Smoke Prompts Health Concerns

From our partners Updated: Sep 24, 2012, 1:02 PM EDT weather.com

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Wildfires Grow Into Health Problem

 

As nearly 30 wildfires continue to burn in the forests of Idaho, Oregon, Washington and Montana, smoke has been an ongoing problem for many western communities, posing health concerns and canceling events.
As air quality alerts have been issued, football games, homecoming activities and concerts have been canceled, and schoolchildren have been kept inside during recess. In Idaho, outdoor burning has been banned.
Wildfire smoke suspends tiny bits of material known as particulate matter that can cause problems for people with health problems, children and the elderly.
Smoke from fires, combined with dry conditions and a high pressure weather system over the region, will likely keep the haze hanging around, forecasters said.
(MORE: Any Relief Ahead? | Firefighters Get a Break)

AP Photo

Areli Solano-Arroyo, 12, left, and Tania Sanchez-Dena, 12, students from Sterling Intermediate School in East Wenatchee, Wash., wear masks as they walk outside to lunch to protect themselves from the hazardous air conditions from local wildfires.

Residents closest to Washington’s Wenatchee Complex and Table Mountain fires, which have burned more than 70,000 so far and is still only minimally contained, have the most cause for concern.
"People should be concerned, but not overly alarmed," said Dr. Joel Kaufman, a professor of environmental and occupational health at the University of Washington.
His sentiment was echoed by Dr. David Daniel, who works in pulmonary medicine at Wenatchee Valley Medical Center, and Anthony Wexler, director of the Air Quality Resource Center at the University of California-Davis.

How Dangerous is the Smoke?

Kaufman said  the air in Wenatchee is probably more dangerous than the air after Mount St. Helens blew. It's definitely worse than the air in Los Angeles, but difficult to say if it's worse than living there for a year, he said. He said it's really not known whether the short-term exposure to high levels of particles in the air is worse than a lifetime of smoking. Cigarette smoke is probably worse, but smokers don't breathe in smoke all day, every day, he said, adding, "I do think a lifetime of smoking is going to have a lot more serious effects for most people than a couple of weeks of these air pollution levels."
Wexler had this advice for residents in the fire zone: Take it easy, lay off the chores, don’t get your pulse up and think about leaving town if you can.

What Do You Recommend for Children?

"You shouldn't be having PE if the kids are in school. But knowing kids, I also don't think the parents are just keeping them home locked up indoors either," Wexler said. "So school might be a better thing for them, because at least they'll be indoors doing something that's real sedentary, doing math or English or whatever it is, and not running around outside." Indoor physical education, he said, might be inadvisable: "Even though the concentrations are lower indoors, they're still going to be too high."
Kaufman said children, especially young ones, should stay inside, and if they show symptoms, like coughing or having trouble breathing, "I would have a low threshold in leaving the area."

What About Those Who Work Outdoors?

"I don't think it's absolutely mandatory for a healthy person" to wear a mask, Kaufman said. "But if they have a pre-existing condition, maybe working outside during an event like this is not a good idea."

What Other Issues Could Those Living with the Smoke Experience?

The  lack of sleep from smoke is an issue for everyone, Daniel said. "We all know that if we don't sleep well, we wake up tired and get cranky and irritable. But as any medical problem it can also trigger medical problems, such as headaches.
Kaufman said if a heart attack or stroke is triggered by the smoke, those people probably already had a medical problem, they just weren't aware of it. "The stress of any event can trigger it," he said, adding, "Before this fire, we all made lifestyle decisions that probably have a greater influence on our time of death."

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