Canada wildfire smoke causes increased risk for CT kids, elderly

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Stamford Hospital Chair of Infectious Diseases Dr. Michael Parry demonstrates an N95 medical mask while speaking about the coronavirus at Stamford Hospital in Stamford, Conn. March 4, 2020. State officials are asking schools to check whether they received recalled N95 masks.

The sun is seen though clouds in Waterbury, Conn. Tuesday, June 6, 2023. The sun's bright color is caused by the smoke in an effect known as Mie scattering.

The wildfire smoke smothering Connecticut is creating a significant risk for children, the elderly and other vulnerable populations, health experts say.

"This air quality is about as poor as most of us can remember and it's certainly the worst for people at risk of lung diseases," said Dr. Michael Bernstein, director of pulmonary critical care at Stamford Health.

Across Connecticut, DEEP's air quality index is in the red for "unhealthy" to "very unhealthy." Fine particles from the yellow-gray smoke from Canadian wildfires are making the air between southern Connecticut and northern New York dangerous.

The toll of this air pollution on public health is hard to quantify. Unlike infectious diseases there aren't mechanisms in place to mark if someone has died due to the effects of smoke from a wildfire. Doug Brugge professor and chair of the department of public health at the UConn School of Medicine said he is sure that it is happening.

"It's killing people right now, I’m certain of that," said Brugge, an air pollution researcher. He said the most dangerous component of the wildfire smoke is tiny, airborne particles of burnt wood. Most of them are 2.5 micrometers or less in diameter, much smaller than the width of a human hair. When inhaled at high concentrations these particles can cause heart attacks, stroke and asthma episodes.

"These particles get deep into your lungs and it's very well shown that they are extremely toxic and contribute to high public health burdens worldwide, especially at levels like this," Brugge explained. He said wildfire smoke particles could aggravate COPD, or trigger heart attacks because smoke particles can cause lung inflammation."

A map portraying smoke traveling from the Quebec region of Canada.

The Connecticut Department of Health said that people with asthma, lung or heart conditions avoid exercising outside today and tomorrow and to keep windows closed. Children and elderly people are at particularly high risk. Stamford Health's Bernstein recommended that if you can't avoid going outside that you wear an N95 or similarly rated face mask.

"The health effects for some people may include chest tightness, shortness of breath, wheezing, coughing, eye irritation, chest pain, dizziness or lightheadedness, and other symptoms," said state Department of Public Health Commissioner Manisha Juthani. ‘We recommend that you avoid any outdoor exercise today if you have an underlying health condition. Be sure to have your medications readily available and seek medical attention if these issues worsen."

Bernstein said that anyone with lung or heart disease, chronic inflammatory problems, or who is pregnant, should avoid going outside and doing anything strenuous. People might experience bronchial-hyperactivity, an inflammatory spike in their small airways that causes coughing and wheezing. People might also experience more risk of lung infections as microbes take advantage of damaged lung defenses. He recommends people keep an eye on their symptoms and keep any emergency medications close at hand while the smoke covers the state.

"If you think about it, the lungs are outside the body in many ways," said Bernstein. "You can put your hand into the lungs without going through any unnatural holes. Unlike your heart or kidneys your lungs are completely exposed to the environment."

UConn's Brugge takes this one step farther. His specialty is indoor air pollution and he said that many buildings are not good at blocking outdoor air pollution. While window air conditioners might help a little the best thing people can do is run indoor air purifiers, Brugge said.

"The caveat is that air purifiers are expensive," said Brugge. He said that if you couldn't afford air purifiers that you could make a decent one out of a box fan and four air filters. "If you can't afford a high quality air filter it's a good idea. It's about 65$ for the filters and box fan and they’re very effective."

Smoke from wildfires on Nova Scotia was visible on satellite moving over the Connecticut region. The smoke is expected to continue in places on Thursday before dissipating Thursday night.

Brugge said that eventually this smoke would blow away and that things would go back to normal but that we shouldn't be complacent. Wildfires are more likely due to climate change and chronic smoke exposure can wreak havoc on human health in the long term. And even when the smoke clears there's still particulate pollution from industrial and vehicle exhaust that need to be contended with.

"The long-term effects of air pollution are greater larger than those in the short term," said Brugge. "Even when the skies are clear and we’re not having this obvious awareness of air pollution it is still contributing to the development of cardiovascular and respiratory problems."