Bob Wilbur thought he’d found a retirement home that would be a place of peace. Nestled against Admiralty Bay on the western edge of Whidbey Island, the three-story house is surrounded by trees and shoreline. It offers the kind of quiet that only an island can provide. Except when the Growlers fly.��

As often as four days a week, Boeing EA-18G Growler electronic attack aircraft based at the nearby Naval Air Station Whidbey Island fly loops overhead as pilots practice touch-and-go landings. The noise is immense, around the level of a loud rock concert. “It interrupts your day,” Wilbur said. “You’re unable to have a pleasant evening at home. You can’t communicate. You constantly try to organize your day around being gone when the jets are flying.”��

New research from the 91̽�� shows that the noise isn’t just disruptive — it presents a substantial risk to public health. in the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology, an analysis of the Navy’s own acoustic monitoring data found that more than 74,000 people are exposed to noise levels with adverse health effects.����

“Military aircraft noise is substantially more intense and disturbing than commercial jet noise,” said lead author , a graduate student in the 91̽��College of the Environment. “Noise exposure has many downstream effects beyond just annoyance and stress — high levels of sleep disturbance, hearing impairment, increased risk of cardiovascular disease — these have real impacts on human health and quality of life. We also found that several schools in the area are exposed to levels that have been shown to put children at risk of delayed learning.”

Guided by conversations with community members and local advocacy groups, researchers analyzed four weeks of acoustic and flight operations data , in addition to prior-year data collected by a private acoustics company and the National Park Service. Researchers then mapped noise exposure across the region to estimate how much noise specific communities were exposed to in an average year.��

Researchers estimated that two-thirds of Island County residents, including everyone in the cities of Oak Harbor and Coupeville, were exposed to potentially harmful levels of noise, as was 85% of the population of the Swinomish Indian Reservation. ��

In total, an estimated 74,316 people were exposed to average noise levels that posed a risk of annoyance, 41,089 of whom were exposed to nighttime noise levels associated with adverse effects on sleep. Another 8,059 people — most of whom lived within fairly close proximity to aircraft landing strips – were exposed to noise levels that can pose a risk of hearing impairment over time.��

“Our bodies produce a lot of stress hormone response to noise in general, it doesn’t matter what kind of noise it is. But particularly if it’s this repeated acute noise, you might expect that stress hormone response to be exacerbated,” said co-author , a 91̽��professor of environmental and occupational health sciences. “What was really interesting was that we’re reaching noise exposure levels that are actually harmful for hearing. Usually I only think of hearing in the context of working in factories or other really, really loud occupational settings. But here, we’re reaching those levels for the community.”����

Taken as a whole, the potential harms can be quite serious, Seto said. “Imagine people trying to sleep, or children in school trying to understand their teachers and you’ve got these jets flying.”��

Every monitoring station on Whidbey Island measured noise events in excess of 100 decibels when jets were flying. In some instances, noise levels were “off the charts” — exceeding the limits of models used to predict the health effects of noise exposure around the world. ��

“We found it striking that Growler noise exceeds the scientific community’s current understanding of the potential health outcomes,” said co-author , a 91̽��professor of aquatic and fishery sciences. “For this reason, our estimates of health impacts are conservative.”��

The noise has been the subject of community disputes and legal controversy since 2013, when the U.S. Navy moved more Growler jets onto Whidbey Island and increased the number of flights to more than 110,000 per year. Bob Wilbur is a member and the current chair of Citizens of Ebey’s Reserve, a community group that has sued the Navy over the jet noise and increased flight operations. The group also helped facilitate the 91̽��study, and Wilbur is a co-author.����

Like other military aircraft, the Growlers’ noise differs significantly from commercial jets — louder and deeper, the kind of sound that people feel before they hear.����

“It’s the intensity, the intermittent nature of the noise, and the low-frequency energy specifically,” Jacuzzi said. “Those three things are very different than what you experience from normal commercial flights, which are predictable and high in altitude. When Growlers fly over a home, they emit a rumbling noise that penetrates windows and shakes walls.”����

While commercial jet noise has been the subject of extensive study, research into military aircraft noise is relatively rare. Previous UW-led research found that military flights were the largest cause of noise pollution on the Olympic Peninsula. While discussing that study, Whidbey residents complained that the noise disturbed their sleep and interfered with students’ schoolwork, which prompted this new line of inquiry. While conducting this study, researchers worked closely with community members and advocacy groups and held multiple webinars to share results and shape future work.����

“Our research was motivated by the growing chorus of complaints by Washingtonians across multiple counties,” Olden said. “We believe the science speaks for itself. It’s no longer a question of whether noise impacts people, but how, where and how much these effects are experienced.”��

Other authors are Lauren Kuehne of Omfishient Consulting, and Anne Harvey and Christine Hurley of Sound Defense Alliance. This research was funded by the 91̽��Population Health Initiative.

