Seattle-Tacoma International Airport - Pollution

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Third Runway,Sea Tac, Washington

Environmental impacts of the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport present a number of issues, as discussed in my previous blog articles, Externalities and Risk - The Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and The Seattle-Tacoma International Airport - Environmental Issues. Cities around the airport such as Burien, Sea Tac, Tukwila, Normandy Park and Des Moines have gained economically from airport operations and have suffered costs, or externalities from airport operations.

The airport and the trade that it generates are the 800 pound gorilla in the neighborhood, are the drivers of economic change and development, and through the multiplier effect are responsible for a great deal of economic development in the region which they do not directly manage.

It is clear to those living in the neighborhood of the airport that there are considerable externalities involved with regards to airport operations. Citizens note the impact of air and noise pollution.  It is also true that the airport has a significant impact on the larger region.  Increased airport operations may necessitate it compressing activities within its existing space, enlarging its footprint by buying properties, or having some operations move to other airports. Airports in the region include Renton Municipal Airport, King County Airport/Boeing Field and Paine Field in Everett.  Moses Lake in Eastern Washington, which has a large runway, could even be considered a possibility to relieve additional load.

A recent Sea Tac City Council meeting (April 16, 2015) addressed a number of these issues, looking towards long term growth in airport utilization (2.9% average per year over a twenty year period with greater increase in the near term), and the potential of a Federal Aviation Agency building to the South of the Airport. There is already a Federal Detention Center to the south of the airport.  Some airport usages, such as food services, could potentially move outside the perimeter of the airport.

It is difficult to extract the specific environmental impact of the airport on the region from other sources of pollution, to attribute differences in health and socioeconomic metrics to specific environmental factors when air, noise and electromagnetic waves show no boundaries, and where there are many other sources of pollution including cars, trucks and other industries or point sources. There are feedback mechanism which work between all the relevant variables which complicate analysis.

There are a variety of studies available from governmental sources regarding emissions, sociological parameters and assessing the risk from the pollutants that the public is exposed to. These studies present analytic challenges due to the extensive number of variables involved, the manner in which the variables are measured (or not measured), their subjectivity and issues of comparability over time.

The environment around the airport serves as a metaphor for the environmental challenges that confront us, an example that is repeated in other environments.  Thus any studies done in the microclimate or vicinity of the airport could be used as examples for other areas facing similar issues. The situation around the airport must be examined in the context of the growth and economic development issues that we face, so that we can develop policy which will help us face the increasing social and economic challenges that face us.

A Washington Department of Health and King County Department of Public Health study in 1999 provides an example of a report that is focused on the area around the airport, looking at one, three and five mile bands around the airport.  Perhaps this report could be expanded to include the examination of additional variables of concern.  This report looked at the condition of glioblastoma, a neurological cancer disorder and other conditions. King County Department of Health has an extensive variety of reports available on health and sociological issues.

Future studies must include all communities impacted in the area around the airport, including those indicated in the first paragraph.  The larger question is how the externalities of airport operation may be addressed and compensated for, and the needs of the immediate and larger communities met.  It is apparent that there is a problem, that it does impact health and well being, including both psychological well being and physiological well being.  While another study would be valuable, and should be done, as the study is undertaken, steps should be taken to remedy the immediate situation in the face of increased economic development.  Perhaps permanent residential properties in the close vicinity of the airport can be purchased and used for their operations which can be moved outside the fence.

However difficult it is to bring all the variable together in a rigid analytic framework, analysis of the situation becomes apparent when you take a step back and look at the big picture.  The airport has a profound effect that does not appear to be captured fully by the measurements that are provided to us. Human beings are being experimented on, and the environment around the airport is transforming people, perhaps in a way that they do not wish to be transformed.  This issue has profound psychological, medical, economic and sociological implications.

Examination of the situation presents a number of analytic problems, many of which involve measurements and their interpretation. I discuss these issues in this and future blog articles.

