![]() ![]() So the mix of gasses and particles can be really different depending on those conditions," she said. "It depends on what's burning, it depends on how hot it's burning, and it depends on what the weather conditions are around the fire. The chemical makeup of wildfire smoke is complex, said Henderson. "We just don't have a lot of evidence yet about what the health impacts of those longer-term patterns are going to be." What makes wildfire smoke harmful? "What we're seeing is communities having really big exposures in one summer, or exposures that last for weeks or months, summer after summer," said Henderson. It's an important area of research, they say, because more of us are going to be exposed to smoke in the coming years - and in increasing amounts - as wildfires increase in intensity and size. (Ben Nelms/CBC)Īs Canadians learn to deal with the immediate health effects of wildfire smoke - from running indoor air purifiers to adjusting outdoor plans - researchers are gradually learning more about the long-term impacts smoke exposure could have on the body. Exposure to wildfire smoke has been shown to cause increased risk of cardiovascular conditions for those with underlying heart problems. Send an email to are very sensitive to it and more sensitive to wildfire smoke than to other kinds of air pollution," said Henderson, the scientific director of environmental health services at the B.C. Have you noticed the price of fire insurance going up? We want to hear from you for an upcoming story."I always talk about people with chronic respiratory diseases like asthma and COPD as the canaries in the coal mine of wildfire smoke," Sarah Henderson, an epidemiologist who researches wildfire smoke, told Dr. If you have an underlying respiratory or cardiovascular health condition, you are more at risk. Wildfire smoke has also been affecting air quality for millions of people in this country, causing short-term health effects such as burning eyes, sore throat, cough and headache. It's been an early start to the wildfire season in Canada, with more than one million hectares burned in Alberta alone and thousands of people forced to evacuate their homes across Western Canada and in parts of the Maritimes. The Dose 24:44 How do atmospheric pollutants affect my health, especially around wildfire smoke? ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |