Fewer cars on the roads means better air quality, right? Not so much in Pierce County
You might think the coronavirus stay-home order would help reduce air pollution by keeping vehicles off the roads, but some data suggests otherwise.
In residential areas, the Puget Sound’s air quality has gotten worse.
The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency reports that we should be seeing cleaner air quality than we currently are. Erik Saganić, a technical analysis manager with the agency, said much of that increase has to do with wood burning.
“These air pollution levels are much higher than we typically see for springtime,” Saganić said in an email. “Spring is usually the best months for air quality.”
With many Puget Sound-area residents staying home, people have been using wood-burning stoves for home heating. Others have been making outdoor fires.
There are four PSCAA air monitoring systems in Pierce County: the Tideflats, South Hill, Tacoma South End and Tacoma 36th. At 10 p.m. on April 16 last year, the systems recorded 2.2 micrograms per cubic meter of air at the Tideflats, 0.6 ug/m3 in South Hill, zero micrograms per cubic meter in Tacoma South End, and 0.6 ug/m3 at the Tacoma 36th monitor.
This year, monitors recorded 6.2 ug/m3, 11.9 ug/m3, 9 ug/m3 and 8 ug/m3, respectively.
The particle levels are not uniform across the region. While air might be worse for the suburbs, communities near highways or major roads have had cleaner air than normal. A decrease in traffic has led to lower levels of nitrogen oxides, but it’s too early to say how much the stay-home order has improved nitrogen oxide levels, Saganić said.
For most of Pierce County, air pollution has been in the “good” range, according to data from PSCAA. Tacoma’s South End has been reaching “moderate” levels, which means slightly elevated pollution levels. The agency’s data from Tacoma’s South End neighborhood shows this has been one of the higher springtimes in a couple decades.
“We’d expect lower pollution levels for the warm and breezy weather we’ve had,” Saganić said.
The clean air agency is asking residents to avoid making outside fires, whether it be charcoal barbecues, campfires or bonfires. Outdoor fires are limited to 3 feet in diameter and 2 feet in height.
The coronavirus impacts the respiratory system, and there is concern pollution levels could hurt those with already compromised lung capacity.
“Unnecessary burning adds an additional health issue for our neighbors with asthma and other respiratory challenges,” Saganić said.