The Pollutants

• The wide range of pollutants discussed form a witch's brew of chemicals, including diesel particulate matter, cadmium, arsenic, polycyclic aromatichydrocarbons (PAHs), lead, and many others.
• Air quality and water quality standards do not exist for many of the pollutants mentioned, presenting a problem in taking regulatory action.
• Pollutants may interact in unexpected ways.  With so many pollutants, and so many combinations, it may be difficult to ascertain the impact of all the interactions and the direct contribution of the airport to those interaction.  
• While it may be difficult to attribute the direct contribution of the airport to pollutant levels, the airport's impact through the multiplier effect gives greater credibility to the airport's contribution to overall pollutant levels.  At that point it becomes an issue of assigning the costs of those externalities to those benefiting from the airport's presence through the multiplier effect. An example of this would be shuttle pick up services and cabs.
• Pollutants may combine with meteorological or solar conditions in unexpected ways, perhaps generating new, transitory, and unanticipated chemical reactions
• The movement of pollutant monitors over time makes it difficult to perform long term studies analyzing the impact of pollution on public health.  Opportunity to measure long term trends and make comparisons between stations is decreased when stations are moved elsewhere.
• The methods of measuring pollutants and standards for assessing health risks have changed over the years, especially as new equipment has been developed. Questions arise as to what extent new measurement methods correlate with old methods, what information is gained or lost by using these new methods, and how the continuity of data has been impacted.
• There are locations which have not been monitored, at the western edge of the airport, which may represent a microclimate more susceptible to the pooling of polluted air, especially during inversions when the air is stagnant, considering the barrier formed by the third runway's berm.
• It is not clear to what extent the aquifer is impacted by pollutants affecting water quality, and to what extent any water pollution is due to airport operations or property.  This is an issue reflecting the Tacoma Smelter Plume and any fill underlaying the airport and its impact on the environment and other issues.
• It is difficult to ascertain the contributions of the individual sources to the pollutant load in the area, although to a certain extent usage of fuels of various types may serve as a proxy.
• While there is some information on noise levels, the metrics do not do a sufficient job of measuring the risk and the impacts. Noise decibel level frequency distributions would be helpful, especially in capturing the impact of engine backblast. It is clear that the full time population lives too close to the airport for the noise levels experienced.  Increased insulation helps, but to have full impact, requires windows to be closed.  The experience of the Federal Detention Center in Sea Tac might be helpful in analyzing this issue.
• The focus on carbon dioxide has been on its contribution as a greenhouse gas to global warming.  While this is important on a global scale, the impacts of carbon dioxide in smaller areas, microclimates may be important to analyze in so far as they may impact the emergence of health conditions.
• Air traffic control and weather radars may contribute to a variety of health conditions through the generation of electromagnetic fields ranging from 300 MHz to 15 GHz which fit within the microwave energy spectrum.  Microwaves are electromagnetic waves with frequencies between 300 MHz and 300 GHz.  It would be helpful to have more monitoring information regarding electromagnetic fields and their attenuation over distance resulting from airport operations, including radar and radio signals.
• Study results discussing pollutant results with other parameters are sometimes expressed as not exceeding a certain standard level.   It would be helpful to present the actual data values themselves, so that the public can ascertain how close the levels are to exceeding standards, and what their trends are. 

I will discuss health and other issues in the next blog article.

Sources of Information
Puget Sound Clean Air Agency - Final Report - Puget Sound Air Toxics Evaluation - October 2003
Department of Ecology - Toxic Cleanup Program (ASARCO Smelter Plume)
World Health Organization - Electromagnetic Fields
Port of Seattle - Part 150 Study
Port of Seattle - Groundwater Monitoring
Port of Seattle - Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan
Scandanavian Journal of Health - Glioblastoma Multiforme
Tacoma Smelter Plume Information - Washington Department of Ecology
King County Community Health Indicators - King County (Top 10 Leading Causes of Death)
King County Public Health -School District Health Profiles
King County Health Profile
King County Public Health - Data and Reports

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport - Environmental Issues

Airplane Landing in the Fog at Night

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport

In my recent article, "Externalities and Risks, the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport", I discussed externalities associated with Airport operations.  The Airport environment presents a number of environmental issues, many of which are impacted by meteorological factors.

Fog is an important risk factor.  Fog reduces visibility, and although airports have radar systems, fog is still a hazard for pilots to be aware of.  Fog is a cloud at ground level, water droplets or ice suspended in air.  Suspended particulates or gas molecules can provide a nucleus around which water droplets or ice can form, thus encouraging the formation of clouds.  Enucleated pollutants, such as sulfur dioxide gain an easier entry into the respiratory system, increasing the impact on health.

