PNW Interagency Burn Boss Refresher Workshop Smoke Management

1. PNW Interagency Burn Boss Refresher Workshop Smoke Management Jim Russell State Office/Regional Office Air and Smoke Program Manager 503.808.2956 jrussell01@fs.fed.us Deschutes County Expo Center Redmond, Oregon February 24-25, 2009

2. Outline of Topics/Questions to Be Covered • Introduction - Basic Primer to Smoke and Air Resource Management • Your Report Card for 2008 – How you did. • Update of the Web-based (FASTRAC) Linked Smoke Reporting System • Health and Safety Consideration - Do we need personal protective equipment for smoke • Non-attainment area designation – what does it mean to you? • Smoke Considerations Under the Revised Federal Fire Policy • Communication Strategy with our Air Regulatory Agencies -Can we agree on a list of factual statements? • What else?

3. AIR QUALITY Definition of TermsBasic Primer • Air pollution : presence in the atmosphere of a substance or substances added directly or indirectly by a human act, in such amounts as to adversely affect humans, animals, vegetation, human enjoyment, or cultural preservation • Federal Clean Air Actis a legal mandate designed to protect human health and welfare from air pollution. • Air pollutants: Two categories(primary and secondary) Primary pollutants are those directly emitted into the air established to protect human health. Secondary pollutants are primary pollutants that undergo chemical reactions within the atmosphere and produce new substances that are described to protect human welfare. • State Implementation Plans (SIP's)are developed to control primary and secondary pollutants. States can be more restrictive but not less. Except in California during the Bush Administration.

4. National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) Criteria Pollutants defined in the Clean Air Act as levels of pollutant above which detrimental effects on human health or welfare. The standards are expressed in different averaging times, for example, annual, 24-hour, and 3-hour. • Particulate matter (PM2.5) • Sulfur dioxide (SO2) • Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) • Ozone, • Carbon monoxide • Lead Forest Service’s activities primarily that contributes to criteria pollutants is the use of Prescribed Fire • PM 2.5 • Carbon monoxide, • nitrous oxides (NOx), • Volatile organic compounds (VOC's) • NOx and VOC's can react with sunlight to form the secondary pollutant ozone.

5. PM2.5 Fine Particulates either alone or in combination with other pollutants, can constitute a public and fire fighter health hazard. 1. Fine particulates enter the body mainly via the respiratory system. Fine particulate matter may exert a toxic effect on the body. 2. Toxicity of the particles because of its chemical or physical characteristics 3. 70-90% of smoke from wildland fire is PM2.5 4. The particle may interfere with one or more of the mechanisms which normally clear the respiratory tract. 4. Medical studies have shown a solid relationship between increases in particulate concentrations and rises in the number of clinic and hospital visits for upper respiratory infections, cardiac diseases, bronchitis, asthma, pneumonia, and emphysema.

6. Carbon monoxide (CO) This pollutant is a poisonous inhalant that deprives the body tissues of necessary oxygen and replaces it with CO 1. Extreme exposure (>750 ppm) can cause death. 2. Impaired time-interval discrimination can occur when humans are exposed to concentrations as low as 10 to 15 ppm for 8 hours. 3.CO exposure can also result in central nervous system effects such as impairment of visual acuity, brightness discrimination, and psychomotor functions. 4.Symptoms include headache, fatigue, and drowsiness. 5. CO exposure from wildfires and prescribed fire sources can be significant for fireline workers, but CO dilutes very rapidly in the atmosphere and probably is not a concern even a short distance downwind. 6.One study measured CO concentrations as high as 200 ppm close to flames but observed that the concentration was reduced to less than 10 ppm just 100 feet from the fire. Meteorological and topograhic features can trap and increase concentration of CO.

7. Oregon Smoke Intrusions for 2008/2009 No. Date Location Landowner Length (hrs) Intensity 1 4/17 Medford AQMA BLM 2.5 Light 2 5/5 Medford BLM .5 Light 3 5/9 Medford BLM 3.5 Light 4 6/16 Cottage Grove Private 3.5 Heavy 5 10/18 Lakeview USFS 3.5 Moderate 6 10/28 Mid Will Valley Private 8 Heavy 7 10/30 Newport Private 3 Moderate So far there have been no intrusions for 2009.

