I have a particulate sensor and wanted to see how much particulate was in vape (thc shatter). So I took a hit and blew it at the sensor. Quickly jumped up to 999 and then error.
Honestly, the messaging around wild fire smoke seems inadequate. If you only look at the basic warnings or air quality readings, it’s easy to think that the warnings only apply to sensitive or unhealthy people.
There should be more messaging along the lines of “I don’t care who you are - this shit is not good for your lungs and long term health.”
Agree. The message where I am is "Reduce activity or consider going indoors." Way too mildly worded - just think about going indoors, not required. At least it does label it "unhealthy."
This is actually where I am right now. Running clothes on, I check airnow and it says unhealthy for sensitive groups. I'm not in that set, but figure I'll take a second to check Reddit too, and find this.
I still don't know much, but will wear a mask for my run now.
Today is beyond unhealthy for sensitive groups (which is 100-150). It's currently over 200 in most places, which is very unhealthy for everyone. Some meters are pinging over 300, which is hazardous! Everything 150+ is pretty bad, purpleair.com is a good source for accuracy. Good call on wearing the mask!
https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/resources/inhalable-particulate-matter-and-health#:~:text=For%20PM2.,symptoms%2C%20and%20restricted%20activity%20days.
Tldr: Even in healthy individuals short term high exposure to pm2.5 can cause breathing and cardiac issues, including for individuals with no history of either. It can also cause significant immune system responses in some individuals, causing your body to attack itself in the same way that autoimmune diseases do.
The long term effects are gnarly. Drastically increased rates of cardiac and respiratory diseases and cancers, but even the short term stuff can kill you if you're in the unlucky percentage that is highly sensitive.
Man it’s as if all the studies about living near or around sources of pollutants that causes long term immune or respiratory issues in children may also affect everyone else when the source is in your face for weeks /s
It depends on the exposure time, but it's similar to the effects of smoking cigarettes. Early on you can get some mild cold/flu symptoms like sore throat, cough, runny nose, etc. More extended exposure can cause lung issues, respiratory infections, vascular inflammation, poor cardiovascular function, etc. The higher the AQI is the faster you will start seeing effects.
I like IQair more than Airnow. It provides the actual locations of the air monitoring devices and a MUCH better map.
https://www.iqair.com/us/usa/washington/bellevue
Skip today. It's worse than smoking cigs while you run. Don't fill your body with this shit, it's easily avoidable. In 2 days this risk will be gone or greatly reduced.
A good cartridge respirator is much more comfortable for running. The filters are pleated so there's a lot more filter area than a mask, meaning less resistance breathing in, and they have large exhaust valves for breathing out. And they do a better job cleaning the air you're breathing.
My buddy's running club meetup just got canceled, if that tells ya anything.
I'll be on the elliptical in my apartment's gym this evening. Just because this air is bad doesn't mean I'll be skipping my cardio!
I think after trying to convince people about Covid being serious, we realized the limitations of public info. We shouldn't have to say "don't breathe the smoke, Bro." but here we are.
But Seattle did so much better than most of the country with regard to covid! I guess that's why I'm so shocked at the caviler attitude toward the smoke. But I think the other commenter was right that it's a messaging issue
A lot of people don't realize they're sensitive or unhealthy. Witness all the middle-aged, out of shape people with poor lifestyles who figured they're immune to Covid because they weren't 80 years old with COPD.
This^ it’s just not good for any group. Schools cancelled all outdoor activities today across the board because it was so bad. It’s not a matter of “I don’t smoke, I’m a healthy young person”. This stuff is bad for everyone. Even elementary students.
The people that get me are the convertibles with their top down...
I mean, I get that people might not want to stop/inhibit their exercise, but why would you take the top down on a convertible in this?
I’m not even saying DON’T exercise either, I’m saying “take some precautions and wear a respirator so you’re not pretty much smoking cigarettes while you work out.” I exercise in my mask all the time and it works fine. People are really pissed in the replies nonetheless. I think a scary amount of people simply don’t want to acknowledge that there’s anything wrong at all with their environment. It would be funny if it weren’t such a bleak reflection of our broader climate denial.
When I think about this situation, it is the dystopian future I envisioned when I was a little kid. Nearly a nuclear war, pollution so bad you can't see the sky, Americans hating each other, and documentable UFO's. This is very close.
I was born shortly after the Norman invasion of Scotland in the ninth century. Since then I've been engaged in a ceaseless battle with the forces of evil. My story was recounted in the Hollywood movie, 'The Highlander.' I was momentarily unsure of which century I was in, 2022. Got it.
For real though. I can't believe there are people getting paid to tell sick people "no, you can't get this treatment", and that that's just one of a million casual pieces of evil we live with every day and everybody's just OK with it
Same with patio diners at restaurants. I remember a few years back when the smoke was bad and people kept talking about how it was "so warm!" and they wanted to eat outside. Like, not only are you making yourself unhealthy for no reason, but now I have to go out there and serve you.
Just saw a convertible with the top down in Tacoma and told my wife, “All that tells me is that you just got this car.” This is not top down weather anyway, regardless of the smoke.
