Wildfire smoke impacts air quality: IU experts available to comment
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — As hundreds of wildfires rage across Canada, the smoke has drifted over parts of the U.S. A distinct haze is visible in skies across Indiana, and it’s even worse on the East Coast. Around the country, local authorities have issued air-quality alerts and warnings.
What is the impact of the wildfires on air quality? What can vulnerable populations do to protect themselves from the potential health impact? Has climate change had an influence on the wildfires? Experts from Indiana University are available to answer these questions and others. For more information, contact Mary Keck at marykeck@iu.edu.
Matthew Cook
Environmental Health and SafetyMatthew Cook is the director of occupational safety and industrial hygiene at Indiana University. He began his career working in the public sector as an environmental regulator, then joined the private industry as an industrial hygiene consultant serving the automobile, pharmaceutical, manufacturing, medical device and energy sectors.
Expertise
Occupational safety and health, industrial hygiene, indoor air quality, water remediation.
Sarah Commodore
School of Public Health-BloomingtonSarah Commodore is an assistant professor of environmental and occupational health in the School of Public Health-Bloomington. Her research interests include using multidimensional data to examine susceptibility to disease and leveraging that knowledge to inform public health interventions.
Expertise
Air quality, exposure assessment, health disparities.
Gabriel Filippelli
School of Science/Department of Earth SciencesGabriel Filippelli is executive director of the Environmental Resilience Institute. He can discuss climate change science, the role of climate change on increased severity of hurricane impacts, and resilience-building approaches to reduce climate-enhanced impacts on communities.
Expertise
Earth sciences and human health, remediation technology, sediment geochemistry, chemical weathering, nutrient cycling, paleoceanography, terrestrial metal cycling.
Graham McKeen
Environmental Health & SafetyGraham McKeen is assistant university director of public and environmental health at Indiana University. He can discuss how to keep your guests safe and handle food properly at Thanksgiving gatherings.
Expertise
Public health, environmental health, food safety, communicable disease, COVID-19, water quality, pest management.
Philip S. Stevens
O’Neill School of Public and Environmental AffairsPhilip Stevens is Rudy Professor and associate dean for faculty affairs at the O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. His research is focused on the characterization of the chemical mechanisms in the atmosphere that influence indoor air quality, regional air quality and global climate change.
Expertise
Atmospheric chemistry, environmental toxicology and chemistry, indoor air quality, regional air quality, global climate change.
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