For more information, contact Jacuzzi at gioj@uw.edu.��

What started as a 91̽��-led project to measure air pollution near Sea-Tac International Airport has led to schools in the area installing portable air filters to improve indoor air quality.

First, 91̽��researchers found they were able to in the communities under Sea-Tac International Airport flight paths and map the air quality impacts of the ultrafine particles associated with planes. Then they discovered that the mix of particle pollution, black carbon and other pollutants from both sources was infiltrating school buildings in the area.

Alerted that this pollution was getting into schools, community advisors to the study wondered if the 91̽��crew could find a way to remove the pollution and protect children, teachers and workers in those buildings. They were concerned because evidence is emerging that suggests this pollution is , particularly children and older adults. Poor indoor air quality may also and increased absenteeism from school.

“It wasn’t clear from the outset of the project that we could measure significant infiltration indoors,” said , assistant professor of environmental and occupational health sciences in the 91̽��School of Public Health. “Not all particles act the same. They don’t behave the same in the brain or in the body, and they also don’t penetrate into buildings through the same routes. However, we did measure significant infiltration.”

In Phase One of their , funded primarily by the Washington State Legislature, the 91̽��team discovered that portable air cleaners with HEPA, or High Efficiency Particulate Air, filters in classrooms reduced pollution levels dramatically.

In their recent , the researchers wrote that the filters reduced all ultrafine particles by 83%, aircraft-specific particles by 67% and heavy-duty truck particles by 73% over a two-day test period (see graphic above for more reduction details).

“We have to consider outdoor air pollution when we’re thinking about healthy schools, and the answer to addressing outdoor air pollution is twofold: The first is reducing the emissions from their sources, but that is not always possible. So, when that is not possible, effective interventions are critical. This project demonstrates that HEPA filters can be a viable intervention,” Austin said.

The team’s data was so stark that community advisors encouraged school districts to use these filters in their buildings. In response, Austin said, the two school districts the 91̽��team worked with, Federal Way Public Schools and Highline Public Schools, purchased air filters for most of their classrooms to improve indoor air quality and to combat the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19.

“When many of the school districts we’re working with saw the results and heard concerns from parents, teachers and unions about air quality, they went ahead and used federal funds to purchase HEPA filters for their classrooms,” Austin said.

And all of that was just Phase One of the team’s project.

For , the researchers are working on a two-year study in 20 schools across Washington where they will deploy more air filters and learn more about student health and academic performance in classrooms with cleaner air. They also hope to help school districts balance the benefits of these filters with their energy use and explore other methods for reducing air pollution, such as upgrading buildings.

“Our first phase of the study was over a couple of days, so we want to be able to show that over the course of a longer term there’s a significant improvement in air quality when the HEPA filters are deployed. Then, we want to see what benefits that improved indoor air quality has on student health, performance and absenteeism,” Austin said.

###

Co-authors are Nancy Carmona, Jeffry H. Shirai, B.J. Cummings, Lisa Hayward and Edmund Seto from the 91̽��Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences; Timothy Gould from the 91̽��Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering; and Timothy Larson, a professor in both 91̽��departments.

In addition to funding from the Washington State Legislature and the EPA, regional partners for the study include the cities of SeaTac, Burien,��Federal Way, Normandy Park and Des Moines; Federal Way Public Schools; Highline Public Schools; and the 91̽�� Ultrafine Advisory Group.

For more information, contact Austin at elaustin@uw.edu.

is a 91̽��-wide institute connecting scholars with community partners to address environmental challenges. The institute announced awards for its 2020 on May 5.

Four research teams were chosen from 43 that applied. Proposals were reviewed by an 11-member committee including faculty and staff in several areas as well as an outside community member. This is the program’s second year.

