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Indoor air quality top text

Wildland fires are a major source of fine particulate (PM2.5) and can significantly impact communities. Much attention has been focused on smoke impacts to outdoor air quality, however recent work has evaluated the indoor air quality impacts that wildland fire smoke can have. 

Websites

The US EPA's Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) website contains a variety of resources addressing indoor air including in cases where wildland fire smoke is present: https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq(link is external)

Webinars (2017-2019)

The below presentations address indoor air quality:

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Webinar Materials from the June 12-13 2019 EPA Web Summit: Clean Air Spaces – Indoor Air Filtration to Protect Public Health During Wildland Fire Smoke Episodes - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Research and Development hosted a web summit June 12-13, 2019, to share information about the effectiveness of air filtration to improve indoor air during wildland fire smoke events. The summit consisted of four topic-based sessions: Setting the Stage, Insights from Public Health Agencies, and State of Technology to Improve Air During High Outdoor Pollution Concentrations Part I and Part II. Each of the web summit’s four sessions contained engaging presentations and discussions regarding the health impacts of wildland fire smoke, community preparedness, and filtration methods to reduce indoor air pollution during smoke events. 

Webinar Materials for the 2017 NWCG presentation: Indoor Air Quality During Wildland Fires Experience and Research - Hosted by the Nature Conservancy for the National Wildfire Coordinating Group's Smoke Committee, this 2017 webinar contains two presentations on indoor air quality. The first, from Kris Ray, evaluates indoor air quality during very high ambient PM2.5 concentrations at the Colville Reservation in Washington State, which resulted from the 2015 wildfire season. The second presentation, from Shelly Miller, evaluates the impact of indoor air cleaning devices during wildland fires. 

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Publications mentioned in the webinar

Henderson DE, Milford JB, Miller SL. 2006. Prescribed Burns and Wildfires in Colorado: Impacts of Mitigation Measures on Indoor Air Particulate Matter(link is external). Journal of Air and Waste Management Association. 55: 1516-1526

Keating M, Benedict K, Evans R, Jenkins S, Mannshardt E, Stone SL. Interpreting and Communicating Short-Term Air Sensor Data. EM, Air and Waste Management Association. November 2016 Issue.

Barn PK, Elliott CT, Allen RW, Kosatsky T, Rideout K, Henderson SB, 2016. Portable air cleaners should be at the forefront of the public health response to landscape fire smoke(link is external). Environmental Health 15:116.