Study gives glimpse of optimism for borough air quality [Video]

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (KTVF) – Air quality isn’t always topic ripe for optimism in the Fairbanks North Star Borough (FNSB), but a recent study gives reason to think things are looking up.

Published in November in ACS Environmental Science and Technology Air, the research found home heating fuels contribute much more primary sulfate than secondary sulfate to the nonattainment area’s profile of particulate matter smaller than 2.5 microns (PM2.5).

“It’s really important for Fairbanks because we can control primary pollutants easily, and we can reduce the amount of sulfur that we’re burning, and thus reduce the amount of particulate matter — clean up the air, essentially,” study co-author and environmental chemist Bill Simpson said in a Wednesday interview.

It’s a technical distinction between the two types of sulfate, but a crucial one.

The difference boils down to the moment at which the sulfur in a fuel oxidizes. In other words, when …