Environmental Public Health Tracking Seminar Series
Minnesota Air Quality: Challenges
and Implications for Public Health
Kari Palmer, MPCA
Naomi Shinoda, MDH
January 26, 2011
Summary

Air pollutants of concern
Pollutants with National Ambient Air Quality
Standards (NAAQS)
 Air toxics

What is MPCA doing?
 Air quality reporting

MPCA reports
 Air Quality Index
 Health tracking


MPCA and MDH Collaborations
AIR POLLUTANTS OF
CONCERN
National standard revisions

EPA must periodically review each standard
National standards must protect human health
with an adequate margin of safety
 Costs cannot be considered in setting the level


Between 2008 and 2012, EPA will review ALL

Reviews often result in lower standards and
shorter averaging times
Timeline for new standards
Fine particles-PM2.5
PM2.5 pyramid of health effects
Where does PM2.5 come from?
Minnesota daily PM2.5 trends
Minnesota annual PM2.5 trends
New PM2.5 standard
Will be proposed and finalized in 2011
 EPA will likely wait for this new standard to
designate us as nonattainment
 Implications

Ozone
Twin Cities ozone trends
Proposed ozone standard range
Air toxics

Pollutants of concern
identified


Monitoring
MNRiskS modeling

Priority pollutants





Diesel particulate
Formaldehyde
Acrolein
PAHs
Dioxins & furans
WHAT IS MPCA DOING?
Implement federal rules

Transport Rule

Caps emissions of NOx and SO2 from power plants
Cleaner diesel vehicles and fuels
 Stricter fuel efficiency standards
 New area source
rules

Cleaner transportation

Clean diesel

Partner with Clean Air Minnesota



Retrofit over 1,800 school buses
Grants to reduce heavy duty diesel emissions
Electric vehicles

Minnesota Electric Vehicle Coalition
30 public charging stations by 2011
 4 solar powered stations
 Goal to power public stations with renewable
electricity

Focus on reduction of pollutants

New internal MPCA group focused on:
Preparing State Implementation Plans
 Meet federal standards in Minnesota


New MPCA focus on air toxics reductions
Focus on reduction of priority air toxics and fine
particles
 Priority on partnerships and voluntary reductions

REPORTING
MPCA reports
Air Quality in Minnesota: 2011 Report to the
Legislature
 Annual Air Monitoring Network Plan
 Annual Pollution Report
 Climate change publications

See MPCA website
http://www.pca.state.mn.us/
Air Quality Index (AQI)
0-50
51-100
Good
Moderate
101-150
Unhealthy for
Sensitive Groups
151-200
201-300
Unhealthy
Very Unhealthy
Developed by US EPA to provide the public
easily understood real-time air quality
information
 Categories based on federal standards
 Index values calculated for multiple pollutants



Ozone, PM2.5, CO, SO2
Highest pollutant drives regional AQI
AQI reporting




Website: http://aqi.pca.state.mn.us/index.cfm
Traditional media: Newspapers, television, radio
Phone hot-line: 651-297-1630 or 1-800-657-3694
New media: Twitter,
e-mail, text message,
iPhone application
Air alerts
Issued when
AQI exceeds
101
Description of
areas affected
Current
conditions and
timeline for
improvement
Cautionary
health
statements
Pollution
reduction
strategies
Support MDH/CDC Tracking

Report on:
PM2.5
 Ozone

MPCA and MDH Collaborations
Environmental Public Health Tracking

National EPHT Network

MN EPHT


www.health.state.mn.us/tracking
Air quality indicators


PM2.5
Ozone
Tracking in action
4. Public
Health
Action
1. Data
Collection
Tracking = public health surveillance
3. Data
Dissemination
2. Data
Analysis & Integration
State tracking data portal

8 Core Content Areas

Air quality

Drinking water quality

Hospitalizations (asthma, COPD, heart attack)

Carbon monoxide poisoning

Blood lead

Birth defects

Reproductive & birth outcomes

Cancer
https://apps.health.state.mn.us/mndata/
Coming soon by May 2011!
• Data Queries for 8 core content areas
• GIS mapping for 2 content areas
Air pollution and health in MN

US EPA STAR grant

Exploring air quality and health

Develop and evaluate outcome-based
environmental health indicators
Air pollution and health in MN

Purpose: method/indicator development
Local area analyses
 Using local sources of data


Track health effects associated with
changes in air quality in MSP and Olmsted
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5)
 Hospitalizations and mortality

Respiratory
 Cardiovascular

Particle size distribution
What makes us unique in MN?

