New report finds people in 16 overburdened Washington communities face a higher death rate from air pollution than the state average - KIMA CBS 29

New report finds people in 16 overburdened Washington communities face a higher death rate from air pollution than the state average | KIMA

YAKIMA - People in certain parts of Yakima County face a higher death rate from air pollution compared to other parts of Washington, according to a new report from the Department of Ecology (DOE).

The report is the first in a series that will be published every two years to track progress towards reducing outdoor air pollution and greenhouse gases, as well as improvements in human health in the 16 places – which represent multiple towns, communities, and neighborhoods and more than 1.2 million people.

Officials say many people within these communities already face a number of inequities including social, economic and health.

"What makes their communities most vulnerable from ecology's perspective from this work is that in addition to these injustices, data from our air monitoring network shows that these communities also face more air pollution than other parts of Washington," said Susan Woodward, communications manager for the DOE's air quality program.

Anyone in those vulnerable areas is more likely to have certain health problems, including conditions that affect their heart and lungs.

These, however, are not necessarily new findings, but what is surprising is the mortality rates.

"In this report, we estimate that people who are aged 65 or older are twice as likely to die from air pollution that comes from human sources," Woodward said.

Additionally, after analyzing data for 2016 to 2020, the report also found that people of all ages in the communities lived an average 2.4 years less than people in the rest of Washington.

“The findings in this report underscore the importance of the strong air quality and environmental justice provision contained in the Climate Commitment Act,” said Laura Watson, Ecology’s director. “The Climate Commitment Act not only decreases harmful greenhouse gas emissions but also takes concrete steps to reduce air pollution that unfairly impacts the most vulnerable people in our state.”

Wildfire smoke in the summer and wood-burning stoves in the winter remain the biggest air polluters for our region.

Although Yakima sees the same kind of air pollution as many other parts of the state, experts say our community is situated in a valley which acts as a funnel that drives and traps air pollution if the air is stagnant.

When asking the DOE if there are any solutions, they say they are planning to come to Yakima in the first quarter of 2024 to hear all of the concerns from those impacted and expand their air monitoring network in Yakima to gather more area-specific data.

With that information, they hope to eventually establish stricter air quality standards to protect the community.

"We'll also be designing a new community grant program next year. There will be $10 million that we'll be allocating across the state based on what communities, tribes, local agencies and government tell us what their needs are. We're very open also to their ideas for local solutions," Woodward said.

The Moxee Valley, lower Yakima Valley and East Yakima were all included in the list of the 16 most vulnerable communities.

If you live in any of these areas, there is an online survey that you can fill out to help researchers learn more about your air pollution concerns.