During the fall, winter and spring, when temperature inversions form, often in the wake of high pressure systems, there is an increased risk from pollutants, often accompanied by fog.  This is especially true in the Pacific Northwest with the influence of marine air from the Pacific Ocean.  

A normal temperature gradient is warmer air on the surface and colder air aloft.  A temperature inversion reverses the normal gradient, trapping colder air on the bottom layer, with warmer air aloft.

Temperature inversions early this year influenced the snow pack in the mountains, as temperatures warmed aloft.  Temperature inversions can impact the levels of ice pack and the availability of water from mountain sources.  Because pollutants are trapped with the warm air aloft and the cold air on the bottom,  pollutants are trapped within a lesser layer of air, increasing the density of pollutants. These conditions lead to air stagnation advisories and burn bans, which are called by the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency.

Climate change and global warming may impact a variety of meteorological factors, increasing severity.  Other meteorological factors affecting air traffic may include wind shear, thunderstorms, snow storms and heat, which is of concern in the southwest, where a certain air density is required for take off.

Pollutants from aviation operations are a concern.  Pollutants are the product of combustion of aircraft fuel, burning of oils and solvents as well as particulate matter which may become abraded especially during take off and landing (TO/L) where the stresses on parts are higher.

Aircraft emissions include a variety of gases, including those of interest in analysis of climate change and global warming.  These gases include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds, carbon monoxide and sulfur dioxide. 

A study by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) gives a comprehensive study of aircraft emissions.

The components of aircraft emissions may vary depending on whether they are aloft, and considered greenhouse gasses, or local air quality pollutants.  " Aircraft engine emissions are roughly composed of about 70 percent CO2, a little less than 30 percent H2O, and less than 1 percent each of NOx, CO, SOx, VOC, particulates, and other trace components including HAPs."

About ten percent (10%) of aircraft emissions, except for carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons occur at ground level.  Thirty percent (30%) of Carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon emissions from aircraft occur at ground level.

Carbon Dioxide and Nitric oxides, and methane, as well as water vapor have significant contributions to climate change and global warming. Ozone is also an issue with aircraft emissions, although the effect is felt downwind due to the impact and timing of the photochemical effect that produces ozone.

The airport industry, according to industry source Air Transport Action Group (ATAG), produces 2% of world carbon dioxide emissions and 12% of carbon dioxide emissions from transportation sources. The impact of carbon dioxide may be more significant before springtime, when leaves emerge on the deciduous trees.  Levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere can be illustrated by the Keeling Curve which graphs levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere over time. One concern is that carbon dioxide emissions may impact feedback mechanisms that determine breathing patterns and modulate delivery of oxygen throughout the body.

An Airport Report Quality Manual published by the International Civil Aviation Organization discusses Airport Pollution issues. They discuss various particulate matter of varying sizes (10 micrometers or less, or PM2.5 of 2.5 micrometers or less.  Particulate matter "has a very diverse composition (heavy metals, sulphates, nitrates, ammonium, organic carbons, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, dioxins/furans)."

The manual states: "Effects: fine particles and soot can cause respiratory and cardiovascular disorders, increased mortality and cancer risk; dust deposition can cause contamination of the soil, plants and also, via the food chain, human exposure to heavy metals and dioxins/furans contained in dust."

Air pollution impacts many systems. Respiratory systems, in particular, are affected, impacting the delivery of oxygen to the bloodstream, and thus to the brain, affecting the respiratory muscles and vasculature, and impacting sleep.  Air Pollution and the Respiratory System is a comprehensive journal article discussing the topic.  Cardiovascular systems also are impacted.  Air quality issues raise a number of concerns.

Noise pollution from airport operations also have a significant impact.  Meteorological conditions also affect the sound propagation, or noise emissions from airport operations.  According the "Encyclopedia of the Earth", microclimate effects can impact the refraction of sound waves through the atmosphere, intensifying sound levels.  Noise emissions may result in a variety of physiological and psychological impacts, including cardiovascular effects.  Such effects may reflect exposure to short, high intensity effects from jet engine backblast, to longer term impacts of exposure to moderate sound levels.

