Smoke Monitoringfor Prescribed and Wildland Fires and Natural Events Action Plan(NEAP)

Jim Russell

Pacific Northwest Region

USDA Forest Service

503.808.2956

jrussell01@fs.fed.us

Interagency Smoke and Air Council

Sacramento, California

April 23-24th, 2003

Categories of Fire Use

• Prescribed Fire – Management Ignited Fire

• Wildland Fire Use for Resource Benefit– Lightning or Human Ignition Managed under a Fire

Management Plan

• Wildfire or Wildland Fire– Unwanted and Unplanned Lightning or Human

Caused Fire

Smoke Produces Particulate Matter that Adversely Affects Human Health

• Increased premature deaths

• Aggravation of respiratory or cardiovascular illness

• Lung function decrements

• Increased work loss

• Changes in lung function/structure/natural defense

Criteria Pollutants

• Carbon Monoxide

• Particulate Matter

• Ozone

• Nitrogen Oxide

• Lead

• Sulfur Dioxide

National Air Quality Standards

Key criteria pollutants generated by fire

Other Compounds Emitted by Fire

Methane NMHC Formaldehyde Acrolein Acetaldehyde 1,3-butadiene Benzene Toluene

Benzo(a)pyrene O-xylene m,p-xylene n-hexane Polynuclear organic

material Carbonyl sulfide Methyl chloride

Particulate MatterSmoke particles from wood are relatively small

< PM 2.5 microns

PM 2.5-10 microns

> PM 10 microns

70.0%

20.0%

10.0%

(similar size to pollen)

(similar size to fly ash)

(similar size to dust)

• 10-100 lbs/ton

• Criteria Pollutant

• Direct effects on human health and welfare

• Adverse impacts on fireline workers

• Visibility impairment

Particulate Matter

Relating Fine Particle and Visibility Measurements to

Human Health 1

Air Quality CategoryAir Quality

Index

PM2.5 24-hour Avg

(ug/m3)

PM2.5 1-Hour Avg

(ug/m3)

Visibility (miles)

Good < 50 < 22.0 < 40.0 > 10

Moderate 51 - 100 22.1 - 40.4 40.1 - 80.0 5.1 - 10.0

Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups 101 - 250 40.5 - 65.4 80.1 - 175.0 3.1 - 5.0

Unhealthy 151 - 200 65.5 - 150.4 175.1 - 300.0 1.6 - 3.0

Very Unhealthy 201 - 300 150.5 - 250.4 300.1 - 500 1.0 - 1.5

Hazardous > 300 > 250.4 > 500.0 < 1.0

1 from Idaho Department of Environmental Quality's Wildfire Natural Events Action Plan

Wildfire PM2.5 Compared to Other US Sources

National PM2.5 by Category

0

1,000,000

2,000,000

3,000,000

4,000,000

5,000,000

6,000,000

7,000,000

8,000,000

PM

2.5

to

ns/

yr

All electric

All Point

All Area

National

Low wildfire

High wildfire

Wildfire can emit as much PM2.5 in a day as a large point or area source does in a year

(estimates from a county in Washington)

PM2.5 Largest Point Source, Highest County Area Source Total, Single Bad Wildfire Day

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

30,000

PM

2.5

(to

ns)

Largest Point (t/yr)

Highest Area (t/yr)

Bad wildfire (t/day)

Objectives For Fire Use under the 10-Year Comprehensive Strategy

• Restoration of Fire-Adapted Ecosystems– Successful Outcome – Fire adapted ecosystems are restored,

rehabilitated and maintained, using appropriate tools, in a manner that will provide sustainable environmental, social, and economic benefits.

• Improve Fire Prevention and Suppression – Successful Outcome - Losses of life are eliminated, and firefighter and

damage to communities and the environment from severe, unplanned and unwanted wildland fire are reduced.

• Reduce Hazardous Fuels– Successful Outcome –Hazardous fuels are treated, using appropriate tools, to

reduce the risk of unplanned and unwanted wildland fire to communities and to the environment

• Promote Community Assistance– Successful Outcome – Communities at risk have increased capacity to prevent

losses from wildland fire and the potential to seek economic opportunities resulting from treatments and services.

Smoke Management Plans as Effective Mitigation

• Prevent fire use smoke from entering and accumulating in designated and smoke sensitive areas. (Question: How do we quantify impacts - nuisance, visibility reduction, and NAAQS Violation under the SMP)

• Emphasize Emission Reduction

• Maximize Burning Opportunities

• Protect Public Health

How do we assure that the Role of Fire in our Fire Dependent Ecosystems is Recognized in

our SMP

• Concept of Managing Total Fire Emissions – Prescribed fire vs. wildfire overtime.– The Goal is the long term reduction of

wildfire emissions.

Approaches to Meeting the Goal of Supporting our SMP’s

• Pacific Northwest Smoke Monitoring Monitoring Network

• FASTRAC(PFIRS) – Emission Tracking• FASTRAC(PFIRS) - Emission Inventory • Interstate SMP Coordination - Can our

computers talk with one another?

Why Monitor Fire Use Smoke ?

• For Prescribed Fire …Before the burn,

• To establish pre-burn air quality & visibility levels• To make input into modeling decision support systems (i.e.

BlueSky) During the burn,

• To aid the Fuels Manager. and State Smoke Manager in the decision to request/permit additional burning or to curtail burning.

• To determine if predicted smoke dispersion, avoidance, and mixing is accurate decisions

After the burn,• To assess performance of SMP

Why Monitor Wildland Fire

To Protect Public and Firefighter Health by Adding health officials in the determination to

health or safety alerts or evacuationDetermining whether a NEAP is needed the for

Attainment/Nonattainment AreasDeveloping Emission Inventories for tracking

Regional Haze and development of baseline Smoke Emission Contributions.