Each team will receive up to $75,000 as well as administrative and communications support for a 16-month period ending in September 2021.

Crucially, the researchers also plan to collaborate with community partners from El Centro de la Raza locally to universities internationally for these projects. All of the community partners involved are listed on the .

Does vegetation help mitigate roadway and aircraft-related air pollution in Seattle?

, associate professor of environmental and occupational health sciences, is principal investigator on this community-engaged study using drones for 3D air quality measurements.

Co-investigators are professor and assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering, and , professor of atmospheric sciences.

According to their proposal, “Findings from this study will provide local and highly relevant evidence on the effectiveness of urban planning initiatives that may utilize greenery as an approach to address particulate air pollution.”

Hazard planning, food sovereignty and climate adaptation in the Alaskan Arctic��

, assistant professor in the Department of American Indian Studies and the School of Marine and Environmental Affairs, is this project’s principal investigator and co-director.

is a 500-person community in Northwest Alaska about 80 miles above the Arctic Circle. Sea-ice cover around this area has decreased dramatically in the last two decades, increasing coastal erosion during storms and the frequency of traveler distress calls, among other concerns.

For this research, an interdisciplinary team of 91̽��polar researchers will work with area search and rescue volunteers to help Kivalina and its residents achieve more safety, resilience and food sovereignty, and become a model of community-driven polar research. The team also plans to develop new methods in sea ice forecasting to support local decision-making, among several other goals.

Other 91̽��researchers involved are , chair and professor; and , research assistant professor, both in atmospheric sciences.

Píkyav on the Mid-Klamath River: Peeshkêesh Yáv Umúsaheesh

The flows through parts of Oregon and Northern California. Four hydroelectric dams along the river are scheduled for removal in 2022. The , in that area, is among the largest in California.

This research team proposes a river restoration process on the Klamath that centers on Karuk tribal sovereignty using a model of justice, helping to bring tribal perspectives to large-scale governance. The title of the project, they write, translates to “the river will look good” — and the phrase “goes far below the surface to include function, connection and ceremonial renewal.”

The team plans an intergenerational, field-based school on the river, working with Karuk youth and cultural practitioners to gather historical maps, stories and spatial data on Karuk uses of floodplain ecosystems.

91̽��team members for this project are , assistant professor in the School of Marine and Environmental Affairs; , a lecturer in Comparative History of Ideas and the Program on the Environment; and Karuk tribal member Kimberly Yazzie, a doctoral student in the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences.

Lessons from urban indigenous immigrants ��

“This project will compare a self-managed indigenous immigrant community still using traditional practices in Iquitos, Peru,” the team wrote, “to a similar indigenous immigrant community nearby that developed with social and political pressures to colonially urbanize and leave traditional practices behind.”

91̽��members of the research team are , affiliate assistant professor of landscape architecture; , photographer with the 91̽��Center for One Health Research; , lecturer in the 91̽��Bothell School of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences; Kathleen Wolf, research social scientist with the School of Environment and Forest Sciences; and doctoral student of the School of Public Health.

“We use an innovative, mixed-methods approach by combining indigenous knowledge, science and art to document environmental conditions, ecosystem health, traditional knowledge practices, and human-nature connections in each community,” the team wrote.

Environmental and human health impacts of a new invasive species in Madagascar

A fifth project was in March, representing the second project funded in collaboration with the 91̽��Population Health Initiative. The project’s 91̽��leads are , assistant professor in the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences; and , professor in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences.

For more information, contact the EarthLab Innovation Grants program lead at elgrants@uw.edu.

Communities underneath and downwind of jets landing at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport are exposed to a type of ultrafine particle pollution that is distinctly associated with aircraft, according to a new 91̽�� study, the first to identify the unique signature of aircraft emissions in the state of Washington.

The finding comes from the two-year Mobile ObserVations of Ultrafine Particles or “MOV-UP” funded by the Washington State Legislature to examine the air-quality impacts of aircraft traffic on communities located within 10 miles of Sea-Tac Airport.

Researchers at the 91̽��Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences and the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering collected air samples at numerous locations around Sea-Tac Airport over the course of a year between 2018 and 2019.

