Key findings from the NM DOH Air Quality Study
Dr. Dave DuBois
Project PI
Presented at the Southwest Border Air Quality SymposiumLas Cruces
April 22, 2013
NM DOH Study• A mix of number of smaller, inter-related
studies (14 tasks) emphasizing– Capacity building in the region for air quality
research– Adequacy of current surveillance network– Defining baseline air quality and air quality
related health over region– Causes and sources of air quality degradation
in the region– Descriptive recommendations for improving air
quality
Our Study Area
No sharply defined boundary but includes US/Mexico border region and significant sources of pollution and monitoring locations
Enhanced Monitoring Network
• Design of an optimal monitoring network– Fill-in holes in current network
Core site
Satellite sites
Micro sitesVado, NM site, 1 of 3 “satellite” stations
Some key studies• Cooperation between 5 academic
institutions and several gov’t agencies across the US and Mexico
• Provided assessments of climate and air quality over the region
• Air quality and climate network evaluation
• Analysis of Las Cruces hospital data
• Airborne fungal taxonomy of region
• Developed dust source database
• Dust mitigation options for urban areas
Key Impacts to Health from Climate Change
• Heat waves
• Extreme weather events
• Increases in particulate matter
• Increases in ozone
• Changes in allergens
• Food-borne diseases
• Water-borne diseases
• Animal-borne diseases
Data: NCAR, CMIP3, CCSM https://gisclimatechange.ucar.edu/
Temperatures for Climate Division 8
Climate division 8
Annual Temperature Anomalies
201220112010
2009200820072006
2013 (JFM)
Reference to 1981-2010 average
NOAA Divisional Data, Plotted by ESRL PSD
How unusual is this drought?• Look at Drought Monitor in NM over past 12 yrs
In summer of 2011 almost 50% of state was D4
%D3
ExtremeDrought
Think of D3 as return frequency of 20 to 50 years
Annual Precipitation over Climate Division 8
2012
1956
Photographer: Craig D. Allen , USGS
2002 2004
Wildfires• Who is at highest risk?
– Heart or lung disease, COPD, emphysema, or asthma
– Older adults and children
• Protect yourself– Pay attention to air quality reports/advisories– Use visibility guides– Stay indoors if advised– Don’t add to indoor pollution– Follow doctor’s advice
Health, Safety, and Air Quality• Major Impacts to
– Human health– Travel safety– Worker down time
• 2012 wildfire size was about 1.5x the 10-year average (based on 2001-2010)
• 2011 and 2012 had above average number of dust storms in southern NM and west TX
• March 18, 2012 dust storm was worst since 2003– More than 10x EPA standards for 24-hour PM10
Climate Division 8 Rain & Temperatures: 1895-2012
Climate division 8
Climate and Particulate LevelsOur highest PM10 occurs during our driest years
…and during our warmest years
2011
Over last 21 years in climate division 8
PM10 in DemingOver last 21 years
How much is due to land cover and climate?
Monitor sits on top of post office building in Deming, an urban setting
Dots show highest concentrations
Median PM10 shows statistically significant decrease over time
However, 95th percentile show a statistically significant increase
Spring dust events
Mainly in March, April and May
Based on analysis of satellite imagery from 2002 to 2012
We find a similar distribution using PM10 data
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50
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250
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J F M A M J J A S O N D
PM2.
