Olivia Trani
Wildfire season is back in North America. Wildfires are burning much of Canada and the West Coast, spreading smoke for hundreds of miles across the country. While many of us know we should avoid wildfire smoke and take precautions on hazy days, there is other air pollution we are exposed to throughout the year, often on a daily basis.
“Even if you can't see it, you could be exposed to air pollution,” said Dr. Steven Fong, director of the VCU Integrative Life Sciences doctoral program and professor in the Department of Chemical and Life Science Engineering in the VCU College of Engineering. “The past few years have been some of the hottest on record, and while people have become more aware of the health effects of extreme heat, they also need to be aware that air pollution can worsen air quality.”
“For people with healthy lungs, one day of exposure to poor air quality is unlikely to dramatically affect their health, but over time, exposure to poor air quality can increase a person's risk of developing chronic respiratory disease,” said Drew Barber, MD, a pulmonologist at Virginia Tech Children's Hospital of Richmond and assistant professor of pediatrics at the Virginia Tech School of Medicine.
VCU Health News spoke with Fong and Barber about how air pollution permeates our neighborhoods, how it affects our health, and what we can do to reduce our exposure to air pollution.
What are the most common forms of air pollution?
SF: There are two main types of air pollution: solid particles or droplets (smoke, soot, dust, pollen) and gases (sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, ozone).
Air pollution is often a by-product of burning fossil fuels, gasoline, coal, etc. Therefore, areas near major highways and industrial parks are more likely to have higher air pollution levels. These areas also often have more asphalt and less shady green space, which can increase local temperatures and further exacerbate air quality issues.
How does poor air quality affect our bodies?
DB: Poor air quality can allow pollutants to enter the small airways in the lungs. This can cause inflammation and lead to respiratory symptoms such as shortness of breath, wheezing and persistent coughing.
For people with asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and other respiratory conditions, spending time outdoors on days with poor air quality can exacerbate or trigger symptoms that don't usually appear.
Short-term exposure to poor air quality is unlikely to cause lung damage or symptoms in people with healthy lungs, but there is growing evidence that long-term exposure to poor air quality can cause chronic inflammation in the small airways of the lungs, thereby increasing the risk of developing chronic respiratory diseases, particularly asthma and COPD.
How can you protect yourself from poor air quality? At what point should you contact your health care provider?
DB: On days when the air quality is very poor, the first recommendation is to limit exposure to the air as much as possible. If you must go outside, it's best to stay indoors or wear a face mask. If you have an existing lung condition, make sure you're taking any medications your doctor has prescribed correctly. For example, if you've been diagnosed with asthma, using a controller inhaler can help manage your symptoms.
If you start experiencing respiratory symptoms like shortness of breath or feeling like you're choking, contact your healthcare provider. Another symptom is wheezing, a high-pitched whistling sound that comes from your chest while breathing, especially when you exhale. This is a sign that the tiny airways deep in the lungs are inflamed and slightly swollen.
Babies and small children naturally can't tell if they have chest tightness or shortness of breath, but there are some ways to know if you should take them to a medical facility. For example, if you see your child wheezing or breathing faster than normal, that could be a sign that something is wrong with their respiratory system. Or, if you notice that the muscles under their rib cage sink or the skin around their neck retract with each breath, that could mean they're struggling to breathe or are struggling to breathe.
Is there a season when air pollution is worst?
SF: There's a correlation between heat and air pollution. In the US, air pollution often spikes during the hottest months of summer, July and August. That's because when certain pollutants are released into the air, sunlight and heat cause a reaction that produces ozone as a by-product. Ozone is the main component of smog and can irritate the lungs when inhaled.
How can I monitor air quality?
SF: Many weather apps on smartphones display an air quality forecast called the Air Quality Index (AQI). It's a very easy-to-understand guideline and great for raising awareness about air pollution. The index takes into account different types of pollutants to create an easy-to-understand air quality score.
But it does have some limitations: Because the index is set up to predict air quality, it doesn't represent a direct measurement of air pollution, and the AQI doesn't necessarily indicate how air quality varies between regions.
Community science efforts like Purple Air are collecting hyperlocal data in real time to show how air quality changes across cities. In my lab, we're mapping air pollution hotspots in Richmond. NASA has also launched a series of satellites specifically designed to measure air pollutants every hour across North America, which will greatly enhance air quality forecasts.
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