The research team then developed a new method to distinguish between pollution from jet traffic and pollution from other sources such as roadway traffic. Ultrafine pollution particles are emitted from both sources, but the research team found key differences in the particle size and mixture of particles they emit.

The researchers then mapped each type of emission mixture to show its specific geographic footprint around the airport.

“We found that communities under the flight paths near the airport are exposed to higher proportions of smaller-sized, ‘ultra-ultrafine’ pollution particles and over a larger area compared to pollution particles associated with roadways,” said , co-principal investigator and associate professor of environmental and occupational health sciences in the 91̽��School of Public Health.

Ultrafine particles are less than 0.1 micron in diameter — 700 times thinner than the width of a single human hair. The research team coined the term “ultra-ultrafine” particles to refer to the proportion of smaller ultrafine particles between 0.01 to 0.02 microns in diameter.

Although this study did not consider the health effects of exposure to roadway or aircraft-related pollution, previous studies suggest smaller pollution particles are more likely to be inhaled and to penetrate the body than larger particles.

Other studies have linked exposure to ultrafine particles to breast cancer, heart disease, prostate cancer and a variety of lung conditions. The Washington State Department of Health is currently preparing a comprehensive literature review of the potential health effects associated with ultrafine particles.

The discovery of the unique signature of aircraft pollution opens up opportunities for follow-up studies, said , professor and chair of the Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences.

“We can now study the specific health effects of aircraft-related pollution, how different neighborhoods may be affected by it and specific interventions that could reduce human exposure to these pollutants,” said Yost, who is also a co-investigator on the study. “We hope to work with state and local policymakers as well as affected communities to pursue these questions.”

The team gathered air samples from fixed locations, including a former elementary school south of the airport and SeaTac Community Center north of the airport. Researchers also collected air samples through mobile monitors mounted on hybrid vehicles that were driven on 11 routes north and south of the airport in time periods that covered all four seasons of the year.

The researchers used data from the Federal Aviation Administration and other sources to track the number and direction of flights, their altitudes and the wind speed and direction, temperature and relative humidity at the airport.

Their analysis showed that roadway air pollution particles consist of relatively larger particle sizes and higher black carbon concentrations. These particles tend to disperse over relatively short distances downwind of major roadways such as Interstate 5 and SR 99, affecting a narrow swath of near-roadway residences and buildings.

In contrast, emissions associated with aircraft consist of the relatively smaller ultra-ultrafine particle sizes and lower black carbon concentrations. Areas exposed to higher levels of aircraft-related particles tend to be larger, meaning more people are potentially affected.

The research team coordinated closely with local governments, community groups and state and federal agencies throughout the two-year project, soliciting feedback on the study design, analysis and next steps.

Sea-Tac Airport is the eighth busiest U.S. airport. In 2018, the airport served nearly 50 million passengers and saw 438,391 takeoffs and landings.

Co-authors include Elena Austin, Jianbang Xiang and Jeffry Shirai of 91̽��Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences; Tim Gould and Sukyong Yun from 91̽��Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering; and co-senior author Timothy Larson, a professor in both departments.��This research was funded by the Washington State Legislature.

This release was written by��Jolayne Houtz, director of communications for the 91̽��Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences

Statement from the Port of Seattle:

“We are pleased to see the 91̽��MOV-UP Study completed and turned into the Legislature. The Port strongly supports this effort and helped fund this study which we see as critical to advancing the science needed to understand and reduce fine particulate emissions. Our Commission remains committed to reducing the emissions associated with using fossil fuels, and one way to reduce emissions is through the use of lower-carbon transportation fuels. Many of these fuels including renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel reduce ultra-fine particulate in addition to greenhouse gases, the pollution that causes global warming. For this reason, we continue to urge the Washington State Legislature to move quickly towards statewide progressive carbon policy that encourages the adoption of low-carbon transportation fuels. That kind of policy framework could generate real progress on the full-scale implementation of sustainable fuels at the state’s airports and seaports.”

Statement from the Washington State Department of Health:

“Our comprehensive literature review of the potential health effects of ultrafine particle pollution is being completed alongside the 91̽��study. Together, these studies will provide state policymakers and communities with evidence about where and how this type of traffic-related pollution affects people and inform future steps to protect public health,” said Julie Fox, environmental epidemiologist, Washington State Department of Health.