Emissions from Airport operations play an important role in contributing to pollution, both in the immediate area of the airport, in a larger, regional context, and with regards to global issues of planetary climate change and global warming.   Externalities from such emissions encapsulate the full downstream effects of these emissions, which impact citizens who may incur the cost of such emissions but not share in the economic benefits that the airport brings to the region.

Meteorological conditions affect the deposition of such emissions, near or far, through the atmosphere, in soil or water, or perhaps deposited in human tissue, blood or other organs of the body. Thus the effects of emissions on water systems is important  It is interesting to note that the human body is about 55% to 65% water, depending on who and what is being measured, so that the study of water systems can include the atmosphere, rivers, lakes, oceans, and even the human body.

Given the dispersion and deposition of emissions from airport operations, a challenge is to pluck out the impacts attributable to airport operations from other sources surrounding the airport, some of which are directly related to, and gain from, the airport's presence.  This issue brings me back to the original blog article on "Externalities and Risks, the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport",

Future blog articles will further explore these issues, taking into account current locally available information, assessing the measurement of risks, and considering means of compensating those impacted for the economic and social burden of the externalities in question. These are important issues that have implications for both local and global health, extending into physiological and psychological areas that impact humanity.

Blog Articles:
Externalities and Risk - The Seattle Tacoma International Airport
Climate Change and Carbon 

Climate Change and Global Health

World Health Organization Report on Air Pollution and Health

Externalities and Risk - The Seattle-Tacoma International Airport

Birds, Third Runway, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport

The City of SeaTac held a meeting on March 24, 2015 that included discussons on the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport Sustainable Master Plan by Port of Seattle representatives.   A news report of the meeting can be found on the SeaTac blog.

My comments at the meeting addressed the issue of externalities associated with airport operations and their impact on the surrounding community, especially in the area of health.  Externalties are an important topic in social and economic policy.  An externality is the consequence of an economic activity affecting a party that did not choose to participate in that activity.

There are a myriad of issues surrounding development in the area of the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.  The airport is an engine of growth and development which brings business into the region, and as a hub, enables the flow of commerce to other areas of the country and the world.  The airport provides economic benefit through the multiplier effect.  The multiplier effect is an economic term to express the economic effect that the introduction of an engine of growth has on the community.

The airport provides jobs to support direct and ancillary airport operations.  As business cluster around the airport (e.g. Car Parks, shuttles), these activities provide an engine for the economy's growth.

However economic activities have costs, as well.  In addition to direct costs to service airport operations, costs may include building more roads to service traffic that serves the airport and other municipal items.

There are a number of externalities arising out of airport operations.  These issues involve air, water and noise pollution, impacts on the respiratory and other health systems, and even sense of smell.   There are psychological impacts, as well, including psychological impacts that express themselves over a wider social framework.

Airport externality issues are felt on a local basis, by those living at the edges of the airport, nearby, those under flight paths and on a city level as cities adapt to the challenges presented by the airport's growth. While these externalities are felt most acutely locally, they are also expressed over a wider distance throughout the region as the area struggles to deal with challenges presented by increased commercial and passenger activity.

I list blog articles regarding  externalities in a variety of areas (below) to establish a context within which the impact of the airport can be viewed as an individual example of an externality.


"Externalties"
 "World Air Pollution Organization Report on Air Pollution and Health"
 "Climate Change and Global Health"
 "Avian Flu"
"Mt Rainier Balance of Risks"
 "Nuclear Balance of Risks"
"President Ronald Reagan and Alzheimer's Disease"

Climate Change and the Thermohaline Circulation

 Sea Ice, Svalbard, Norway

In my previous article on Climate Change and Carbon, I discussed the impact that carbon emissions have on climate change and global warming.  I discussed international agreements, global temperature, carbon sequestration, carbon dioxide as a sensitive indicator of climate change, and global health as a factor in how we interact with a changing world.

In this article I discuss the thermohaline circulation and its interrelationship with climate change. The thermohaline circulation may be explained by chaos theory, as a "bifurcation point", a sensitive indicator which may keep the planet under one paradigm, or place it into another paradigm, presenting planetary challenges.

