Economic and Social Consequences of Smoke

The economic consequences of smoke are principally in the areas of soiling-related losses and costs related to reduced visibility.

Soiling-Related Economic Losses

Economic costs associated with materials damage and soiling caused by airborne particles include reduction in the useful life of the damaged materials and the decreased utility of the object. Losses caused by the need for more frequent maintenance and cleaning are also significant. Amenity losses occur when the increased cleaning or repair of materials results in inconvenience or delays, many of which are difficult to quantify (Maler and Wyzga 1976).

Within the United States, however, the soiling of buildings constitutes the largest category of surface areas at risk to pollution damage (Lipfert and Daum 1992). Soiling on painted surfaces on residential buildings, resulting in a need to repaint exterior walls, has caused damage approaching $1 billion per year (Haynie and others 1990).

Willingness-to-pay estimates developed using the contingent valuation method found that households were willing to pay $2.70 per µg/m3 charge in particle pollution to avoid soiling effects (McClelland and others 1991). No estimates are available for costs specifically associated with smoke from fires.

Visibility-Related Costs

The importance of clean, clear air within the wildlands and National Parks of this nation is hard to overemphasize. People go to these special places to enjoy scenery, the color of the landscapes, and clarity of the vistas. At Grand Canyon, 82 percent of 638 respondents rated "clean, clear air" as very important or extremely important to their recreational experience (Ross 1988). Three National Park Service (NPS) studies determined that air quality conditions affect the amount of time and money visitors are willing to spend at NPS units (Brookshire and others 1976; MacFarland and others 1983; Schulze and others 1983). These studies found estimated onsite use values for the prevention or elimination of plumes that ranged from about $3 to $6 (1989 dollars) per day per visitor party at the park. Based on these results, the implied preservation value for preventing a visible plume most days (the exact frequency was not specified) at the Grand Canyon was estimated at about $5.7 billion each year when applied to the total U.S. population (EPA 1996). Other investigators have suggested that these estimates are overstated by a factor of 2 or 3 (Chestnut and Rowe 1990).

In the studies noted above, park visitors generally responded that they would be willing to spend more time and money if visibility conditions were better and, conversely, less if visibility conditions were worse (Ross 1988). The average amount of time visitors were willing to spend traveling to a vista for every unit change in visibility (.01 km­ extinction coefficient) was between 15 minutes and 4 hours. These results provide evidence that changes in visual air quality can be expected to affect visitor enjoyment and satisfaction with park visits.

Even given the limitations and uncertainties of contingent valuation surveys, economic values related to visibility degradation are clearly likely to be substantial.

Public Perception of Haze

Perceived visual air quality (PVAQ) has been used as a measure of the publics acceptance of haze conditions (Middleton and others 1983). Subjects were asked to judge the visual air quality in several photos depicting vistas under different haze conditions using a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the worst and 10 being the best. These 1 to 10 scales reflect peoples perceptions and judgments concerning visibility conditions. By matching particulate air quality conditions that occurred at the time of the photographs, researchers have been able to develop a relationship between PVAQ and particulate matter concentrations (Middleton and others 1985). Even small increases in particulate concentrations in the atmosphere result in dramatic decreases in PVAQ. Because of the light scattering efficiency of smoke, this relationship is especially applicable to fire emissions.

Cultural Consequences of Visibility Loss

"National parks and wilderness areas are among our nations greatest treasures. Ranging from inviting coastal beaches and beautiful shorelines to colorful deserts and dramatic canyons to towering mountains and spectacular glaciers, these regions inspire us as individuals and as a nation" (NRC 1993). With these words, the National Research Council (NRC) noted the importance of preserving the scenic vistas of the nation. Congress, in recognition of the scenic values of the nation, adopted the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1977, which established a national visibility protection program. The GCVTC was later established in the 1990 amendments to the act to address visibility impairment issues relevant to the region surrounding Grand Canyon National Park. Following 4 years of study, the GCVTC concluded that smoke from wildland fires is likely to have the single greatest impact on visibility in Class I areas of the Colorado Plateau through the year 2040 (GCVTC 1996c). While difficult to quantify, there is consensus that visibility loss associated with smoke from wildland fire and other sources has important cultural consequences on the nation.