Wildfire smoke safety rules are too restrictive

Outdoor work – agricultural, construction, natural resource, or otherwise – is rarely done by people with dangerous health conditions, people older than 65 or younger than 18.

Yet, the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries is setting the wildfire smoke safety guidelines based on potential risks to people who have health problems, are older than 65 or younger than 18, and who work primarily outdoors or with high exposure to ambient outdoor air during our annual fire seasons.

The proposed wildfire smoke rule for Washington state would “encourage” respirator masks be worn by all outdoor employees or those with high exposure to outdoor air, like public transportation workers, any time the air quality index (AQI) eclipses 69 and require it when the AQI reaches 101 or above.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), an AQI of 0-50 is “good” for anyone to be outdoors. An AQI of 50-100 is “moderate” and may pose some challenges for people who are “unusually sensitive to air pollution.” An AQI of 101-150 is “unhealthy for sensitive groups” but still acceptable for the general public. An AQI of 151-200 is “unhealthy” with members of “sensitive groups experiencing serious health effects” and members of the general public potentially experiencing some health effects.

Setting the AQI threshold at 69 for encouraged respirator mask use and at 101 for required respirator mask use presupposes everyone employed outdoors is in a high-risk category when virtually none of the workers are.

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Additionally, the tracking mechanisms L&I has chosen to require employers to use is unreliable. The proposed rule lists several options for checking the local AQI each day including the Washington Department of Ecology, the Air Quality WA mobile app, the Washington Smoke Information website, the U.S. EPA AirNow website, the EPA AirNow mobile app, the U.S. Forest Service AirFire website, or a local clean air agency. However, all but one of these mechanisms appear to get their data from the same source: EPA AirNow.

There are significant data gaps in AirNow’s reporting. In 2021, during the height of fire season, AirNow had no data to report in Moses Lake Aug. 3-4 and 20-23. Similar gaps can be found for other areas around the state during August and September of last year. If AirNow is the preferred method for AQI data sourcing, then it should be iron-clad information that is readily and continually available for people who employ anyone working outdoors. Employers shouldn’t worry they will be held liable for decisions they made when the government-approved data are unavailable. Moreover, employees should have the security of knowing their employer has a reliable gauge of when it is safe for them to be outside for prolonged periods of time.

Highly restrictive policy that hampers the ability of employees to be productive by setting in place so many rules, concerns, and regulations that employees and their employers are uncomfortable working does not help keep employees safe. It breeds a disregard for safety in favor of ignoring rules that are deemed frivolous. If L&I wants to keep outdoor workers safe, following the AQI guidelines, as laid out by the EPA, is the best means by which to do that.

-Lewison is Director, Initiative for Agriculture, Washington Policy Center.