Planetary cycles (Milankovitch Cycles)  indicate a trajectory at this time towards planetary cooling, or glaciation, reflecting a continuing decrease in  axial tilt (obliquity) .  This long term  cycle (41,000 years) presents psychosocial difficulties for those who are not accustomed to thinking on a scale involving geologic time. Such a scale seems way too far off to appear relevant, eclipsing by orders of magnitude scales such as 100-year floods or 500-year volcanic eruption intervals such as at Mt Rainier as discussed in my 2011 blog article.

At the same time as underlying very long term planetary cycles (e.g. obliquity) are pointing us towards planetary cooling, our earth is warming with the effects of climate change. We are in the throes of opposite systems colliding, facing very different issues.  The immediate climate change issues are important, however considering the long term factors is also relevant to the discussion.  Global health issues are tied up in both discussions, as evolution may take a variety of paths in response to planetary indicators.

My blog article, Climate Change and global health discusses some of the ramifications of health effects of climate change, including those depicted as coastal flooding.  A trend towards glaciation, a Mini-Ice Age or even in the extreme, a Snowball Earth would bring on very different changes, and adaptations and implications for global health.

The oceans are an important factor to consider in assessing such developments.  The Earth goes between icehouse and greenhouse cycles.  These cycles can be captured via examination and measurement of calcite and aragonite seas. A graph, shows the emergence of an aragonite threshold during the current period, which might indicate the emergence of a period of glaciation.  Aragonite seas  contain high magnesium calcite, and less abundantly, aragonite while calcite seas  have lower magnesium content, which increases as a threshold is reached.

The calcites  are inorganic carbonate precipitates, with calcium carbonate (CaCO3) being most common precipitate.  Other precipitates include aragonite and vaterite.  These precipitates emerge in a number of areas, including shells of marine organisms, including  plankton, foraminafera and trilobytes  (where calcite was responsible for development of eyes).
.
There are a number of planetary adjustment factors that act to keep the planet in balance.  The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has a wide variety of information for the general public on science,  research and further  information regarding the thermohaline circulation , the ocean  and its role in climate.   The thermohaline circulation is central to the issue of planetary climate control.

Positive feedback loops work to increase the risk of global warming.  This effect occurs as the sea ice extent decreases, exposing open ocean and thus decreasing the planetary albedo.    Higher albedo is associated with higher reflectivity, or less heat retention, while lower albedo is associated with lower reflectivity and greater heat absorption.

As more heat is retained by the Earth, especially in the polar regions (the Arctic and the Antarctic), warming increases.  With increased warming comes melting, of sea ice, icebergs and glaciers, This melting may impact Arctic regions  such as Greenland and Arctic Ice, as well as the Weddell Ice Shelf in Antarctica.and Antarctic Sea Ice.  Ice may be lost from glaciers, resulting in the formation of tabular icebergs, and calving of those icebergs, which may increase melting, just as a bag of ice cubes melts faster than block ice.

The melting that occurs increases the flow of fresh water into the oceans.  This is particularly felt in the Arctic, where the thermohaline circulation travels northward from the warmer Gulf Coast of North American waters to cold North Atlantic Arctic waters.

The infusion of fresh water in the North Atlantic may disrupt the sinking of the saltier water in the North Atlantic, which develops as the result of formation of sea ice (as sea ice forms, it forms from fresh water and the surrounding water gets saltier, and sinks to deeper depths).  This infusion of fresh water in the North Atlantic could result in disruption of the thermohaline conveyor belt, thus impeding the delivery of warm water from the Gulf to northern areas in both North America and Europe, resulting in much harsher winters.  A shutdown of the thermohaline circulation could have very serious impacts on global climate.

Climate Change and Carbon

Plume from Stack, Longview, Washington

Global Warming and Climate change are important topics.  Recent talks at the United Nations have highlighted the concern about these planetary issues that go beyond borders and seek to unite people in discovering means to solve the emerging problems.

The United Nations climate change site indicates that 2014 is on track to being among the hottest on record.  Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change states "Fortunately our political climate is changing too with evidence that governments, supported by investors, business and cities are moving towards a meaningful, universal climate agreement in Paris 2015 - an agreement that keeps a global temperature rise below 2 degrees C by putting in place the pathways to a deep de-carbonisation of the world's economy and climate neutrality or 'net zero' in the second half of the century."

