dispose of fallen tree debris without burning it, for instance compost it into usable soil. Soil is not flammable.  Upcoming Events: One Ocean Festival, wood burning in Quarry Park – Half Moon Bay Review  The burner is mean to dispose of trees and other woody debris from earlier fire fuel reduction work in the park and downed trees from winter storms.5)Florida, Tallahassee. Florida State University. Dog killed in fire. FSU student who lost dog in fire, other survivors get support from community, university  Tallahassee Democrat.  Jonathan Correa woke up around 2 a.m. on Monday morning to the smell of smoke and the crackling noise of wood burning. He didn’t yet know it.6)New Mexico, Albuquerque. University of New Mexico (UNM), Lomas Chiller Plant, 1925 Las Lomas Rd   – City of Albuquerque  Wood burning is not currently prohibited; however, please consider limiting or avoiding wood burning where possible to help protect our air.7)Idaho, Bonner County. Try to avoid the dangers of breathing smoke from fires | Bonner County Daily Bee  burning wood and brush. I wondered if you might be interested in  . wood and other organic matter burn. The biggest health threat from smoke comes from fine particles. These microscopic particles can get into your.   

8)Minnesota, Winthroop. Heartland fined $11,200 for air permit violations | News, Sports, Jobs – The Journal  A filtering bag-house also failed a stack test for emitting very small particulate matter (PM 2.5).  9)Nevada, Lake Tahoe. Small scale prescribed fire operations continue at Lake Tahoe  South Tahoe Now. smoke produced by unwanted wildfires. Smoke from prescribed burns, wildfire or wood-burning stoves may hang low to the ground at night and in the. 10)New York, New York City. Goodbye, Gas. The Future of New York City’s Pizza Is Electric.  The New York Times.  And just in time for a new city ordinance regulating pollution emitted by wood- and coal-fired ovens. New NYC rule forces wood, coal-fired pizzerias to install device to reduce oven emissions  Newsday. smoke and particulate pollution released when wood or coal are burned by at least 75%. About 90 to 100 restaurants in the city, many of them pizzarias or. 11)Rhode Island, Providence. Brown University. A Looming Health Crisis Shadows the South’s Wood Pellet Boom  Brown University School of Public Health.  The study concentrates on the emissions from the industry in the state of Mississippi, specifically noise, particulate matter, black carbon, ozone, 12)Canada. Canada Needs to Get Tough on Wood Pellet Exports | The Tyee  Where to count emissions? Drax Power began burning wood instead of coal in 2012 and fully phased out fossil fuels last year. The power plant remains.  Canada, Alberta. High Level Forest Area Update – April 29, 2024 – The Alberta Wildfire Blog  Government of Alberta.  Safe wood campfires. Backyard fire pits   Since January 1, 2024, there have been 25 wildfires in the High Level Forest Area burning a total of 409. Canada, Alberta, Edison Forest. Edson Forest Area Wildfire Update – April 30, 2024  The Alberta Wildfire Blog – Government of Alberta.  fire permits, Fire Advisory, Wind Advisory, fire ban, fire restriction.   Safe wood campfires. Backyard fire pits   burning a total of 5,589 ha. Last. Canada, Alberta, Wood Buffalo. Home Fire Safety Program launched for 2024 – Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo  Thickwood neighbourhoods of Elmore, Hillcrest, and Cedarwoods identified for assessments, free replacement of smoke and CO alarms. 13)New Zealand, Taupo District. Do not burn wood at all in New Zealand. Taupō District Council’s Top Tips For Burning Smoke-free This Winter – Scoop NZ  Waikato Regional Council air quality monitoring has shown that improper wood burning is a leading cause of the poor air quality seen in the late.  Taupo District Council’s top tips for burning smoke-free this winter – VOXY  As the temperature starts to drop, many Taupō District households fire up their wood burners to keep the whole whānau warm and toasty. You can enjoy. 14)United Kingdom. The UK cities most impacted by toxic air particles – mapped – iNews  The particles can be emitted from a variety of sources, including wood-burning stoves and some industrial processes. They are also formed when.  United Kingdom, Watford. Cause of fire investigated after dark smoke rose above Watford – Yahoo News UK Just before 9pm, police in Watford shared a message alerting motorists that the A405 St Albans Road had been closed between Bricket Wood and Garston. United Kingdom, Yorkshire. Consultation launches on the use of domestic wood burners – East Riding of Yorkshire Council  East Riding of Yorkshire Council. wood burning stoves, or other solid fuel heating, in local households. The project aims to better understand the burning of solid fuels in East. 15)Romania. PM2.5 and industrial plant. The largest industrial objective in Romania since 1989 has a green light – spotmedia.ro  “The new plant will produce electricity in more environmentally friendly conditions, due to very low emissions of PM 10 and PM 2.5 particles, with. 16)China. Government fiscal decentralization and haze and carbon reduction – ScienceDirect.com  Although natural processes also produce PM2.5, anthropogenic emissions remain the primary source of this particulate matter. It is also the main. China. PM2.5 and Coal Emissions and Mortality.RAWSEP View: Wood burning emits 2.8 times the PM2.5 and CO2 as coal burning. Investigating coal emissions reductions and mortality in China – Phys.org  Annual coal consumption fell between 2013 and 2017, which led to observed dramatic decreases in mean daily fine particulate matter (PM2.5) levels.  Long-term PM2.5 pollution over China Identification of PM2.5 pollution hotspots and source   – KNMI  Fine particulate matter, with an aerodynamic diameter ≤ 2.5 μm (PM2.5), is a severe problem in China. The lack of ground-based measurements and. 17)Indonesia, Jakarta. Jakarta’s Air Quality Is Getting Worse Until August – VOI  PM 2.5 concentration tends to increase in the early hours of the morning until morning and decreases in the afternoon to evening. “In the late May. 18)Laos. Feature: Smoke-filled skies become growing concern in Laos | The Star  VIENTIANE, April 30 (Xinhua) — Air pollution has become a growing concern in Laos after the concentration of PM 2.5 reached harmful levels. 19)Malaysia, Sarawak. Fire Engulfs Tyre And Wood Piles At Lumber Mill – New Sarawak Tribune    fire also spread to a heap of processed wood near the burning tyre pile. The firefighters extinguishing the pile of burning tyres outside the mill. 20)Nepal, Kathmandu. Kathmandu tops chart of world’s most polluted cities – myRepublica – Nagarik Network  Valley Pollution Levels   The graph above is based on the pollutant of fine particulate matter, PM2.5 (PM less than 2.5 microns) of Kathmandu. 21)Taiwan. Environment Ministry Planning to Revise Rules for Air Quality Control Zones – ICRT  others. PM 2.5, for example, will be lowered from 15 micrograms per cubic meters to 12. It also revises the criteria for air pollution control. 22)Thailand, Chiang Mai and Bangkok. Chiang Mai, Bangkok rank in world’s top 10 for worst air quality – Nation Thailand  The high levels of particulate matter less than 2.5 microns in diameter   The PM 2.5 status is monitored hourly by the Geo-Informatics and Space.