The hazard of wildfire smoke exposure continues to increase in the Northwest and presents an important health risk to outdoor workers, including those in agriculture. This pilot seeks to develop wildfire decision aid tools driven by data from a high-density network of air quality monitoring sensors in Washington State.
During the 2020 wildfire season, smoke sensors were tested in agricultural regions to assess needs for worker safety and health, crop protection, and plume tracking. If successful, this pilot study will demonstrate proof-of-concept for air quality monitoring based on Washington State University’s AgWeatherNet platform.
Resources
Schollaert C, Austin E, Seto E, Spector J, Waller S, Kasner E. Wildfire Smoke Monitoring for Agricultural Safety and Health in Rural Washington. J Agromedicine. 2023 Jul;28(3):595-608.
Austin E., Kasner E., Seto E., Spector J. Combined Burden of Heat and Particulate Matter Air Quality in WA Agriculture. J Agromedicine. 2020 Jul 30;1-10.
Heat, fire, smoke and health in Washington’s ag industry. 2020 Sep 3.
Principal Investigator: Edward Kasner, MPH, PhD, Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, and Outreach Director, PNASH Center, University of Washington
PNASH Pilot Project 2021-2022