A recent article in Scientific American discusses United Nations climate talks in Paris last December. As the article indicates "(The planet's surface has warmed about 0.85 degrees C (1.5 degrees F) since 1880, worsening floods, storms and deadly heat waves.) The 2 degrees C target has since become a keystone goal of the negotiations."

NASA's, Global Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet displays information about climate change. including graphs and latest measurements.  This information shows steadily increasing recorded carbon dioxide levels in recent history, with inputed history obtained from ice cores indicating significant variation from historical levels over three glaciation periods. Ice cores have been drawn from the Arctic, Antarctic and mountain glaciers.  The measured value as of January 2015 showed 399.73 parts per million (ppm), just under 400 ppm. At current rates it should exceed 400 ppm in February 2015.

Snow Hill Island, Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica

 NASA's Climate Change site provides information on Global Temperature.  Five year averages in global temperature are measured relative to a 1951-1980 average temperature baseline, indicating a dip in global temperature around 1910 and a steady rise since then.

Global Warming concerns have fostered considerable research  on climate change issues, seeking ways to mitigate the impacts of climate change, providing potential solutions.  Climate change and environmental issues have been addressed at local, state, federal and international levels.   The CIA World Factbook provides a list of Current Environmental issues and international agreements which countries listed are a "party to" and/or "signed, but not ratified".

I discuss some of the issues relating to climate change, including global health in other blog articles relating to Climate Change and Global Health  and Avian Flu.

Carbon, and especially carbon dioxide are sequestered in a number of areas on the planet, including in the rocks and in the oceans.  Other greenhouse gases, such as methane, are sequestered in areas such as Arctic Tundra, and in the oceans.  The questions remain as to how much capacity does our planet have to sequester carbon, without over stressing the resource with storage demands and whether there is a risk that carbon which has been already sequestered might be released back into the environment.

An outgassing of carbon dioxide at Lake Nyos (1986), in Africa, illustrates the problem which can occur with a body of water that is saturated with carbon dioxide.  Lake Nyos lies above a pocket of magma and is one of only three lakes saturated with carbon dioxide.  Lake Nyos is not the size of the ocean, however.

It is clear that carbon, and carbon dioxide are keystone issues in addressing global warming and climate change.  Global warming is especially sensitive to changes in carbon dioxide, as increases in carbon dioxide can also lead to increases in water vapor in the atmosphere, as indicated by a NASA report. Water vapor is the most abundant greenhouse gas.  Thus, increases in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere can act in a positive feedback manner to increase the greenhouse effect.

Just as carbon dioxide is a sensitive indicator in the atmosphere, and may represent a bifurcation between different climatological paradigms, one pursues, seeks and finds answers as to the equivalent impact that changing carbon dioxide atmospheric concentrations have on the human body, which is also a sensitive indicator of climate change. These findings have implications for Global Health, as well the psychosocial milieu in which mankind experiences climate change.

These are all very serious issues worthy of further research, consideration and action. The key question is the manner in which homeostasis is achieved, given the climate change issues.

Seattle Seahawks vs Green Bay Packers, 9/4/2014

The Seattle Seahawks vs New England Patriots  in the 2015 Super Bowl!

Congratulations to the reigning Seattle Seahawks 2014 Super Bowl Champions and wishing them a victory in front of their home field crowd on February 1, 2015!

January 31, 2015

Avian Flu - H5N1/H5N2/H5N8 - Pacific Northwest

Emergence of Highly Pathenogenic Flu in the Pacific Northwest (H5N1, H5N2 and H5N8)

Northern Pintail, British Columbia

A Highly Pathenogenic Strain of Avian Flu (WHO), H5N1, has appeared in Whatcom County, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest, according to a report filed by Dr John Clifford, United States Department of Agriculture with the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE). The report was filed 1/20/2015 for an event starting on 12/29/2014.  The incident involved a Green-winged Teal:Anatidae (Anas carolinensis).

