GREEN”
The Air Quality Advisory for today Monday April
30th, TO NOON, tomorrow Tuesday May 1st IS GREEN.
The
Green
Advisory Call means:
1.
ALL
WOODSTOVES, PELLET STOVES AND FIREPLACES MAY BE USED INSIDE AND OUTSIDE THE AQ
ZONE as per Klamath County Ordinance 406.100.
2. OUTDOOR
BURNING IS NOT ALLOWED INSIDE THE AIR QUALITY ZONE as per Klamath County
Ordinance 406.150 (2).
3. OUTDOOR
OR OPEN BURNING IS ALLOWED OUTSIDE THE AIR QUALITY ZONE
as per oar# 340-264-0060 (3) and Klamath
County Ordinance # 406.100 (4)(E), You must have a
permit for outdoor burning in Chiloquin. Call Chiloquin’s Fire District office
for a permit Do not burn trash.
Air
Quality Awareness 2018 week
Health
effects of smoke
Wildfires expose
populations to a number of environmental hazards, e.g., fire, smoke, and the
byproducts of combustion of wood, as well as, plastics and other chemicals that
can be released from burning structures and furnishings, and also hazards such
as psychological stress. During the acute phase, the major hazards are from the
wildfire itself and associated smoke exposure.
Particulate
matter exposure is the principal public health threat from short-term exposures
to wildfire smoke. The effects of smoke range from eye and respiratory tract
irritation to more serious disorders, including reduced lung function,
bronchitis, exacerbation of asthma and heart failure, and premature death. Most
of our understanding on the health effects of wildfire smoke are derived from
studies of urban particulate matter, specifically fine particulate matter.
These studies have found that short-term exposures (i.e., days to weeks) to
fine particles, a major component of smoke, are linked with increased premature
mortality and aggravation of pre-existing respiratory and cardiovascular
disease. Children, pregnant women, and elderly are also especially vulnerable
to smoke exposure. In addition, fine particles are respiratory irritants, and
exposures to high concentrations can cause persistent cough, phlegm, wheezing,
and difficulty breathing. Exposures to fine particles can also affect healthy
people, causing respiratory symptoms, transient reductions in lung function,
and pulmonary inflammation. Particulate matter may also affect the body’s
physiological mechanisms that remove inhaled foreign materials from the lungs,
such as pollen and bacteria.
Carbon monoxide
(CO) enters the bloodstream through the lungs and reduces oxygen delivery to
the body’s organs and tissues. CO concentrations typical of population
exposures related to wildfire smoke do not pose a significant hazard, except to
some sensitive individuals and to firefighters very close to the fire line.
Individuals who may experience health effects from lower levels of CO are those
who have cardiovascular disease: they may experience chest pain or cardiac
arrhythmias. At higher levels (such as those that occur in major structural
fires), CO exposure can cause headache, weakness, dizziness, confusion, nausea,
disorientation, visual impairment, coma, and death, even in otherwise healthy
individuals.
Wildfire smoke
also contains significant quantities of respiratory irritants, which can act in
concert to produce eye and respiratory irritation and potentially exacerbate
asthma. Formaldehyde and acrolein are two of the principal contributors to the
cumulative irritant properties of smoke.
One concern
that may be raised by members of the general public is whether they run an
increased risk of cancer or of other chronic health conditions (e.g. heart
disease) from short-term exposure to wildfire smoke. It is well characterized
that smoke contains carcinogenic components with polycyclic aromatic
hydrocarbons (PAHs) comprising the largest percent, and to a lesser extent
benzene and formaldehyde. People exposed to toxic air pollutants, such as the
ones mentioned above, at sufficient concentrations and durations may have
slightly increased risks of cancer or of experiencing other chronic health
problems. However, in general, the long-term risks from short-term smoke
exposures are quite low. Short-term elevated exposures (i.e., 14 over days to
weeks) to carcinogens found in wildfire smoke are also small relative to total
lifetime exposures to carcinogens in other, more common combustion sources. For
example, epidemiological studies have shown that urban firefighters who are
occupationally exposed to smoke over an entire working lifetime are at
increased risk of developing lung cancer (Hansen 1990) and other cancers
(Daniels et al. 2014).
It is important to recognize
that not everyone who is exposed to thick smoke from wildfires will have health
problems. The level and duration of exposure, age, individual susceptibility,
including the presence or absence of pre-existing lung (e.g., asthma, COPD) or
heart disease, and other factors play significant roles in determining whether
someone will experience smoke-related health problems. The types of potential
individual responses should be discussed in public warnings about risks and the
need to avoid exposure to smoke.