History of federal standards attainment

Concurrent local and national PM
reduction initiatives

Unique health data set: the Rochester
Epidemiology Project
MN air pollution reduction initiatives


Minnesota Emissions Reduction Project (MERP)
Diesel retrofits



Other local initiatives



School buses; heavy duty public vehicles
Project Green Fleet
Anti-idling ordinances
Go Greener Initiative (Met Council)
National initiatives



Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel Fuel Rule
Heavy Duty Diesel Regulations
Transport Rule
Measuring impacts and accountability
Regulatory
or Policy
Changes
Reductions
in
Population
Exposures
• PM2.5
Reductions in
Adverse
Health
Outcomes
• Respiratory outcomes
• Cardiovascular
disease
• Hospitalizations and
Deaths
MN air initiatives
Clean Air Interstate Rule
2008
Heavy Duty Diesel Rule
2007
Ultra Low Sulfur Fuel
late 2006
State Agency Executive Order
2004
2003
2004
2005
Baseline Period
2006
2007
Early Implementation
2008
2009
Implementation
MERP: Riverside
operational: 2009
MERP: High Bridge
offline: 8/07-12/07; operational: May 2008
MERP: Allen S. King
offline: 8/06-4/07; operational: early 2008
Project Green Fleet retrofits
2005-2009; m ore anticipated 2010
Air pollution and health in MN

Study Areas:



Timeframe


Minneapolis/St. Paul Metro (7 counties)
Olmsted County
Data analysis 2003-2009
Epi methods:


Time series
Case-crossover
Olmsted
Population exposure
^_

ANOKA
Ambient PM2.5

Continuous monitors

Daily 24-hr averages
^_^_
^^_
_
HENNEPIN
^_
^_
RAMSEY
^_^_
^ ^_ ^ ^_ ^_
_
_
^_ ^_
^_
^_
^^_
_
WASHINGTON
CARVER
^_
^_
^_^_
DAKOTA
SCOTT

Avg. of 6 monitor stations
for MSP metro
^_
Continuous monitors
Health outcomes

Hospitalizations





Mortality



All-cause
cardiopulmonary
Rochester Epi Project



Asthma
Chronic Lower Respiratory Disease
Total respiratory disease
Cardiovascular disease
Asthma clinic cluster visits
Oral steroid prescription data
Ambulance data (EMS runs)
Air pollution and health in MN

Short-term associations

Time series analysis

Case-crossover analysis
Case-crossover analysis
S
M
T
W
Th
F
S
Referent
Event
times
Lag times
What characteristics of particles are harmful?

Physical Characteristics




Particle size
Surface area
Number of particles
• Change as a result of PM
reduction activities?
• Seasonal differences?
Chemical Composition

Carbon, nitrates, sulfates, metals, polycyclic
aromatic hydrocarbons

Interactions w/ Co-Pollutants

Some Combination of Factors?
The accountability chain
Regulatory
action
Pollutant
Emissions
• Representative of true
exposures and actual
doses inhaled?
Ambient
air quality
• Monitors adequately
capture changes in
emissions?
• Person-to-person differences
• Pollutant mixes
• Differences in
susceptibility
Exposure to
pollutants
Human
health
Directions for future explorations

Incorporate other pollutants

Ozone (?)

PM2.5 species


sulfate, nitrate, elemental carbon, organic
carbon
Spatially assigned air and traffic data

Vehicle miles traveled

Hierarchical Bayesian modeled data
Kari Palmer
Naomi Shinoda
[email protected] [email protected]
651-757-2635
651-201-5903
www.health.state.mn.us/tracking
www.pca.state.mn.us
Acknowledgments
MPCA: Catherine Neuschler, Cassie McMahon, Greg Pratt,
Lisa Herschberger, Margaret McCourtney
MDH: Jean Johnson, Allan Williams, Paula Lindgren,
Chuck Stroebel, Wendy Brunner
REP:
Barbara Yawn, Peter Wollan