Alaska Progress Report

Air quality good in Anchorage, bad in Fairbanks

The American Lung Association has released State of the Air 2013, a report on air quality across the nation. The Anchorage Daily News has a nice summary of the situation, which is basically that Anchorage is doing well and Fairbanks is not, mostly due to wood burning for heat in the winter:

"Fairbanks is the 11th-most polluted city for short-term particle pollution and tied as the 18th-most polluted city in the nation for year-round levels of particle pollution. Particle pollution levels can spike dangerously for hours to weeks on end (short-term) or remain at unhealthy levels on average every day (year-round). On a positive note, Anchorage ranked as the 14th cleanest city in the nation with an annual particle pollution level of 6.2 µg/m3."

Alaska among states lacking comprehensive smoke-free law

What? You don't read the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report? You don't know what you're missing, but fret not, we're about to tell you. In volume 60 number 15 is the article State Smoke-Free Laws for Worksites, Restaurants and Bars - United States 2000-2010.

Basically, second-hand smoke is nasty, killing about 50,000 Americans every year, and a lot of people can't avoid it if they want to work in a restaurant, bar or casino. Half of all states have implemented statewide comprehensive smoke-free laws since 2002. Alaska is not one of them, and in fact is one of the most permissive states when it comes to this issue.

That's not the entire story, because communities in Alaska do enact such laws, including a comprehensive one in Anchorage. See the Alaska Tobacco Control Alliance for details.

Asthma in Alaska

New data is available from the Asthma Call-back Survey, an in-depth asthma survey developed and funded by the Air Pollution and Respiratory Health Branch in the National Center for Environmental Health. It is conducted with Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Survey respondents who report an asthma diagnosis.

Asthma surveillance data at the state level includes adult and child asthma prevalence and in-depth state and local asthma data. A 2006 state report on Asthma in Alaska has good background reading, and the Alaska Asthma Coalition has even more information on the burden of asthma:

"More than 72,000 Alaskans report that they have suffered from asthma at some point in their lives, and more than 46,100 report a current diagnosis. Approximately 8 percent of children in Alaska have asthma. Rural Alaska Natives have some of the highest documented rates for respiratory diseases, suggesting the same may be true for asthma. Uncertainty about true asthma rates among rural Alaskans is due to a lack of consistency in the diagnosis and treatment of asthma, despite the existence of well-established national guidelines. Between July 2002 and June 2003 there were over $8.6 million spent by Medicaid for asthma in Alaska."

Fairbanks winters foil efforts to comply with air quality standards

An AP story in the Anchorage Daily News notes that "The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says parts of the Fairbanks North Star Borough are not in compliance with federal air-quality standards. The EPA based its decision on air-quality monitoring data from 2006 until 2008.

"Parts of the borough have too much fine-particle pollution, which can harm lungs and cause long-term health problems. Fairbanks was flagged for the same violations in 2008... The EPA said problem pollution areas in the Pacific Northwest tend to have poor winter air because of old wood stoves and oil furnaces, and occasional stagnant air that lets pollution sit rather than dissipate."

The same story notes that Juneau is now in compliance after previously having not been.

Carbon dioxide in Anchorage

From our friends at the UA Seawolf Weekly: "Anchorage is a signatory to the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, which challenges the city to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions 7 percent from 1990 levels by 2012. To try to meet that target, the city needs information on current and past emissions. UAA economics major and UA Honors Scholar Kelcie Ralph, who is also a member of the chancellor's Cabinet for Sustainability, recently completed a baseline study of Anchorage's carbon dioxide emissions.

"Join us at ISER to hear her talk about her research methods and findings and potential ways for the city to cut emissions on Thursday, April 30, 12 to 1 p.m. in the ISER Conference Room, Fifth Floor, Diplomacy Building located at 4500 Diplomacy Drive, at the corner of Tudor Road and Tudor Centre Drive. This event and parking are free. Call (907) 786-7710 if you need directions."

Fairbanksans Are Changing the Climate

Global warming is no joke, I understand that, but I still have to laugh when I see the bumper sticker on the back of a giant pickup truck held together with duct tape and bungie cords: "I'm changing the climate: Ask me how!" Turns out Fairbanksans are doing more than their fair share.

The Alaska Center for Energy and Power (I know; who?), part of the Institute of Northern Engineering at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, just released a Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory for the Fairbanks North Star Borough. My ADHD will not allow me to read the entire 40 page report, and my congenital laziness prevents me from reading the one page executive summary. I just don't have that kind of time. Luckily the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner saved me the trouble:

"Add up the heating fuel burned, electricity used, car trips taken and other sources of power, and Fairbanks released 64 percent more greenhouse gases per resident last year than the national average, according to new estimates from an energy center. Cold temperatures and long, dark winters, which increase home-heating needs, drive lighting and electricity costs, have much to do with the high figures, according to energy specialists who compiled the estimates. The report... will serve as a baseline document for Fairbanks, where business and government leaders have responded to skyrocketing energy costs the same way many homeowners have — by looking for ways to calculate, and if possible, curb, energy use."

Anchorage Has High Levels of Benzene in Air

Love is in the air! No, wait, that's a carcinogen... In the latest issue of the University of Alaska Anchorage publication The Seawolf Weekly, Dr. Mary Ellen Gordian - no relation to the knot - reveals: "Relatively speaking, the hydrocarbon benzene - a known carcinogen in sufficient amounts - is in plentiful supply in Anchorage. The city has one of the highest rates of ambient-air benzene in America -- higher than in any major U.S. city, according to Dr. Mary Ellen Gordian, a public health physician and an associate professor of environmental health in UAA's Institute of Social and Economic Research."

"The benzene level in Anchorage has declined somewhat since Gordian arrived in Anchorage 18 years ago, but it's still high, she says: 'Very few places in the United States have more benzene in the air than we do.' The reason for the elevated level in Anchorage is apparent: Where gasoline sold in most states is 1 percent benzene, in Alaska it is 3-5 percent. According to Gordian, local refiners say the greater amount of benzene makes the fuel more flammable -- important in a cold climate -- and it would be expensive to remove during the refining process."

"The question now is whether there’s an effect on people’s health, and Gordian is hoping to answer that question with a study that is nearly complete." Great. First I ate too much paste as a kid, and now this.