HALF MILLION ACRES CHARRED IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA FIRES

Wildfires from Simi Valley to San Diego have killed 15 people, destroyed 1,100 homes and burned 500,000 acres of land.

UC Irvine experts in air pollution, respiratory problems and coping with trauma

Large Scale Forest Fires Raise Ozone Pollutant Levels

The product of the large-scale forest fires is easy to see-thick, dark smoke filling the skies. But downwind, gaseous emissions from fires create a pollutant invisible to the eye, but no less dangerous - ozone.

Atmospheric chemist Donald Blake, who studies the impact of biomass burning on the atmosphere, says that when sunlight combines with nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons in the smoke, resulting chemical reactions form ozone, and lots of it. These enhanced concentrations of ozone can blow around for several weeks, Blake adds. The result is air quality downwind from fires that can reach hazardous levels. Ozone's

effect on humans can range from eye irritation to worsening existing lung conditions such as asthma.

To interview Blake, contact Iqbal Pittalwala at (949) 824-3969, (949) 230-8962 or iqbal@uci.edu.

Air Pollution May Affect Children More Harshly

While air pollution can have ill effects on all people, children are likely to face greater risks of developing lung diseases from pollutants in smog. Robert Phalen, director of UCI's Air Pollution Health Effects Laboratory, has spent more than 20 years studying the link between air pollutants and asthma, bronchitis and emphysema. Currently, Phalen is taking part in a large Environmental Protection Agency effort to

calculate the lung volume difference between children and adults in relationship to the unique exposures and amounts of pollutants that enter their lungs. Children breathe in more air per pound than adults,

and their airways are more efficient in trapping pollutants. "Because of this, air pollution can affect children up to nine times more harshly than adults," Phalen said. "Studies like these help us learn to predict how air pollution levels will affect children by what we know of their impact on adults. This is important, because asthma has become the No. 1 chronic disease keeping kids out of school." In addition, Phalen's latest book, "The Particulate Air Pollution Controversy," looks at the cause and effect relationship between air pollution and human health.

To interview Phalen, contact Iqbal Pittalwala at (949) 824-3969, (949) 230-8962 or iqbal@uci.edu.

Freeway Exhaust May Accelerate Lung Conditions

Michael Kleinman, a community and environmental health and medicine researcher at UCI, is the chair of the State of California Environmental Protection Agency Air Quality Advisory Committee. He is is covering how vehicle exhaust from heavily trafficked freeways accelerates lung conditions including asthma. In current research, Kleinman is discovering that diesel particles may also affect the heart and brain.

To interview Kleinman, contact Iqbal Pittalwala at (949) 824-3969, (949) 230-8962 or iqbal@uci.edu.

Best Way to Avoid Fire's Health Effects: Stay Inside

Drs. Henri Colt and James Roum are clinical professors and pulmonologists at UCI Medical Center in Orange. They are experts in lung and respiratory problems and can address questions about medical issues related to recent fires in Southern California.

To interview Drs. Colt or Roum, contact Kim Pine at (714) 456-7759; pager (714) 506-0472 or

kpine@uci.edu.  

Coping with the Trauma of a Natural Disaster

Roxane Cohen Silver, professor of psychology and social behavior, has expertise in coping with trauma and grief. She examines cognitive, emotional, social and physical responses to stressful life events-including natural disasters - in order to identify factors that facilitate successful adjustment to them. In a study funded by the National Science Foundation, Silver looked at Laguna Beach and Malibu residents' psychological responses to the 1993 Southern California firestorms. She is currently principal investigator of a national longitudinal study of psychological responses to the September 11^th terrorist attacks. She also explores long-term effects of traumatic experiences, considering how beliefs and expectations of the social network impact the coping process. Silver is a fellow of both the American Psychological Association and the American Psychological Society.

To interview Cohen Silver, contact Lori Brandt at (949) 824-5484, (949) 285-5484 or lbrandt@uci.edu.

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