wildfire smoke warning network leave many exposed Studies in developing countries have also found increases in respiratory infections with people who are cooking on open fires in homes. A colleague who looked at lag time in the effect of wildfire smoke exposure found an increase in influenza cases after a bad fire season. One concern is that smoke can suppress macrophage function, altering it enough that you become more susceptible to respiratory infection. Where macrophages are found in alveoli, the tiny air sacs in the lungs. It’s when the system gets overwhelmed that you can have a problem. Generally, cells in the lungs called alveolar macrophages will pick up the particulates and clear them out – at reasonable doses. If you’re healthy, your body for the most part will be able to handle it.Īs with a lot of things, the dose makes the poison – almost anything can be harmful at a certain dose. With exposure to wildfire smoke, you might get some irritation in the nose and throat and maybe some inflammation.
If you have ever been around a campfire and got a blast of smoke in your face, you probably had some irritation. How does inhaling wildfire smoke harm human health? Chemists often talk about volatile organic compounds, (VOCs), carbon monoxide and PAHs, or polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons produced when biomass and other matter burns having the potential to harm human health. If the fire is in the wildland urban interface, manufactured fuels from homes and vehicles may also be burning, and that’s going to create its own toxic chemistry, as well. In the northern Rockies, where I live, most fires are fueled by vegetation, but not all vegetation is the same. Light purple indicates very unhealthy air red is unhealthy orange is unhealthy for sensitive groups and yellow indicates moderate risk. Dark purple dots indicate hazardous air quality. Smoke from wildfires in Canada was detected across a large part of the U.S. READ MORE: 10 tips for coping with wildfire smoke, from a public health expertĮxposure to PM2.5 from smoke or other air pollution, such as vehicle emissions, can exacerbate health conditions like asthma and reduce lung function in ways that can worsen existing respiratory problems and even heart disease.īut the term PM2.5 only tells you about size, not composition – what is burning can make a significant difference in the chemistry. That’s particulate matter 2.5 microns or smaller – small enough that it can travel deep into the lungs. When we talk about air quality, we often talk about PM2.5. What’s in wildfire smoke that’s a problem? The Conversation asked Chris Migliaccio, a toxicologist at the University of Montana who studies the impact of wildfire smoke on human health, about the health risks people can face when smoke blows in from distant wildfires.
The smoke has triggered air quality alerts in several states in recent weeks. New York City and Detroit were both listed among the five most polluted cities in the world because of the fires on June 7, 2023. Smoke from more than 100 wildfires burning across Canada has been rolling into North American cities far from the flames.
0 kommentar(er)
