Hospital visits for heart disease, stroke and lung afflictions in Fairbanks rise as the air quality deteriorates, according to new study by the state of Alaska.

A researcher with the state Section of Epidemiology combed over five years of records at the Fairbanks Memorial Hospital. She found that for every 10 micrograms per cubic meter increase of a harmful pollutant known as PM2.5:

• a 7 percent increased risk that someone under age 65 will visit the hospital because of stroke symptoms,

• a 6 percent increased risk for people over age 65,

• a 6 percent increased risk that someone under 65 will visit the hospital for a respiratory illness.

The examination of hospital visits is the first study looking at air quality health impacts in Fairbanks.

Other studies show that wood smoke is a major contributor to PM2.5.

“Basically, this study reaffirms what has already been demonstrated in similar studies performed outside of Alaska,” the study’s author, epidemiologist Rachel Kossover, said in a written statement. “People with heart and lung problems need to take air quality warnings seriously and follow the advice of local officials.”

Congress focuses on whether the Environmental Protection Agency should go where no federal regulators have gone before and regulate greenhouse gases. But the agency did something more prosaic on Monday, albeit something it has not done effectively for the last 15 years or so: it put more than 100 cement kilns on notice that they will have to spend almost $1 billion annually to clean up the pollution they put into the atmosphere.

That’s the agency’s estimate. A statement by the Portland Cement Association, a trade group, put the cost at “several billion dollars.”

The E.P.A. estimates that the new rules will eliminate 92 percent of the mercury and fine-particulate emissions from cement kilns (more than 10 percent of the national total). The rule will also save 960 to 2,500 lives annually starting in 2013, not to mention avert hundreds of cases of bronchitis and 1,500 heart attacks, the agency said.

Continue reading: E.P.A. Cracks Down on Cement Pollution

The borough began taking applications last week for its wood stove repair and replacement program.

“The program is up and operational,” air quality director Glenn Miller said.

Applications are available at the borough air quality office on Peger Road.

The program is still evolving, and applications won’t be available on the borough website until final modifications are made, Miller said.

Qualifying residents will receive government assistance replacing outdoor wood boilers and old wood stoves for cleaner-burning models approved by the Environmental Protection Agency. Cash payouts and tax credits are available to those who switch to gas or oil heat.

The program is part of a larger endeavor to improve the air in Fairbanks.

The Borough Clerk last week compiled ballot language for the home heating initiative.

Fairbanks North Star Borough voters on Oct. 5 will be asked to vote yes or no on the following statement: “The borough shall not ban, prohibit, or fine residents for the use of home heating devices.”

If the ballot measure passes, the outcome is a matter of debate.

The Borough Attorney said she won’t issue a legal opinion on the measure unless the voters approve it.

Sponsors say their goal is to repeal regulations on home heating devices, but some local leaders think approval of the ballot measure effectively would turn over air quality enforcement to the state.

The number of people who heat with wood in the Fairbanks North Star Borough is slowly rising, a new study shows.

Researchers called 300 area households last winter and asked a series of questions, mostly regarding home heating habits.

They found the number of borough households using wood heat has gone up about 7 percent since 2006.

A breakdown by area shows wood heat is more popular in North Pole than any other ZIP code.

Borough administrators are using the survey results to help decide where to steer funding for a wood stove replacement program. Future studies will be used to gauge whether the local air pollution control program is working.

Continue reading: Study finds more Fairbanks borough homes keep warm by burning wood than in 2006

The Alaska Railroad Corp. is taking steps to reduce coal dust that for years has dirtied the scenic tourist town of Seward.

The railroad and Aurora Energy Services have reached an agreement with the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation to install measures to control the coal dust that residents say flies from huge piles of coal at the loading facility next to the harbor.

The railroad has agreed to pay a fine of nearly $220,000, with much of that money going toward the cost of mitigation measures. Those include installing multiple high pressure spray bars to keep dust down, and sealing and adding a misting system inside the coal chute.

