Canada Wildfire Smoke Hits Northeast U.S., Here Are Potential Health Effects

Talk about the hazy shade of spring. Smoke from raging wildfires in Central Canada over the past six weeks has been traveling southward. That’s progressively been causing a haze across much of the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic U.S., hitting those areas hard on Tuesday and Wednesday. It’s also thrown quite a lot of shade on these areas, figuratively, resulting in bad air-quality advisories affecting around 110 million people. And if you are in an area where the air quality has been deemed somewhere from “unhealthy” to “hazardous,” you may want to “air” on the side of caution. All the toxins and particulate matter in wildfire smoke can bring some particularly concerning health risks.

For an example of what this wildfire smoke from areas such as Quebec and Alberta, Canada, has done so far, take a look at what’s been happening in New York City. Or maybe you haven’t seen what’s been happening because it’s been so darn hazy outside. On Wednesday, many parts of NYC took on an orange hue, as the following EarthCam footage showed:

Now, an orange shade may be fine on a pumpkin, Cheez-Its or certain prominent people’s faces. But not in this case. The orange hue has been coming from the sunlight refracting off all the particulate matter floating in the air. Manhattan borough president Mark D. Levine tweeted a graph showing how the amount of PM_2.5 has been going up and up since Tuesday:

PM_2.5 stands for particulate matter that is 2.5 micrometers or smaller. These are considered “fine inhalable particles” because they are small enough to get into the smallest airways of your lungs—not particularly a good thing. As you can see by Levin’s tweet, on Wednesday afternoon, New York City air has been hovering in the “Very Unhealthy” range.

In fact, the wildfire smoke has helped the city top the list of the worst air quality in the world for now, which ain’t easy since there’s kind of a lot of competition for that title. Health officials have been urging people in New York to limit their outdoor activities today and potentially over the next few days until the smoke blows away. This has included New York City schools canceling all of their outdoor activities on Wednesday.

The smoke has also led to poor visibility, prompting the Federal Aviation Association (FAA) to effectively say, “slow down you’re moving too fast” to flight traffic in and out of Newark and LaGuardia airports on Wednesday.

And take a look at this. New York State governor Kathy Hochul has announced that the state will be distributing N95 face masks on Thursday morning:

You remember N95 face masks, right? They’re those things that actually work at blocking not only respiratory viruses such as the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) but also particulate matter from getting into your nose and mouth, as I described for Forbes on September 20, 2020. And while you may want a smoking body, it’s not good to have smoke on or in your body.

“Smoke is never good in its various forms,” emphasized Daniel Kass, MSPH, senior vice president of environmental health at Vital Strategies and the former deputy commissioner for environmental health at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene from 2009 to 2016. “Air pollution is responsible for 5 to 7 million deaths a year. While most of these deaths are from chronic exposures, when air pollution rises even in the short term it can pose health risks especially in vulnerable populations.”

The song “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” is only partly correct. The toxic gases and particulate matter can certainly irritate your eyes. Avoiding the smoke, wearing goggles or wearing a Darth Vader suit may help prevent this irritation. Artificial tears and cold compresses can relieve the irritation. But smoke can get into and affect other parts of your body, too.

A major concern is what smoke can do to your respiratory and cardiovascular systems. Inhaling such particulate matter can irritate your airways, leading to coughing, chest pain and difficulty breathing. This can be particulate-ly problematic for those who already have underlying respiratory problems such as asthma or emphysema. It could be the thing that tips you over to suffering life-threatening respiratory distress.

Such particulate matter can trigger cardiovascular events such as heart attacks and strokes as well. “New York City has an annual average of about 8 micrograms per cubic meter fine particulate matter,” according to Kass. “It is currently more than 140 micrograms per cubic meter.

“Studies have shown that for every increase of 10 micrograms per cubic meter there’s been a one to two percent increase in cardiovascular hospitalizations and deaths,” he added. “There will probably be more strokes, heart attacks and hospitalizations this week. That’s the worry.”

And take a wild guess as to what kind of people will likely suffer a greater proportion of hospitalizations and deaths? Surprise, surprise, it’s the people who are already disadvantaged socially and economically. “I worry about who’s vulnerable,” said Kass. “The poor will suffer the most. For example, many who are poor will not be able to afford good air filtration devices.”

Even if you get through this “smoke screen” from the wildfires seemingly unscathed, there could be longer-term effects. Smoke inhalation can add up over time. Besides exacerbating chronic diseases in those who already have diagnoses such as asthma, emphysema, coronary artery disease or heart failure, there are concerns that smoke exposure over time can lead to the development of various health problems such as lung issues, cardiovascular problems and cancer. The exact degrees of risk aren’t exactly clear yet because few people would agree to a study where smoke is blown into their faces each day for years to see what might happen in the longer run. Therefore, a lot of the existing data comes from studies in the laboratory and other animals as well as studies that compare what happens over time to large groups of people living in different areas that have different levels of air pollution. It can be hard to tease out cause and effect when so many other factors are at play.

Regardless, inhaling smoke is not like bedazzling. Even a little amount is not good for you. Therefore, it’s best to minimize your exposure to wildfire smoke as much as possible. When the outdoor air quality is bad, try to stay indoors. Keep doors and windows closed. Additionally, try to avoid activities that will lead you to breathe heavily, such as vigorous physical activity or watching someone eat sushi if you might inhale smoky air. As the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advises, running the air conditioner can help filter air but make sure it is on the right setting, otherwise the air conditioner will be simply pumping smoke into your house or apartment.

Air cleaning machines can help if they are equipped with high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters. Be careful, though. Manufacturers of air cleaning machines may make bogus claims. In fact, some machines may actually pollute the air by generating excess ozone, which would be sort of like drying yourself off with sheets of Swiss cheese after a shower. To find legitimate air cleaning devices, look to recommendations from governmental sources such as the California Air Resources Board (CARB), which runs a certification program and provides a list of certified air cleaners.

If you have to go outside, consider wearing an appropriate mask or respirator. This doesn’t mean a bandana or a Batman mask. It has to actually form a seal over your face and nose and properly filter out particulate matters. An N95 face mask or P100 “particulate respirator” would serve this purpose. Make sure it’s been tested and approved by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Don't be scammed by fake N95 or P100 masks. The product should have the word “NIOSH” on it. If it says NOSH instead, you may be wearing something else besides an approved face mask. If this face mask doesn’t form a tight seal over your nose and mouth, smoke can still sneak into those openings. Since facial hair may prevent a tight seal, consider shaving, especially if you look like Gandalf the Wizard.

Remember, just because you can’t smell anything unusual doesn’t mean that particulate matter and toxins aren’t in the air. Wildfire smoke isn’t like coffee, a fart or teen spirit. You can’t necessarily smell it. Wildfire smoke can be odorless. Therefore, whenever there are air-quality warnings, take appropriate precautions even when you can’t detect anything in the air. The term silent but deadly doesn’t just apply to things that come out of your bottom.

The bottom line is that this wildfire smoke situation brings some real health risks. The current wildfire smoke advisories will probably be lifted in a few days to a week, although it can be hard to predict what will happen as wind patterns and other conditions change over time. But this probably won’t be the last time that you’ll have to deal with such problems. Quite the contrary. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), multiple studies have shown that climate change has already been linked to increases in wildfire season length, wildfire frequency and burned areas. So don’t believe the claims out there that climate change is no big deal, especially when they come from companies that want to keep polluting. And polluting and polluting. Anyone suggesting that climate change is not something that needs to be urgently addressed could be simply blowing smoke up you know where.