Monitoring Reduction Efforts for PM2.5 in Ellensburg,WA Using Community-Based Social Marketing to Examine Behavioral Change

Author

Kelsey Gibbs, Central Washington UniversityFollow

Document Type

Thesis

Date of Degree Completion

Spring 2017

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Cultural and Environmental Resource Management

Committee Chair

Pamela McMullin-Messier

Second Committee Member

Anne Johansen

Third Committee Member

Jennifer Lipton

Abstract

In 2011, Ellensburg, Washington was labeled by the Washington Department of Ecology as being vulnerable for violating National Ambient Air Quality Standards for particulate pollution (PM_2.5­). In the Kittitas Basin, winter-time frequent air inversions and stagnant air events trap pollution near the ground, elevating pollutant concentrations during winter months. Wood smoke from household burning has been identified by mobile PM_2.5 monitoring completed in 2015 as the primary source of PM­_2.5. This research utilizes community-based social marketing techniques to encourage behavioral change for wood burning in a targeted neighborhood in Ellensburg. Residents of the target neighborhood were interviewed to gage knowledge and perceptions about wood burning and local air quality. Throughout the home-heating season mobile sampling for PM­_2.5 and black carbon was conducted (i) to evaluate relative changes in PM­_2.5 concentrations throughout the city from the 2015 mobile sampling study and the data collected in 2017, and (ii) to determine the effectiveness of informational campaigns on behavioral change in the population within the target area that may have affected emissions. Data on knowledge and perception was obtained through 15 individual interviews and data on air quality was collected during 5 sampling evenings in winter of 2017. Analysis of findings using ArcGIS and R statistical software indicates that PM_2.5­ concentrations in 2017 are higher than in 2015 as a whole. The increase in pollutant concentrations shows that the pilot community-based social marketing strategies used in the target neighborhood were not effective in altering behaviors that are associated with PM_2.5 producing activities in the time of this study. Suggestions for future research and management of PM_2.5 reductions efforts are made within this study.

Recommended Citation

Gibbs, Kelsey, "Monitoring Reduction Efforts for PM2.5 in Ellensburg,WA Using Community-Based Social Marketing to Examine Behavioral Change" (2017). All Master's Theses. 667.
https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/etd/667

Language

English