How Particulate Matter From Wildfire Smoke Impacts Our Health
For people in sensitive groups, including those who are above the age of 65, under the age of five, or who have underlying health issues, the smoke poses an even greater risk.
From Sierra magazine by Emma Smith |
Last week, more than 100 million Americans were under air quality alerts as wildfire smoke spread across the United States. But the biggest danger wasn't the haze people could see -- it was PM2.5, microscopic particles that can travel deep into your lungs and even enter your bloodstream.
In this Sierra magazine article, people living with asthma, long Covid, and other health conditions share how wildfire smoke affects them, and medical experts explain what these increasingly common events can mean for all of us. |
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Alex Steiner went outside for less than two minutes to grab a package from her front porch on Friday, July 17. She lives in Washington, DC, a few blocks away from the capitol building, where air quality warnings were first issued the day before. Steiner immediately developed a headache and burning sensations in her mouth and throat, which were suddenly dry.
Inside her historic home, the air quality monitor, which detects particulate matter (PM) 2.5, was bright-red—measuring over 100 micrograms of PM per cubic meter. This is well above the Environmental Protection Agency's limit of 35 micrograms of exposure during a 24-hour period.
“I was like, ‘What do I do?’ It was crazy. I really do try to basically stay inside when this happens,” Steiner said. She has lung issues and long Covid, and meets diagnostic criteria for myalgic encephalomyelitis, a disease marked by fatigue and countless other symptoms. Before she contracted Covid in 2023, Steiner worked in international security policy. Now, she is a patient advocate. |
This article is from Sierra, the award-winning magazine of the Sierra Club. Sierra is dedicated to stories about exploring, protecting, and living in harmony with the natural world, covering everything from climate change to book reviews and profiles of local changemakers.
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Dangers of pollutants and particulate matter
Wildfire smoke is composed of water vapor, gases, and pollutants like cancer-causing carcinogens, including carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and PM. Some PM is visible to the human eye, while others can only be seen through an electron microscope. The smallest ones, PM2.5, commonly referred to as soot, have a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometers wide (100 times thinner than human hair).
While all pollutants pose health risks, PM2.5 is the most dangerous and is associated with an increased mortality rate due to its ability to travel through the walls of your lungs and into the bloodstream.
“It's like smoking a cigarette,” said Neeta Ogden, an allergist, asthma, and immunologist based in New Jersey. The materials found in cigarettes are also ingredients of wildfire smoke, including PM2.5.
Climate change and increasing occurrences of wildfires
Days of wildfire smoke smothering cities are becoming more common around the world due to climate change. Incidents are expected to increase by 50 percent by 2100, according to a study in Science Advances. As rising temperatures leave the environments drier, they are more prone to easy ignition, which also impacts our health. |
This is an abbreviated version of the full article from Sierra magazine. You can read the full article here.
Stay safe out there,
Sierra Club |
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