Environmental, Water Resources, and Coastal Engineering Seminar Series

Virtual seminar link: https://ncsu.zoom.us/j/96075468552?pwd=RlZvb2x2YmM3c25KQWdRaXNEdVhUUT09

Abstract: Long-term exposure to outdoor fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is attributable to over 4 million deaths each year. Understanding the sources of PM2.5 pollution in a given location can help to inform the development of effective air pollution control policies. Leveraging recent advances in air quality modeling, emission inventories, remote sensing, and public health data, our interdisciplinary team conducted a comprehensive assessment of air pollution sources and the attributable disease burden across over 200 countries and sub-national regions. Our study approach provides results with consistent coverage across each country, and for the first time, also quantifies the global health impact of multiple individual fuel types, including coal and solid biomass. Results reveal that dominant sources of PM2.5 vary both between and within each country and identify multiple options for improving air quality in the most polluted regions. Fossil fuels alone contribute to 27% (1 million deaths) of the total global PM2.5 disease burden. Combined with the PM2.5 pollution from residential biomass combustion, results suggest substantial public health benefits from replacing traditional energy sources. In this presentation, I will first focus on the study methods, the main results, and their policy relevance. In the second part, I will discuss the life of this work outside of the final manuscript, as well as general lessons learned about engaging in policy after working for over a year (from home) as a science policy fellow in Washington, D.C.

Biography: Dr. Erin McDuffie earned her Ph.D. (2018) in Atmospheric Chemistry from the University of Colorado Boulder. During graduate school Erin worked as a member of the NOAA Chemical Sciences Laboratory, with a focus on atmospheric field measurements of reactive nitrogen oxides and ozone. After graduate school, Erin made the jump to global atmospheric modeling and completed a post-doctoral fellowship at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Erin is currently a AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow, with a joint appointment as a visiting research associate at Washington University in St. Louis. Her interests lie in integrating and aligning scientific and policy perspectives to better understand the impacts of human activity on atmospheric processes and feedbacks on human health and the environment.