From The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Tuesday, August 31, 2010:
Hospital visits for heart disease, stroke and lung afflictions in Fairbanks rise as the air quality deteriorates, according to new study by the state of Alaska.A researcher with the state Section of Epidemiology combed over five years of records at the Fairbanks Memorial Hospital. She found that for every 10 micrograms per cubic meter increase of a harmful pollutant known as PM2.5:
• a 7 percent increased risk that someone under age 65 will visit the hospital because of stroke symptoms,
• a 6 percent increased risk for people over age 65,
• a 6 percent increased risk that someone under 65 will visit the hospital for a respiratory illness.
The examination of hospital visits is the first study looking at air quality health impacts in Fairbanks.
Other studies show that wood smoke is a major contributor to PM2.5.
“Basically, this study reaffirms what has already been demonstrated in similar studies performed outside of Alaska,” the study’s author, epidemiologist Rachel Kossover, said in a written statement. “People with heart and lung problems need to take air quality warnings seriously and follow the advice of local officials.”