The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's recently announced funding of nearly $1 million to Colorado State University for air quality and wildfire smoke exposure research comes after a disastrous fire in the Rocky Mountain state.
The Marshall Fire in Boulder County and surrounding areas, sparked on Dec. 30 and not contained until New Year's Day weekend, burned more than 6,000 acres and damaged or destroyed about 1,000 structures. The blaze was the state's most destructive wildfire ever and residents who lost property to the fire included CSU alumni.
"In the wake of the Marshall Fire, Coloradans understand far too well that climate change has put our communities at increased risk of wildfire," EPA Region 8 Administrator Kathleen Becker said in EPA's March 8 news release. "This funding to CSU will improve communication with people about air pollution during wildfire events so that they can better protect their health."
U.S. EPA Administrator Kathleen Becker
| epa.gov
Becker, a Boulder resident and former speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives who served four terms in the state's legislature, was appointed administrator of EPA's Region 8 in November. EPA's Region 8 encompasses Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming and 28 tribal nations.
CSU is a research university in Fort Collins, Colo.
The $992,464 research grant to CSU comes at a critical time, another EPA official said in the news release.
"As wildfires become more frequent and severe, we must improve how we communicate the risks of smoke exposure to impacted communities," Maureen Gwinn, principal deputy assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Research and Development, said in the release. "This new EPA funded research will help develop strategies to prevent and reduce the health impacts of smoke from wildfires."
The funding is intended to pay for research into how to improve communication of air quality information and smoke exposure risks during wildfires.
Smoke wildfires and prescribed fires is made up of a complex mix of gases and fine particles, produced when wood and other organic materials burn. Fine particles from wildland fire smoke pose the greatest health risk.
This grant to CSU is one of 12 research projects to receive an EPA STAR grant interventions and communication aimed at reducing exposure and associated health risks from wildland fire smoke.
For more information about the EPA STAR grants, visit the grant page on the agency's website.
