Carlton quoted in wildfire air quality broadcast

AirUCI faculty Annmarie Carlton is featured in a KUNC radio segment discussing how increasing wildfire smoke is cancelling out progress made in improving air quality.  “The gestalt is that wildfires in the U.S. are increasing in terms of frequency, intensity, duration, acres burned, and that's negatively impacting air quality in the United States,” said Annmarie. 

Wildfire smoke releases a tiny particulate matter called PM 2.5. It contributes to air pollution, as well as increases health risks like cancer and heart attacks.  “You can breathe (those particles) in very deeply to these little sacs at the end of your lungs called the alveoli, and that's where the blood-air exchange happens,” she said. “That's what makes this sized particle such a health hazard.”  Between 2000 and 2016, average annual PM 2.5 levels dropped in most states, largely due to advances made under the Clean Air Act. But since 2016, wildfire smoke has affected PM 2.5 trends in three-fourths of the United States. Additionally, that smoke has reversed 25% of the air quality progress made since 2000.  Hear the broadcast