The H5N1 strain's Eurasian lineage genes ( (PB2, H5, NP, MP) are over 99% identical to a gyrfalcon H5N8 strain found in Whatcom County.  It's North American lineage gene PB1 is 98% identical to a Northern Pintail H5N2 strain also found in Whatcom County, while other North American lineage genes (PA, N1, NS) are of low pathenogenicity (LPA I), according to the report filed with the OIE. This strain is a novel strain, and is different than strains appearing in Asia.

Discussion by Recombinomics  raises "the possibility of multiple constellations with the H5N2 sero-type"

The Pacific Northwest has experienced H5N2 and H5N8 strains during this fall and winter season in bird populations, as indicated by the US Department of Agriculture.

Mallard, British Columbia

Birds affected by avian flu this fall/winter 2014/5 season have included:

H5N1:  Green-winged Teal, Whatcom County, Washington.

H5N2:  Northern Pintail (Whatcom County, Washington), Broiler, Table Egg Layer, Turkey, chickens (Southern British Columbia), ducks and geese (Clallam County, Washington), mallard (Fern Ridge, Oregon), falcons (Canyon County, Idaho), turkeys, chicken, guinea fowl, water fowl (Benton County, Washington) .

H5N8: guinea fowl, chickens, ducks, geese (Winston, Douglas County, Oregon) , Wild Ducks (Idaho), grylfalcons, American Wigeon. guinea fowl, chickens, ducks and geese (Whatcom County, Washington)

The distribution of H5N2 and H5N8 in the Pacific Northwest shows an interesting pattern. Whatcom County, adjacent to the border between Washington State and British Columbia (Sumas-Lynden border crossing) offers an opportunity for mixing of the various avian flu types, given migratory paths and poultry stocks in the area. Other areas of concentration include Benton County, Washington, near Hanford, Washington as well as areas in Oregon and Idaho.

Avian Flu has a considerable impact on bird populations.  There have been limited cases of H5N1 in the human population, although one did occur in 2014 resulting from a flight from Beijing to Vancouver Canada and on to Edmonton.

Avian influenza is a disease naturally occurring in wild aquatic birds which can infect domestic poultry and other bird and animal species.  It is very difficult for humans to become infected by avian influenza, although there have been some limited human cases.  H5N1 is sustained in the avian (bird) population but not is not currently sustained in the human population.

There has been one human death from H5N1 in North America.  On December 27, 2013, a woman travelling from Beijing, China, to Vancouver, B.C. and then onto Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, became ill on the Beijing to Vancouver leg of the flight. She was admitted on January 1, 2014 to an Edmonton hospital and died two days later.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the lead U.S. Agency for the management of health issues and has information on Avian Flu.

Recombinations and reassortments of influenza viruses provide potential opportunity for the development of new strains or of human to human transmission.  The occurrence of  H5N1, H5N2 and H5N8 in the Pacific Northwest in the fall-winter 2014-5 season raise interesting questions as to the development of the one H5N1 case identified this season and as to whether there is any relationship with the H5N1 death which occurred in the prior (2013-2014) fall-winter season.

It is interesting to consider various factors which may account for the development of highly pathenogenic avian influenza in the Pacific Northwest.  These considerations may involve the locations in which the birds were found, migratory patterns, climate change, environmental factors, and the availability of reservoirs and vectors in which the virus can mix, spread and potentially become sustained in various host or intermediate host various populations.

Marilyn Dunstan Photography
Mallard Duck Flying
Ducks

Centers for Disease Control & Prevention:
CDC
CDC-Avian Flu
Human Infection with Avian Influenza A (H5N1) Virus


World Health Organization:
WHO
WHO-Avian Flu

World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE)
Gyrfalcon H5N8
Northern Pintail H5N2

US Department of Agriculture (USDA-Avian Flu)

Flu.gov
Flu
H5N1

Recombinomics:
Fujian H5N1 Reassortment in Washington
Fujian H5N2 Clade 2.3.4.4 in North America
Fujian H5N8 Clade 2.3.4.4 spread in 2014

BBC News:
First N America H5N1 Bird Flu Death Confirmed in Canada

Wikipedia:
Green-Winged Teal
Northern Pintail
Influenza Virus Subtype H5N1
Influenza Virus Subtype H5N2
Influenza Virus Subtype H5N8