Dr. Ranil Dhammapala, Atmospheric Scientist (Washington State Department of Ecology) will speak on:

How do we manage Washington’s air quality?

October 30, 2018 at 6 PM

The Evergreen State College, Purce Hall – Lecture Hall 1

Free and open to the public

Dinner with the speaker following the talk at The Budd Bay Cafe

(website link: http://www.buddbaycafe.com/– Reservations under “Evergreen”)

Abstract

Question: What do industrial emissions, wildfires, wood smoke, agricultural residue burning, stagnant air, temperature inversions, windstorms and hot summer days with east winds have in common?

Answer: Various combinations of these phenomena result in poor air quality in different parts of Washington.

Though we do not face the same air quality concerns affecting Beijing, LA or the East Coast, we still have our share of challenges to deal with. A 2009 study we conducted found that about 1100 premature deaths in WA can be attributed to fine particle pollution. No one will refute the health concerns we all had when wildfires smoked out every corner of the state for two summers in a row. However not all air pollution is created equal; different pollutants affect human health in different ways, requiring different control methods. Several disciplines such as chemistry, meteorology, engineering, statistics, toxicology, computer science, GIS and communications must be brought to bear when managing air quality. This presentation will discuss various technical tools used to understand, measure, simulate, mitigate and communicate air quality impacts in the state.

RSVP for dinner reservations by 10/16/2018 to Dr. Dharshi Bopegedera at the email: bopegedd@evergreen.edu or phone: (360) 867-6620

Please pay for parking (cost is $2) at the Parking Booth. Lot B provides easy access to Purce Hall.

Driving directions to Evergreen at the following website: www.evergreen.edu/tour/gethere.htm

Sponsored by: Academic Programs at The Evergreen State College (Matter and Motion, Environmental Analysis, Physical Systems and Applied Mathematics), The Evergreen Chemistry Club, and the Puget Sound Section of the ACS