8. Washington Smoke Management Plan • No specific instrusions reported under the SMP • Issues associated with coordination of burning (Federal, Tribal, and Private) and curtailment of burning have occurred in the Yakama Valley • Issues with the decision to apply Air Stagnation Burn Bans at the County Level needs to be Reviewed • Smoke Management for this year function at a successful level (Wash. Dept. of Ecology Meterologist)

9. Update of the web-based (FASTRAC) Linked Smoke Reporting System • Web-based system does less error capturing than state system. Check entries carefully. • Only register the acres you plan to blacken in Oregon • Fees are only collected for treatment on Forested Land and not rangeland • Register at least a week ahead. Plan the afternoon prior to burning. Report results the business day after burning. • Change from two servers to one, and from two distinct code bases to a more singular one. This increases reliability, shortens programmer hours, and simplifies our lives as administrators of the system. • All of those efficiencies mean less duplicate data entries and generally a better time for the users. • Plan to attend the breakout sessions to get answers to your questions from our crack IT Group of Dale Guenther and Jim Edmonds.

10. Smoke Main Menu Post-Burn Permit (Planned Units) Request Washington Smoke Management Reporting System

11. Oregon Web-based Link (FASTRAC)

12. 1. Passive CO Monitors to detect hourly/daily exposure 2 Respirators 3. Fixed nephelometers Health and Safety Consideration - Personal Monitoring Equipment for Prescribed Fire

13. CO Monitoring • San Dimas/MTDC are testing several brands of personal CO for use on the fireline and in fire camp. Some of the evaluation criteria include: • Cost • Calibration • Durability • Battery life • Data storage • Weight and size • Currently testing CO monitors on prescribed fires in the southern United States • CO monitoring may be recommended for fire camps and on firelines • CO monitors may become available at the fire cache

14. Respirators (NFPA Task Order) • Team convened at request of NFPA to design requirements for a wildfire fighter respirator. Design considerations included: • Weight • Durability • Heat resistance • Visibility • Communication • Hazards to remove • Airflow • Cost • Protective case • Filter types • Testing procedures • Draft wildland fire respirator specification document has been completed and is out for review. • Specification document will be submitted to private industry for development

16. Smoke Exposure Management Tacticson Prescribed Fire • High moisture content of the large fuel and duff • Reduce aggressive mop-up • Fireline location, barriers • Lighting techniques • Sprinklers/foam • Rotate crews • Monitor • Training • Improve nutrition/health habits

17. Smoke Exposure - Where do we go from here? Implement: • Awareness training • CO monitoring protocols • Health surveillance/improved record keeping • Risk management strategies Research: • Crystalline silica assessment • Exposure in other geographic areas • Long term health risk assessment • Fire camp exposure • NFPA

18. 2008 Proposed PM 2.5 Non Attainment Areas (Current and Future) Non-Attainment is due to woodstove smoke during the heating season. Contributions from other open burning can cause an exceedance of the annual standard that would force the state to look for higher mitigation for prescribed fire smoke. Current: • Oakridge • Klamath Falls Future: • Burns • Lakeview Maybe: • John Day • Baker City • Redmond, Sisters, Prineville, and La Pine?

19. Smoke Considerations Under the Revised Federal Fire Policy • Two Kinds of Fire – Unplanned Wildfire and Planned Prescribed Fire • Two strategies can be applied to an individual Wildfire • Questions on how to apply smoke management to a portion of the unplanned ignition managed for resource benefits. • Each such ignition requires a FUMA be assigned by the ICT. Do have have enough FUMA’s to meet the needs this season. We currently don’t have any air resource/smoke management positions identified within the hierarchy.

20. Smoke and the Federal Fire Policy (Cont.) • How comfortable our the state air regulators in our ability operate under the new policy and what are the reason for this change. Who should communicate with the states, both operational and smoke management strategy. • Key as always is timely communications with our state partners. • So do we (prescribed fire managers/smoke managers) have a role in managing fires under the Resided Federal Fire Policy. • We don’t what will be the role of the people in this room.

21. Communication Strategy with our Air Regulatory AgenciesCan we agree on a list of factual statements? • Smoke is bad for human health – prescribed or wildfire • Public agencies have a responsibility to reduce smoke impacts from all types of fire • The PNW smoke management plans are continuously reviewed for improvement • Wildfire is rarely managed (for smoke) • Wildfires result in far more serious smoke episodes than do prescribed fire • Vegetation treatment can reduce wildfire smoke production • Human health and safety are higher priority than Forest Health • Increased participation by air regulators in management of wildfire smoke is needed (Ken Snell - Director F&AM Pacific Northwest Region)