SPOKANE, Wash. — A sobering report for 16 communities across Washington state shows poor air quality is leading to health problems and lower life expectancies.
A Department of Ecology study, released last week, found areas the agency classified as "overburdened" by air pollution in 2023 are facing even more critical health and environmental disparities. The air pollution study, the first of its kind required under the state's Climate Commitment Act, looked at exactly how air pollution is impacting people in these 16 high-risk areas.
"Just very important to allow the state to address some of these disparities and injustices," said Susan Woodward, the communications manager for Ecology's air quality program. “We looked at the human-caused sources, so we’re talking about woodstove smoke, we’re talking about industry, we’re talking about traffic.”
Most of the 16 communities are lumped together on the state's western half, but Spokane/Spokane Valley stood out as the only 'overburdened' areas on the east side.
The report found people living in these communities have higher rates of health issues associated with breathing in fine particles; most impactful and troubling were particulates from wildfires and wood-burning stoves.
"Anyone living in these areas are more likely to have certain health conditions of the heart and lungs because we’re talking about the outdoor air people breathe," Woodward said. "That’s not really new information.”
What is new and surprising is what researchers found about how air pollution can take years off your life.
"We estimate people 65 or older are twice as likely to die from air pollution that comes from these human sources," Woodward said.
Those rates are even worse for communities of color and low income groups, the study finds, 'Older adult people of color have a higher risk of death from breathing fine particles (PM2.5) compared to older white adults in the same area.'
Across these 'overburdened' communities, life expectancy is also shorter. People in these areas, on average, live 2.4 years less than others across the state.
Since this is the first report of its kind on the issue, Woodward said future reports will yield more comparative data. The department is required to release air pollution reports like it every two years. She says, for instance, this report did not look at the health impacts of wildfire smoke, but did factor in particulates that are released from wildfires.
The department is looking ahead to working within these areas to address air quality concerns. One change Spokane and other areas will see is an increase in air monitoring sites.
"To get more specific data about what are the air pollutants of concern in these communities," Woodward said. "These communities will then use that information to eventually, in the months and years to come, start to establish stricter air quality standards to protect these communities."
The Department of Ecology is also offering a new community grant program, allocating $10 million statewide, for tribes and local communities to address those local air quality solutions.
Woodward says there will also be visits to these impacted regions to gather more community input.
You can submit feedback on a DOE survey regarding the cleanliness of the air you breathe.
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