The railroad and Aurora, which is an affiliate of the Usibelli coal mine near Healy, also are required to maintain the new mitigation systems and to monitor all ship loading, railcar unloading and stockpile activities at the coal terminal. The DEC’s compliance order also sets in place quicker procedures for public complaints.

Continue reading: Alaska Railroad takes steps to reduce coal dust

A ballot group succeeded in gaining the signatures to put a question to the Fairbanks area voters that, if approved, would reverse new air pollution regulations.

A Fairbanks North Star Borough canvassing board approved the signatures last week.

The question about whether the borough should be allowed to regulate home heating devices will appear on the Oct. 5 ballot, according to borough officials and a member of the ballot measure group. The group needed 2,379 signatures.

Rick VanderKolk, treasurer of the North Star Landowners, said the ballot measure group is raising money to publicize the measure, dubbed The Home Heating Protection Act.

If approved by the voters, the act states that “the borough shall not ban, prohibit or fine residents for the use of home heating devices.” It effectively reverses air pollution regulations passed last month and aimed at dense chimney smoke that puts out a harmful pollutant known as PM 2.5. The federal government has put the borough on notice to reduce levels of PM 2.5.

The ballot measure group is backed by Rep. Tammy Wilson, R-North Pole; businessman Craig Compeau; radio personality Michael Dukes and others.

Everyone in Fairbanks knows summer is when the ground thaws and your bones warm. But it’s also the season when your walls dry by shedding moisture deposited in the wall cavity during the winter. When walls warm in the sun, built-up water vapor wants to go back outside where there’s less moisture.

“The way we build walls controls how much that happens,” said Colin Craven, product testing director at the Cold Climate Housing Research Center. “You want your walls to be able to breathe one way or the other.”

Today, many homeowners add outer foam-board insulation to their houses to save energy, but the extra layer can trap moisture inside the walls, causing mold and decay.

“We always thought, ‘Should we really do this?’ It seems to be working, but there’s no real data besides ‘We haven’t seen houses fall down yet,’” said Terry Duszynski, a Fairbanks energy rater who helped jump start the project.

This summer, the research center is completing a yearlong test of how various wall systems handle moisture in Alaska climates to avoid this type of problem.

A local group opposed to a new borough ordinance that regulates the sale, installation and use of wood and coal stoves, has gathered enough signatures to challenge the ordinance.

North Star Landowners, sponsors of The Home Heating Protection Act, gathered more than 3,000 signatures for the petition, according to group treasurer Rick VanderKolk. A total of 2,379 qualified signatures are required before the initiative can be added to the October election ballot.

The petition books have been submitted to the Fairbanks North Star Borough municipal clerk’s office and will be reviewed next week.

“The signatures were collected rapidly. I hope this sends the Borough the clear message that air quality problems are isolated, not pervasive,” Rep. Tammie Wilson stated in an e-mail. Wilson is one of the initiative’s sponsors.

The borough ordinance, which also restricts chimney smoke emissions in an attempt to lower levels of a fine particulate pollution known as PM 2.5., was adopted June 10.

The Anchorage area’s private trash hauler, Alaska Waste, is picking up used food-frying oil and has started turning it into biodiesel to power its trucks.

The company showed off its new $3 million plant Thursday in south Anchorage where it turned out its first batch of biodiesel last week.

Alaska Waste is collecting oil from 240 restaurants, groceries, hotels and hospitals from Girdwood to Wasilla.

The Anchorage Daily News reports that previously most of the food grease from Anchorage had been dumped in landfills or barged to the Lower 48.

Alaska Waste built the plant to capitalize on a useful product, reduce air pollution and keep grease out of the landfill, said Jeff Riley, Alaska Waste’s chief operating officer. In the future, the company might team up with local fuel distributors to enable Anchorage residents to purchase some of the biodiesel. It creates fewer greenhouse gas emissions than regular diesel, he said.