Wildfires in central Oregon continue to funnel smoke into Southwest Idaho and the air quality in the Treasure Valley remains poor. The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality has issued several advisories since July 20.
As local air quality readings remain in the unhealthy to hazardous range, what are the impacts of wildfire smoke exposure on people’s health?
“This could be categorized as apocalyptic,” said Luke Montrose, an Environmental toxicologist at Colorado State University, “you would not want this to go on for very long.”
Wildfire smoke is made of very small particles that can bob and weave through the nose’s filtering process and settle in the lungs. At 2.5 micrometers -1/50 of the size of a grain of sand - those particles are different from ash.
The longer people are exposed to smoke particles, the more end up in the lungs and the harder it is for the body’s natural defense mechanisms to block them from being absorbed.
“Your lungs are built to breathe in oxygen and exchange that oxygen across the blood and send it all around the body,” he said. “If your lungs aren't able to do that because there's stuff in the way, then that's a problem,” Montrose said.
Despite sometimes smelling very similar, wildland fire emissions are different from campfire smoke. Montrose said wildfire smoke pollutants are also not the same as your run-of-the-mill urban air pollution. The chemical composition of smoke varies greatly depending on what fires burn through - urban versus wild landscapes, for example.
Wildfire smoke can contain compounds as toxic as those released by industrial manufacturing, which can impact the health of those exposed to it.
Short-term symptoms can include asthma flare-ups, allergies and cardiovascular distress, affecting people differently depending on individual medical sensitivities.
The cumulative impacts of repeated exposure are less known.
Studies have shown wildfire smoke may impact reproductive health in animals, while some data suggests wood smoke is linked to cognitive decline in humans. Montrose said further research is needed to really understand the impact on brain health and the immune system.
“The challenge here is we need long term funding to understand what the long term consequences of wildfire smoke are,” he added, “and right now, there aren't very many, if any, long-term wildfire smoke exposure studies.”
Find more information on how to keep you and your pets safe from wildfire smoke here.