How Should Smoke Be Monitored?

• Stationary vs. mobile(portable) monitors

• FRM/FEM vs. non-FRM

• QC/QA – how much effort ?

• SOPs – how much consistency / training ?

• Analyses and Reporting – to whom, when and for what purpose ?

Who Should Be Monitoring Smoke and For What Purpose?

• State and Local Health Departments ? – YES to protect human health and public safety

• Federal Land Managers ? – YES to help manage all Fire Use and assist states and

county air regulators during periods of wildland fire– YES to protect firefighters

• Private Burners – ?

• US EPA Emergency Response– ?

What Kinds of Smoke Monitoring Can Be Done ?

• Real-time estimates (e.g.Radiance, DataRam, TEOM, EBAM, BAM-1020, etc)

• Federal Reference Method (e.g., Hi Vol)• Short term (1 hour)• Daily average (PM10 or PM2.5 Standard)• Annual average (PM10 or PM2.5 Standard)• Speciated (e.g, for toxics, for visibility

(IMPROVE), etc)

Who Should Be Communicating Smoke Concentrations to the Public and

Their Effects on Human Health and Safety ?

• State & Local Health Departments ? YES

• Federal Land Managers ? NO

• Private Burners ? NO

• US EPA ? ?

Radiance Research Nephelometer Model

M903

Optec NGN-3 PM2.5 Nephelometer

Met-One Instruments GT-640 Nephelometer

Anderson RTAA 800 Aethalometer

BGI PQ200 PM2.5 FRM Gravimetric

Real-time Smoke Monitors Evaluated for USDA Forest

Real-time Remote Smoke Monitoring SystemDataRam 4 & ADSI Satellite Modem

Example of Existing Monitoring Network For Monitoring

Wildland and Prescribed Fire Smoke

•PNW Smoke Monitoring Network (FS/BLM,WA/OR)

•USDA Forest Service DataRam Cache

Definition of Monitoring • To watch, observe, or check for a special

purpose………………….

• To keep track of…………

• One that warns………….

• A device for observing a biological condition or function or change…….

• A heavily armed warship appointed to assist a teacher………………….

FS &BLM Sponsored Nephelometer Sites

**

*

**

*

**

**

*

*

FS & BLM Sponsored Nephelometer Locations

FS Planned Locations

*

*

**

Smoke Monitoring Contract Conditions

• Forest Service Agrees To: 1. Provide physical site to locate monitoring equipment,

including temperature controlled shelter, AC power, and telephone service for data retrieval.

2. Provide site operator(s) that will be available, during and after monitoring equipment installation, for instruction and initial operation training. Time commitment for this phase is approximately 1 day per site per operator.

• 3. Manage the day-to-day operation following Ecology’ Air Monitoring Quality Assurance Plan and Procedures.

Smoke Monitoring Contract Conditions

• State Agrees to: 1. Test, calibrate, and configure equipment at Ecology’s HQ facility.2. Assist in the installation of equipment at various monitoring

locations. 3. Train Forest Service operator(s) annually at Ecology’s HQ facility.4. Technical support for each site5. Routine editing and archiving of the data.6. Provide Forest Service with web site information and training. 7. Technical assistance with data retrieval problems associated

with Ecology equipment

Washington State Air Monitoring Network

Particulates

Ozone

Carbon Monoxide

Sulfur Dioxide

Nitrogen Dioxide

Washington State Air Monitoring Network

Particulates

Ozone

Carbon Monoxide

Sulfur Dioxide

Nitrogen Dioxide

FS Particulates

2002 SW Oregon Wildfires - Air Quality Effects

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

8008/

1

8/2

8/3

8/4

8/5

8/6

8/7

8/8

8/9

8/10

8/11

8/12

8/13

8/14

8/15

8/16

8/17

8/18

8/19

8/20

8/21

8/22

8/23

8/24

8/25

8/26

8/27

8/28

8/29

8/30

8/31 9/

1

9/2

9/3

Bsc

at c

on

vert

ed t

o P

M2.

5 (u

g/m

3)

Crater Lake

Klamath Falls

Lakeview

Provolt

Medford

Illinois Valley

Shady Cove

Grants Pass

Ruch Fire Station

PM2.5 From SW Oregon Wildfires - 2002Measured by DataRAM nephelometers

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

PM2.

5 (u

g/m

3)

Brookings 24hr

Gold Beach 24hr

Brookings 1hr

Gold Beach 1hr

Key Conclusions

• The need for Smoke Monitoring is significant for both Wildland Fire and Fire Use Activities.

• It is not simply the responsibility of the State and County Air Regulators to monitor Smoke Impacts generated from Fire Use Activities on Federal Land.

• Cooperation and Collaboration are essential if we are to meet the goal of reducing total smoke emission over time within our Fire Dependent Ecosystems.

Key Conclusion (Continued)

• There needs to be an emphasis in smoke monitoring at the geographic area and interstate level based on the planned increase in prescribed burning being proposed by federal and state land managers.

• The increase in the frequency and intensity of wildland fires and the subsequent effect on public and firefighter health must be acknowledge and dealt with by those suppressing the fire and those trying to protect public health adjacent to the wildfire.

• State Monitors target population centers and not rural areas that federal burning may impact in the future.

• We need to be a good neighbor with our private land neighbors.

Other Conclusion and Question?

• Reference www.satguard.com/usfs for DataRams website referenced in this presentation.