PM 2.5 Concentration Maps Shared with School Principals

Dermot Cole published on his FDNM blog, Neighborhood maps show elevated pollution near schools 3/10/2011.

 

Here’s the full message Clean Air Fairbanks sent to principals of the schools in the mapped neighborhoods.

———-forwarded message ———-
From: Clean Air Fairbanks <cleanairfairbanks@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, Mar 10, 2011 at 1:32 PM
Subject: Schools in or near PM 2.5 concentrations
To: Brian Powell – Nordale Principal <matthew.powell@k12northstar.org>, rosita.wilburn@k12northstar.org, Rich Smith – NP Middle Principal <richard.smith@k12northstar.org>, Bridget Lewis – NP High Principal <bridget.lewis@k12northstar.org>, “\”Michael Angaiak – Ticasuk Brown Principal” <michael.angaiak@k12northstar.org>, Dan File – Badger Road Principal <dan.file@k12northstar.org>, Annie Keep-Barnes – Star of the North Principal <annie.keep_barnes@k12northstar.org>, Jeff Mann – Woodriver Principal <jeffrey.mann@k12northstar.org>, John Carlson – Watershed Charter Principal <johncarlson@gci.net>
Cc: Superintendent Pete Lewis <pete.lewis@k12northstar.org>, sharon.tuttle@k12northstar.org, Bill Bailey – School District <bill.bailey@k12northstar.org>, Dr Jim Conner – FNSB Air Quality Specialist <jconner@fnsb.us>

Dear Principals,

 

In case you haven’t seen the map of your school and fine particulate pollution in that area, please visit the following links: 

 

PM 2.5 Map for Nordale Elementary School and Hamilton Acres in Fairbanks, Alaska

 

PM 2.5 Map for North Pole schools plus Ticasuk Brown Elementary, Badger Road Elementary in North Pole, Alaska 

 

PM 2.5 Map for Woodriver Elementary & Watershed Charter in Fairbanks, Alaska

 

This is not a complete set of maps for our community.

 

If you have questions, contact Dr Jim Conner – FNSB Air Quality Specialist <jconner@fnsb.us> 459-1325, Cassie Kirk – Div of Public Health Epidemiology <cassandra.kirk@alaska.gov> 907-269-6560, or Maureen Kauleinamoku – School District Nurse Coordinator maureen.kauleinamoku@k12northstar.org 452-2000 x 253.

 

Even with the arrival of spring, please take precautions to determine the safety air quality during recess and athletic practices and competitions.

 

The School District Administrative Regulation on Adverse Air 960.1, page 35, appears not to have been revised to account for the unavailability of 1-hour PM 2.5 pollution concentrations for the whole area or for most of your schools. Only 24-hour levels from the downtown monitor are posted: Air Quality Index. Real-time hourly monitoring may be available on-line at Live Air Quality Data — FNSB AQ Monitoring from the North Pole Elementary and may also be useful to evaluate PM 2.5 concentrations at nearby NP Middle and NP High. It may be possible to request the Borough bring the instrumented “sniffer” vehicle to your school or assess indoor air conditions with a handheld device. The downtown monitor does not reflect emissions from sources near your schools. Sub-daily peak exposures are more strongly associated with health impacts than 24-hour averages. For 1-hour and 24-hour average exposure cautionary statements from EPA, review: Judging Particulate Levels in Your Area.

 

The recent installation of the filtration system at Woodriver appears not to have been effective at keeping concentrated smoke from affecting the health of employees inside the school. See: Woodriver Smoked Out Again, March 9, 2011. This morning I received another report about smoke inside the Woodriver.

 

To protect children, especially children with health conditions including bronchitis, asthma, or heart conditions, it is vital to assess air quality inside and outside your school and consult with a health professional about appropriate precautions. I recommend Ms. Kirk or Ms. Kauleinamoku. All children are extremely vulnerable as their lungs are still developing and can be permanently harmed by air pollution. Children with health conditions are at special risk.
  
https://cleanairfairbanks.wordpress.com

 

“If our children are in danger, the future of our community is at risk.” 

 

 

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PM 2.5 Map for North Pole schools plus Ticasuk Brown Elementary, Badger Road Elementary in North Pole, Alaska

PM 2.5 Concentrations near North Pole schools, Ticasuk Brown, & Badger Rd Elementary, Jan 20, 2011 from 2-4 PM, North Pole, Alaska

This PM 2.5 concentration map is from data collected by the Fairbanks North Star Borough instrumented “sniffer” vehicle traveling on public roads near North Pole, Alaska schools from 2 to 4 PM on Thursday, Jan. 20, 2011.

Schools in the area are North Pole Elementary, North Pole Middle School, North Pole High School, Ticasuk Brown Elementary School, Star of the North, and Badger Road Elementary School.

This map is an instantaneous snapshot of what was happening at that time, not a 24-hour average or a 1-hour average.

The contours (colors) correspond to EPA PM 2.5 24- hour levels from the Air Quality Index chart. To better understand, view: Judging Particulate Levels In Your Area.

When these air samples were collected, particulate levels were reported as UNHEALTHY and the Department of Environmental Conservation had declared an Air Quality Advisory for Fairbanks and North Pole.

DEC’s Air Quality Advisory recommended “People with respiratory or heart disease, the elderly and children should avoid prolonged exertion; everyone else should limit prolonged exertion.” It also urged, “Residents can take proactive measures to improve air quality by voluntarily reducing wood and coal burning while this air quality advisory is in effect.”

The legend shows approximate locations of coal and wood boilers and woodstoves. Some of the heating sources shown on the map may have changed over time or may not be in use. The PM 2.5 concentration map does not show all possible area sources.

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