As wildfires become a regular occurrence in western Canada, poor air quality has become more of a pressing issue, particularly for seniors.
The West Central Airshed Society and Alberta Capital Airshed presented a webinar titled "Air Quality & Aging: Supporting Seniors in a Changing Climate" on Tuesday (Jan. 28) that featured an expert panel.
“We've had great success at improving air quality in North America, but a lot of that success is now being eroded pretty quickly by smoke from wildfires, and there's now considerable evidence that air pollution affects brain health and increases the risk of dementia,” said Ryan Allen, a professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Simon Fraser University.
“And importantly, there's emerging evidence that wildfire smoke may play a particularly important role in that, and of course, this is something that we'll need to keep in mind, given that we have an aging population, a population where dementia prevalence is increasing and where wildfire smoke is becoming more endemic,” Allen added.
Air pollution is a mixture of a bunch of different pollutants, particles and gasses, but the one that best characterizes the health risk is fine particulate matter, or PM2.5, which are small particles that can penetrate deep into the airway and cause health problems.
Allen said there was compelling evidence that air pollution has a major effect on the health of the population, with eight million deaths globally per year attributable to air pollution. Even in Canada where the air quality is generally good, air pollution contributes to roughly 15,000 premature deaths annually, according to Health Canada.
He also noted there was a substantial body of evidence linking air pollution with dementia. While the strongest evidence is for PM2.5, other pollutants have been linked as well.
Wildfire smoke, in addition, has eroded decades of air quality work. Since 2016 in nearly three quarters of the contiguous United States, wildfire smoke is estimated to have eroded 25 per cent of previous multi-decadal progress in reducing PM2.5 concentrations.
“Given that wildfires are becoming more common, they're lasting longer, they're more intense, we need to start thinking about the kind of chronic exposure to wildfire smoke and the long-term implications of that,” Allen said.
Shelby Yamamoto, associate professor of environmental epidemiology at the University at Buffalo, N.Y. and head of the Climate Health and Environment Epidemiology Research (CHEER) lab at the University of Alberta, highlighted other ways climate change could impact seniors.
One example was how increased cold events may lead to more slippery sidewalks where seniors could slip and fall. In addition, increased temperatures could disrupt sleep, and droughts may lead to more food insecurity for vulnerable populations.
Yamamoto emphasized older adults were not a homogenous group, and some groups of seniors would be more at risk than others.
“So, if there are challenges with mobility or there are chronic illnesses, as an example, the thing is this creates this higher risk that we see for some of our older adult populations,” she said.
When speaking with focus groups in Edmonton, Yamamoto and her colleagues found older adults didn’t necessarily see themselves at risk from climate change but were worried about future generations.
They also expressed dismay at the lack of effective leadership in managing climate change and the lack of involvement in research and policies and consideration of the needs of older adults.
Based on these findings, Yamamoto suggested risk awareness was something that needed to be improved.
“What the message needs to be is that everyone, especially when we're talking about wildfires and these kinds of levels of pollution, that everyone is going to be at risk,” she said.
Among other suggestions, she advised ensuring there was appropriate transportation should seniors need to evacuate, appropriate communication and checks of these older adults and that they have the support and medical assistance that they need.
Kristen Chambers is the CEO of the Evergreens Foundation, a not-for-profit housing management body that serves six municipalities in west-central Alberta, including Jasper.
“We have over 600 housing units across our region, and sadly, we have been one of the most affected in recent years by wildfire evacuations,” Chambers said.
The most notable of these is the recent Jasper wildfire, which destroyed nearly a third of the townsite, including Pine Grove Manor, an independent seniors living complex. The Chetamon wildfire also briefly cut off power to the town in 2022, and wildfires in 2023 forced the evacuation of Edson.
“Obviously, evacuating groups like this is very difficult because you have mobility concerns,” Chambers said. “Many are as independent as they are because they have access to regular support systems within their communities, which certainly do break down within these events.
Chambers noted the impact on seniors’ mental health as well as the isolation and lack of connection, even when there is no evacuation.
“If it is smoke-related, heat-related concerns with the seniors, they're not wanting to leave the building,” she said. “They're not going out and going for their walks, connecting, being out in the outdoors, all of those types of things.”
To prepare for wildfires, the Evergreens Foundation conducts resident briefings on potential emergent situations, participates in evacuation trails and works with municipalities on their emergency plans. Seniors also have evacuation bags that last at least a week.
“You really end up being the last group that gets brought back,” Chambers said. “You need your hospitals up and running, you need your emergency departments, you need your police, you need all of those things.”
Other areas of focus for the Evergreens Foundation include staff readiness and building maintenance. Chambers described the difficulties with reoccupying a building following a lengthy wildfire evacuation, such as cleaning and getting utilities up and running.
“And then after occupancy, of course, the air is still polluted, so there's still smoke within the community,” she said. “I know in Jasper it smelled like a wet campfire for months after everyone was back.”
In partnership with the West Central Airshed Society, the Evergreens Foundation has microsensors on all its lodges.
“Our microsensor was the only source of air quality monitoring post-Jasper fire for quite some time,” Chambers said.
In the months following re-entry, air quality remained a concern due to the ongoing demolition and construction. Alpine Summit had continued air quality monitoring both indoors and outdoors, and air scrubbers were on standby but were not needed.
“Fortunately, we didn’t have to use them,” Chambers said. “We did take that very seriously, especially with the demographic that we serve.”