5 Co
ncen
trati
on (u
g/m
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PM2.5 when WS >= 10 m/s
PM2.5
2011 PM2.5Sunland Park , NM near Mexican border
3/18/12 Frontal StormPM10 beta gage filter tape during the storm
Las Cruces, NM at 1pm
Resulted in several road closures
47mm PM10 filter collected over the 24-hour period
3/18/12 Frontal Storm• Duration: most of day
PM10 measured using TEOM monitors
24-hr PM10 as high as 1740 µg/m3
Peak hourly PM10 more than 10,000 µg/m3
24-hr PM2.5 more than 100 µg/m3
4/17/13 frontal storm• Duration: most of day
24-hr PM2.5 as high as 90 µg/m3
24-hr PM10 as high as 661 µg/m3
I-10 closed most of the day
Based on lidar, most of the dust is confined to a layer less than 500 meters above the ground
Health Effects of Dust
• A recent study linking dust levels in El Paso with hospital admissions (Grineski et al. 2010)– Dust events were significantly associated with
children’s acute bronchitis admissions– Dust and low wind events were associated with
increased odds of hospital admissions for asthma and acute bronchitis amongst all ages and children, and the same was true for adults and dust
– Low wind events were significantly associated with children’s asthma hospitalizations
Inhalation Pathways• Important question is how far does it go
into the lung?
EPA has two health indicators for particulates.
PM10 – particles less than 10 microns in diameter
PM2.5 – particles less than 2.5 microns in diameter
Coccidiodomycosis ”Valley Fever”
CDC, http://www.cdc.gov/fungal/coccidioidomycosis/causes.html
Coccidioides spp.“cocci”
2 - 4 microns
Cocci in New Mexico
• Education and awareness campaign for clinical providers in New Mexico and public– Increase testing and diagnosis
– Increase reporting25
• Expected that Coccidioidomycosis (Valley Fever) is underreported in New Mexico– Misdiagnosed (pneumonia, COPD,
bronchitis, asthma, TB, lung cancer)– Ineffective treatments (often
antibiotics)Fisher et al. 2007
Coccidioides endemic zone
New Mexico Department of Health Cocci Initiative
• Education and awareness campaign for clinical providers in New Mexico• Statewide KAP survey of NM licensed clinicians• CME training in Las Cruces, May 2010, 65 attendees• Distribution of educational material from Valley Fever
Center of Excellence
• Public education and awareness campaign• Billboards (in conjunction with TB)• Documentary• Educational material in provider offices
• Increase testing and diagnosis• Increase reporting
Mitigation Options for Local Dust
• Tested dust control options in Las Cruces
• Tried 5 types over 1 year ($ to $$$$)
• Pecan mulch ($) works well
• Polymer solutions work but $$$$
Project’s Geospatial Archive• NMSU SPaRC lab inventories
– Inventory of landforms, soils, hydrology, vegetation, precipitation, all types of land use
– Created new landuse databases around satellite stations
– Using these to model dust source locations
Project’s Modeling Archive• NMSU CARSAME and State Climate inventories
– AVHRR, MODIS, and GOES satellite imagery– Numerical model output from RUC, NAM, and
CFSv2, and WRF over the region– HYSPLIT forward and backward trajectories– Climatological data over the region (and state)
going back to 1895– Dust source location database
Outreach
Getting the word out in today’s
world
Videos
Promote individual investigators and studies
Educational uses
Document events
CollaboratorsRebecca Armenta, Elizabeth Smith, Stan Engle, Yizhi Zhou, Manoj ShuklaDept. Plant & Environmental Sciences,NMSU
Max Bleiweiss, Merrill Bean, Miranda Flores, Soum Sanogo, Melanie LytleDept. Entomology Plant Pathology & Weed Science, NMSU
Randy Carr, Janet Greenlee, Charles Jackson, Andrew Martinez, Shelby Van ArnamDept. of Geography, SPaRC labNMSU
Erin WardWater Resources Research InstituteNMSU
Vic Etyemezian, George NikolichDesert Research Institute
Rosa Fitzgerald, Tom GillUTEP
Ilias Kavouras, Marie-Cecile ChalbotUniv. Arkansas Medical Sciences
Michael Baca, Terry Hertel, Abel RamirezNM Env. Dept., Air Quality Bureau
Juan Pedro Flores MargezInstituto de Ciencias BiomedicasUniv. Autonoma de Cd. Juarez
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Dr. Dave DuBoisNM State [email protected]
Twitter: @nmclimateBlog: nmborderaq.blogspot.comWebsite: nmborderair.nmsu.edu