 Radio Script 2001
Bad Air INTRO: When you think of cities with bad air, perhaps places like Los Angeles spring to mind. But few of us would ever think of Fairbanks, Alaska—set amid glaciers, wilderness and wildlife—as a city with some of the nation's worst air. As Doug Schneider reports in this week's Arctic Science Journeys Radio, the city is making a noble effort to clean up its act. STORY: It's just before 8 a.m.—rush hour in Fairbanks, Alaska. The temperature this day is 25°F below zero. The dry, bitterly cold air has spawned what locals call ice fog. Ice fog is a sometimes dangerous, ground-hugging cloud of everything that comes out of each chimney, smokestack and vehicle tailpipe in town—things like wood smoke, coal soot, water vapor, and a virtual cocktail of potentially harmful chemicals like carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and sulfur dioxide, to name a few. Nancy Fresco is a program coordinator with the Northern Alaska Environmental Center in Fairbanks. She says Fairbanks ice fog is a product of geography and climate.
FRESCO: "We're surrounded by a double ring of hills. So we're trapped in a pocket here. It's also one of the least windy places on earth. Because the temperatures get so cold in the winter, we get these air inversions. Normal air patterns involve warm air rising. What we get is cold air that sits and doesn't rise. The problem we have is that any pollution we create under these cold air inversions just sits on top of us. The pollution we create is what we have to breathe." While there's a host of pollutants and particulates in Fairbanks's ice fog, the one chemical health advocates worry most about is carbon monoxide. Nancy Fresco says air temperatures don't need to be cold enough to form ice fog to have high concentrations of carbon monoxide. FRESCO: "The thing that's devious about carbon monoxide is that it's not what you can smell and taste in the air. It's odorless and you can't see it. So it's doing damage to your lungs, particularly for people with asthma, for older people, for small children." Most of the carbon monoxide in the city's air comes from the area's thousands of cars and trucks. And it's precisely because of carbon monoxide that Fairbanks has the dubious distinction of being among the nation's seven most air-polluted cities—joined by the likes of Los Angeles, Anchorage, and Denver, according to the federal Environmental Protection Agency. Gerald Guay oversees Alaska's air quality program for the state Department of Environmental Conservation. GUAY: "In the case of Fairbanks, even though they don't have a lot of cars, the carbon monoxide that comes out of the tailpipes of cars occasionally exceeds national ambient air quality standards, which are tied to health implications. So for that reason, EPA is pretty adamant in getting cities to meet air quality standards."
Scattered around the downtown area are three instruments that constantly sniff the air to measure concentrations of carbon monoxide and other pollutants. Should carbon monoxide levels reach or exceed 9.5 parts per million, Guay says the city could lose millions of dollars in federal highway construction and improvement money. GUAY: "We were looking at around 20 to 30 parts per million of carbon monoxide 15 to 20 years ago. Those levels have kind of leveled off at around 9 parts per million, so we have the potential every year to exceed."
Thus far, even though Fairbanks has endured a nearly two-week spell of subzero temperatures, carbon monoxide levels haven't exceeded the federal standard. And last year, as well, Fairbanks hovered close to but didn't exceed safe levels. Officials say a public relations campaign that encourages people to plug their cars into special heaters that keep their engines warm when parked, thereby reducing vehicle emissions during startup, has helped. Also important has been a federally subsidized city bus program that offers free rides throughout the winter to encourage people to drive their own cars less. Nancy Fresco. FRESCO: "The bus program has been very positive. I think we can make it a lot better by extending the routes and hours and advertising. A lot of people don't take advantage of it because they aren't aware that the bus can take them to where they want to go." With months of winter, and even colder temperatures, still to come, Nancy Fresco and Gerald Guay say Fairbanks isn't in the clear yet. But like many Fairbanksans, they're keeping their fingers crossed and hoping for an early spring. OUTRO: This is Arctic Science Journeys Radio, a production of the Alaska Sea Grant Program and the University of Alaska Fairbanks. I'm Doug Schneider. Audio version and related Web sites (sidebar at top right) Thanks to the following individuals for help preparing this script: Nancy Fresco, Program Coordinator Gerald Guay, Manager Arctic Science Journeys is a radio service highlighting science, culture, and the environment of the circumpolar north. Produced by the Alaska Sea Grant College Program and the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
Alaska Sea Grant In the News The URL for
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Listen to story on RealAudio Related Web sites EPA Air Quality Nonattainment Areas EPA Nonattainment Areas for Criteria Pollutants Northern Alaska Environmental Center Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation Fairbanks Pollution Points • Fairbanks
is one of only seven cities nationwide ranked by the EPA as a • About 70 percent of the carbon monoxide in our air is from motor vehicle exhaust. • When inhaled, carbon monoxide enters the blood stream and chemically binds to hemoglobin, the substance that carries oxygen to the cells. This reduces the amount of oxygen delivered to all body tissues. • Results from vehicles tested in Anchorage and Fairbanks indicate that during the first minute after a cold start, emissions are 50 to 100 times higher than they are when the engine is fully warm. • New cars with very low warm-engine emissions often pollute just as badly as old cars during cold starts. • Results also suggest that using an engine block heater can cut emissions by about two thirds. • The worst air pollution in Fairbanks tends to occur when the temperature is between –20°F and +20°F, rather than on the coldest days. • Cars should be plugged in at temperatures up to +20°F. • Using a timer programmed to turn a block heater on two hours before driving costs about twelve cents a day. • Carpooling and combining errands can keep cars off the road altogether. • Human health effects such as impaired breathing, chronic respiratory disease, weakening of the immune system, cancer, and premature death can also be caused by other air pollutants, including nitrous oxides, ground- level ozone, sulfur dioxide, and particulates. • Nitrous oxides and sulfur dioxide are mainly produced by industrial sources such as power plants. They are regulated through air quality permits, but these permits could be much more rigorous. • Particulates are produced from many sources, including wood stoves, open burning, and driving with studded tires on dry roads. Using wood stoves with catalytic converters, using wood stoves efficiently, and removing snow tires promptly in the spring can greatly reduce particulates. (Courtesy Northern Alaska Environmental Center) |
