Laura Alcocer Quiñones

Abstract: Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS), also known as “Forever Chemicals”, are a class of contaminants that are ubiquitous, long-lasting and difficult to remove. This paper evaluates the drinking water quality impacts of stricter state regulations for PFAS contaminants. A key challenge of this analysis is the wide prevalence of interval censoring in PFAS testing. I first show that applying standard approaches that ignore this problem lead to qualitatively different results and without further assumptions, treatment effects may are not generally point-identified. I overcome this issue using a parametric approximation to recover the latent cumulative distribution function through censored maximum likelihood. I implement the changes-in-changes approach using the recovered distribution of concentration to estimate the impact of tightening regulatory standards on water quality. On the intensive margin, I find that notification level changes had no impact on water quality across the distribution. On the extensive margin, I find qualitative evidence of investment in the form of new or retrofitted treatment plants to address PFAS after notification and response levels became more stringent. I find these new treatment plants tend to be located in urban and above average income counties. The methods implemented allow for policy evaluation under interval censoring in a variety of contexts.

Infant Health in the Age of Megafires: Evidence from U.S. Wildfire Smoke Exposure with J. Hansen-Lewis (UCD)

Abstract: We quantify the impact of wildfire smoke on the universe of infant health in the United States. Climate change and historical fire suppression have dramatically increased wildfire frequency and severity in recent decades. We assemble a county-month panel dataset from 2006 to 2017 of birth records and gestational smoke exposure. Our results imply that smoke has a much more muted effect on infant health overall than the findings of existing estimates that rely on more limited settings and fewer outcomes. Additional results illustrate how the salience of smoke plays a significant role in mitigating adverse health effects. Overall, our findings underscore the potential value of information interventions and adaptation to reduce future damages from smoke.

Behavioral Responses to Information on PFAS in Water Supplies
with J. Hadachek (UW-Madison) and W. Troske (UCD)

Monitoring Forever Chemicals in Rural Water Supplies: Data Analytic Tools to Predict Water Pollution Using Existing Data with D. Ghanem (UCD), K. Jessoe (UCD)