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Wildfire smoke impacts respiratory health more than fine particles from other sources: observational evidence from Southern California

Author

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  • Rosana Aguilera

    (University of California San Diego)

  • Thomas Corringham

    (University of California San Diego)

  • Alexander Gershunov

    (University of California San Diego)

  • Tarik Benmarhnia

    (University of California San Diego
    University of California San Diego)

Abstract

Wildfires are becoming more frequent and destructive in a changing climate. Fine particulate matter, PM2.5, in wildfire smoke adversely impacts human health. Recent toxicological studies suggest that wildfire particulate matter may be more toxic than equal doses of ambient PM2.5. Air quality regulations however assume that the toxicity of PM2.5 does not vary across different sources of emission. Assessing whether PM2.5 from wildfires is more or less harmful than PM2.5 from other sources is a pressing public health concern. Here, we isolate the wildfire-specific PM2.5 using a series of statistical approaches and exposure definitions. We found increases in respiratory hospitalizations ranging from 1.3 to up to 10% with a 10 μg m−3 increase in wildfire-specific PM2.5, compared to 0.67 to 1.3% associated with non-wildfire PM2.5. Our conclusions point to the need for air quality policies to consider the variability in PM2.5 impacts on human health according to the sources of emission.

Suggested Citation

  • Rosana Aguilera & Thomas Corringham & Alexander Gershunov & Tarik Benmarhnia, 2021. "Wildfire smoke impacts respiratory health more than fine particles from other sources: observational evidence from Southern California," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 12(1), pages 1-8, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:12:y:2021:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-021-21708-0
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-21708-0
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    Cited by:

    1. Beatty, Timothy & Lee, Goeun, 2023. "Wildfires and Farmworker Health," 2023 Annual Meeting, July 23-25, Washington D.C. 335461, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    2. Mary-Catherine Anderson & Ashley Hazel & Jessica M. Perkins & Zack W. Almquist, 2021. "The Ecology of Unsheltered Homelessness: Environmental and Social-Network Predictors of Well-Being among an Unsheltered Homeless Population," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(14), pages 1-22, July.
    3. Tingting Ye & Rongbin Xu & Xu Yue & Gongbo Chen & Pei Yu & Micheline S. Z. S. Coêlho & Paulo H. N. Saldiva & Michael J. Abramson & Yuming Guo & Shanshan Li, 2022. "Short-term exposure to wildfire-related PM2.5 increases mortality risks and burdens in Brazil," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-9, December.
    4. Alandra Marie Lopez & Juan Lezama Pacheco & Scott Fendorf, 2023. "Metal toxin threat in wildland fires determined by geology and fire severity," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-11, December.
    5. Gellman, Jacob & Walls, Margaret A. & Wibbenmeyer, Matthew, 2023. "Welfare Losses from Wildfire Smoke: Evidence from Daily Outdoor Recreation Data," RFF Working Paper Series 23-31, Resources for the Future.
    6. Tesfalidet Beyene & Erin S. Harvey & Joseph Van Buskirk & Vanessa M. McDonald & Megan E. Jensen & Jay C. Horvat & Geoffrey G. Morgan & Graeme R. Zosky & Edward Jegasothy & Ivan Hanigan & Vanessa E. Mu, 2022. "‘Breathing Fire’: Impact of Prolonged Bushfire Smoke Exposure in People with Severe Asthma," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(12), pages 1-15, June.
    7. Jayash Paudel, 2023. "Natural disasters and economic inequality: Insights from wildfires across the globe," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2023-24, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).

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