Air quality and health impacts of an operational prescribed burning program

Prescribed fire smoke is an important contributor to fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) pollution in the Southeastern U.S. Evaluating prescribed burning smoke exposure is, therefore, important research need to minimize air pollution and associated health costs in the region. A limited number of studies have attempted to assess the impacts of prescribed fire on ambient PM_2.5, likely due to the challenges associated with compiling of the burn data. In this study, we use chemical transport modeling to explore the air quality and potential public health impacts of an operational prescribed burning program in North Carolina. The NC Division of Parks and Recreation (NC State Parks) maintains an active and growing prescribed burning program with detailed information for all fires that have occurred within State Parks land over multiple years. Using the Community Multiscale Air Quality Modeling System (CMAQ), we analyze all NC State Park fires that occurred during a full year and estimate the associated air pollution and smoke exposure over the state of North Carolina. In 2016, the Division's land management program conducted 57 prescribed burns, treating over 4,700 acres of NC State Parks land. In addition, two major wildfires occurred within the NC Parks in 2016, rendering this year a unique opportunity to serve as a case study. We compare public smoke exposure from these two wildfires to that of the prescribed fires within the 2016 burning program. Emissions for all fires are estimated using the BlueSky modeling framework based on NC State Parks' fire records. Additionally, we analyze the potential health hazard associated with these air pollution impacts. The comparison between the air quality impacts of prescribed fires and wildfires can be valuable in understanding the trade-offs between prescribed fire and wildfire risk. In addition, the findings of the analysis can serve as an initial step in developing more complete cost-benefit analyses of operational land management programs.