Environmental Particulate Matter Levels during 2017 Large Forest Fires and Megafires in the Center Region of Portugal: A Public Health Concern?

• Main Authors: Marta Oliveira, Cristina Delerue-Matos, Maria Carmo Pereira, Simone Morais
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-02-01
• Series: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
• Subjects: forest fires; air pollution; particulate matter (pm); public health risks; who airq+ model; socio-economic impact
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/3/1032

This work characterizes the dimension and the exceptionality of 2017 large- and mega-fires that occurred in the center region of Portugal through the assessment of their impact on the ambient levels of particulate matter (PM₁₀ and PM_2.5), retrieved from local monitoring stations, and the associated public health risks. PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 concentrations were increased during the occurrence of large fires and megafires, with daily concentrations exceeding the European/national guidelines in 7&#8722;14 and 1&#8722;12 days of 2017 (up to 704 &#181;g/m³ for PM₁₀ and 46 &#181;g/m³ for PM_2.5), respectively. PM₁₀ concentrations were correlated with total burned area (0.500 &lt; r &lt; 0.949; <i>p</i> &gt; 0.05) and with monthly total burned area/distance² (0.500 &lt; r &lt; 0.667; <i>p</i> &gt; 0.05). The forest fires of 2017 took the life of 112 citizens. A total of 474 cases of hospital admissions due to cardiovascular diseases and 3524 cases of asthma incidence symptoms per 100,000 individuals at risk were assessed due to exposure to 2017 forest fires. Real-time and in situ PM methodologies should be combined with protection action plans to reduce public health risks. Portuguese rural stations should monitor other health-relevant pollutants (e.g., carbon monoxide and volatile organic compounds) released from wildfires to allow performing more robust and comprehensive measurements that will allow a better assessment of the potential health risks for the exposed populations.