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Policy implications for protecting health from the hazards of fire smoke. A panel discussion report from the workshop landscape fire smoke : Protecting health in an era of escalating fire risk
Cowie, Christine T. Wheeler, Amanda J. Tripovich, Joy S. Porta-Cubas, Ana Dennekamp, Martine Vardoulakis, Sotiris Goldman, Michele Sweet, Melissa Howard, Penny Johnston, Fay
Cowie, Christine T.
Wheeler, Amanda J.
Tripovich, Joy S.
Porta-Cubas, Ana
Dennekamp, Martine
Vardoulakis, Sotiris
Goldman, Michele
Sweet, Melissa
Howard, Penny
Johnston, Fay
Abstract
Globally, and nationally in Australia, bushfires are expected to increase in frequency and intensity due to climate change. To date, protection of human health from fire smoke has largely relied on individual-level actions. Recent bushfires experienced during the Australian summer of 2019–2020 occurred over a prolonged period and encompassed far larger geographical areas than previously experienced, resulting in extreme levels of smoke for extended periods of time. This particular bushfire season resulted in highly challenging conditions, where many people were unable to protect themselves from smoke exposures. The Centre for Air pollution, energy and health Research (CAR), an Australian research centre, hosted a two-day symposium, Landscape Fire Smoke: Protecting health in an era of escalating fire risk, on 8 and 9 October 2020. One component of the symposium was a dedicated panel discussion where invited experts were asked to examine alternative policy settings for protecting health from fire smoke hazards with specific reference to interventions to minimise exposure, protection of outdoor workers, and current systems for communicating health risk. This paper documents the proceedings of the expert panel and participant discussion held during the workshop.
Keywords
air pollution, PM, landscape fires, bushfires, smoke, health risk, exposure, communication, protection, policy
Date
2021
Type
Journal article
Journal
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Book
Volume
18
Issue
11
Page Range
1-16
Article Number
Article 5702
ACU Department
Mary MacKillop Institute for Health Research
Faculty of Health Sciences
Faculty of Health Sciences
Collections
Relation URI
Source URL
Event URL
Open Access Status
Published as ‘gold’ (paid) open access
License
CC BY 4.0
File Access
Open