Short-Term Total and Wildfire Fine Particulate Matter Exposure and Work Loss in California (Environmental International)

Summary: Authors aimed to study the association of short-term daily total particulate matter (PM_2.5) exposure with work loss due to sickness among adults living in California. They used 2015 to 2018 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) data on adults in the workforce living in California. Daily total PM_2.5 concentrations were linked to respondents’ home addresses from continuous spatial surfaces of PM_2.5 generated by a geostatistical surfacing algorithm.

Findings: This is one of the few papers that suggest that short-term ambient PM_2.5 exposure is positively associated with work loss due to sickness and the association was stronger among those with higher wildfire smoke exposure. It also indicated that the current federal and state PM_2.5 standards (annual average of 12 μg/m3) could be further strengthened to protect the health of the citizens of California.

Read the Publication:

• Journal Article: Short-Term Total and Wildfire Fine Particulate Matter Exposure and Work Loss in California