These adaptation strategies offer possible ways to address the increased public health effects from changing air quality.
Adaptation strategies for air quality and public health
- Model future development to anticipate future air quality concerns from ozone
- Incorporate future population growth patterns and collaborate with transportation officials, air quality managers, state officials, and industry to better assess the expected performance of regulatory standards under changing climate conditions.
- Analyze current fire management capabilities and monitoring efforts
- Model expected conditions and anticipate potential future fire events to better understand the range of predicted emissions of particulate matter.
- Determine current vulnerability to ozone by assessing location-based vulnerabilities, such as the extent of the urban heat island effect.
- Monitor current conditions to better evaluate baselines and inform future projections.
- Identify populations and communities that may be more vulnerable to these impacts due to existing vulnerabilities, such as pre-existing health concerns and sensitive life stages, or due to behavior, such as individuals who spend extensive time outdoors due to profession or trade.
- Notify the public about impaired air quality through an advance warning program for elevated pollution days
- When the public is aware of potentially dangerous air quality, they are able to modify their behavior to avoid exposure and prevent it from worsening.
- Use the USEPA Air Quality Index, EnviroFlash, or SmogWatch (Indiana only) to see air quality values for your area.
- These tools assign a numbering system to the criteria air pollutants in your area. This information can help make determinations on how to proceed with notifying the public and help to make determinations on other implementation measures.
- Create an air awareness program.
- This is a public outreach effort to engage residents in voluntary actions to reduce air pollution and issue health advisories and warnings. It can also be used to create partnerships with other governments, industries, and organizations within your area.
- Learn how the Northwest Indiana Partners for Clean Air is engaging a coalition of local governments, businesses, organizations, and residents to reduce air pollution with voluntary actions.
- Educate Residents about the health impacts of poor air quality
- Educating residents about the health risks of poor air quality can reduce the adverse health impacts of air pollution.
- Learn how Northwest Indiana is educating residents about outdoor air quality.
- Develop and implement a plan for high air pollution days that calls for both public and private action
- It is important to advise residents of things they can do on high air pollution days to limit local emissions and encourage taking action to protect their health and the health of the community. It is also important for the local government to have policies in place to curtail their own high-emitting activities on “bad air” days
- Examples can include: postponing the use of gasoline-powered landscaping equipment, refueling, or painting until after peak air pollution hours.
- It is important to advise residents of things they can do on high air pollution days to limit local emissions and encourage taking action to protect their health and the health of the community. It is also important for the local government to have policies in place to curtail their own high-emitting activities on “bad air” days
- Implement a public education plan for health impacts of indoor air pollution
- Educating people about the causes and prevention of indoor air pollution can help reduce illnesses.
- Learn more about climate change impacts on indoor air quality.
- Educating people about the causes and prevention of indoor air pollution can help reduce illnesses.
- Converting fleets to hybrid and/or alternative fuel vehicles
- By converting government vehicles to alternative fuels there can be monetary savings and a reduction in emissions.
- Bicycle infrastructure
- Establishing infrastructure for bicycles (e.g. bike lanes, bike racks, bike shares, and more) can allow for more people to bike instead of drive. This will reduce the emissions coming from cars.
- Establishing infrastructure for bicycles (e.g. bike lanes, bike racks, bike shares, and more) can allow for more people to bike instead of drive. This will reduce the emissions coming from cars.
- Promoting electric vehicle infrastructure
- These vehicles emit no pollution and air pollution from the electricity they use has less impact on local neighborhoods. Offering incentives for the purchase and use of EVs, installing charging stations, and purchasing electric vehicles for government operations will reduce air pollution.
- Traffic flow efforts
- Traffic congestion increases emissions and degrades air quality. Putting systems in place to reduce congestion will increase air quality.
- Engine Idling reductions
- Idling cars, busses, and trucks wastes fuel and emits unnecessary pollution. Creating ordinances and programs to reduce idling, especially near sensitive areas such as schools, daycares, hospitals, etc., will cut down on emissions.
- Public transportation
- Public transportation reduces the number of cars on the streets to cut down on emissions.
- Sidewalk networks
- In areas where there are no sidewalks, people are forced to drive, even over short distances. Having sidewalks in place can reduce the number of trips people need to make by car to curtail emissions.
- Ordinances or other programs to reduce wind-blown dust and open burning
- Cutting down on the amount of wind-blown dust from construction sites, industrial sites, unpaved roads, open burning, and more will reduce the amount of pollution emitted in the area.
- Public Reporting Hotline
- Maintaining an action line where residents can report air pollution problems such as excessive dust, vehicle idling, or industrial emissions events.
Public health officials may benefit from working with transportation officials, air quality managers, state officials, and industry to better assess public health needs and vulnerability. After identifying and assessing potential vulnerability, officials can collaborate with these partners to properly project the disease burden, assess public health intervention strategies and develop a climate and health adaptation plan. In order to adapt to changing conditions, public health officials may want to work with air quality managers and other officials to explore potential Air Quality strategies that can help reduce the affect climate changes have on public health.
CDC Building Resilience Against Climate Effects
The following resources are provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Learn more about the BRACE framework.
- Anticipate Climate Impacts and Assessing Vulnerabilities
Identify the scope of climate impacts, associated potential health outcomes, and populations and locations vulnerable to these health impacts. - Project the Disease Burden
Estimate or quantify the additional burden of health outcomes associated with climate change. - Assess Public Health Interventions
Identify the most suitable health interventions for the identified health impacts of greatest concern. - Develop and Implement a Climate and Health Adaptation Plan
Develop a written adaptation plan that is regularly updated. Disseminate and oversee implementation of the plan. - Evaluate Impact and Improve Quality of Activities
Evaluate the process. Determine the value of information attained and activities undertaken.
Source Documents
These strategies are adapted from existing federal sources, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and others. Please view these strategies in the context provided by the primary source document:
Other Federal Resources:
Other potential adaptation strategies are available from industry organizations, including:
Disclaimer
The adaptation strategies provided are intended to inform and assist communities in identifying potential alternatives. They are illustrative and are presented to help communities consider possible ways to address current and future climate threats to contaminated site management. Read the full disclaimer.