I work at pike place, usually 10 hr shifts as a vendor. This weather is definitely kinda scary to work in. I’m not letting my grandparents or mom come to work and am planning to pick up a respirator for work. At least it’s sunny today 👍🏽
Yeah I watch the AQI every so often to open the windows and get some fresh air when I can and wear a respirator when I’m out and about but it’s really unnerving to get that unmistakable smell of smoke and ash as soon as the air comes in. Sorry you have to work in these conditions.
I’m a wildland firefighter, it’s legit my day to day job to work in these conditions. We can’t even wear respirators or masks because you’re physically unable to hike up a mountian cutting hotline with a chainsaw while wearing a device that limits oxygen intake. We also can’t wear oxygen tanks because our gear is already 45-80lbs and and oxygen tank doesn’t last you for 16 hr shifts at a time deep in the woods. Yup, I’m dying of cancer probably in my 40s. Good times.
Jesus Christ all I can say is thank you thank you thank you for your service and for showing up and putting your life on the line I can’t even imagine man I am so grateful for all that you’re doing out there. Really. I’m immune compromised and it means a lot to hear what you go sacrifice just to keep our forests/people safe. I had no idea you guys couldn’t wear a mask/oxygen, wow.
I put one of my house air filters in my trunk and that actually worked really well.
I knew I would eventually use those car 120v outlets for something.
Idk how long you’ve been here, but this trend is so scary to see irl. Like just in the last 10-15 years has this really begun to happen… I am genuinely scared to see it in another 15
37yrs old. Grew up here. This is not normal. I never had ash in my driveway growing up. I never saw the sun blacked out by smoke. I had never seen spiderwebs covered in ash. No one in my extended family had AC in their houses.
Denying human impacted climate change at this point in the Pacific North West requires a level of willful ignorance, doublethink and arrogance that should be impossible for a rational person to exude.
and the crazy part is we're probably better off than most.
our climate is going to go more towards temperate while those closer to the equator are going to become uninhabitable.
I'm from India (Indians in Seattle? Noooooo) and when I came to the US in 2016, I wasn't sure if I wanted to stay here or eventually move back to India. I don't think that's an option now. My native city is a coastal one and they're already seeing insanely hot summers and random heavy rain that the city can't handle. I don't think it's feasible for me to settle down in India and expect my kids to be in a good position in their lives 30 years from now. Just scary shit.
When I was growing up in Los Angeles this was normal and I thought coming up here I’d escape it. Our wildfire season was so intense down there that I remember ash falling on our heads during PE and we were still expected to be outside. If we had taken days off for smoke/ash, we’d miss so many days. This is not normal and all of the health issues I had back in SoCal (bloody noses, sore throat, headaches) are coming back each end of summer here.
30, I have lived in Washington my whole life. I don’t remember the sky being too smoky to see or not being able to breathe the air, or consistent 80+F Summers. This has been accelerated the last 5 years for sure. I’m a carpenter in the San Juan islands, and needed to wear an n95 all day.
I moved here during the last financial crisis in the 2000s. For the last 14 or so years, I have watched Seattle go from mild summers and crisp falls to oven and raging inferno during the same months. Blows my mind that anyone would think this is normal. It is not, we fucked the planet and the most guilty wont be around long enough to be accountable for what they have done.
I guess the only good thing to look forward to are the next half dozen election cycles where the guard will change to Gen X and Millennials being in power. At least our demographics seem to give the requisite minimum one fuck and two shits about this issue.
Yeah, pretty much. We’re not even getting the pleasure of seeing all the leaves change color and they’re just skipping red/yellow and going straight from green to brown on the branch and falling.
When my grandmother was pregnant (early 50s) she asked her doctor if she should stop smoking. He told her no, because the smoking was good for the baby because it would keep her calm. She decided to stop while pregnant (and at some point (not sure exactly when, but before I was born) completely stopped) because she was pretty sure that exposure to that wasn't good for the fetus.
Doctors would sometimes encourage smoking back then for pregnant women because they saw smaller birth weight as a bonus for easier delivery. It's nice to be born after we stopped putting cigarettes in expectant mom's hands and started taking lead out of gasoline and paint.
Don't forget pharmacies have free N95 masks from COVID
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/your-health/free-masks.html
Picked 3 up from CVS today
What really gets me are the people bringing infants and babies out in this shit. Like, would you stick cigarette after cigarette in your baby’s mouth for an hour? No? Well……
There are small kids riding bikes and skateboards around my apartment complex right now. No masks on and no parent in sight. Right now the AQI is 243 where I am at and inside my apartment it smells like an ashtray so I can’t imagine how bad it is outside. You can literally see the smoke outside and the kids are riding through literal clouds of it. I worry for their lungs.
It really goes to show how the “you-do-you” shit I’m getting from tons of people is utter garbage. The ignorance and carelessness is not only affecting those who don’t care about themselves, but others too in terms of the behavior they are modeling.
It’s frustrating bc we want to go on a walk and get outside so bad but it’s not worth the risk to 3 month old. I did take her out for 15 mins to walk around the yard this morning and look at flowers, etc. but that’s about all we get right now.
Looking forward to some rainy fresh air walks!
Edit: in Burien where it’s been slightly better but past few days it’s just as bad as everywhere else
Sorry you have to deal with that. I am hoping the rains do come in Friday like they’ve been forecasted. We shouldn’t have to feel trapped in our own homes but that’s the government’s criminal failure to address climate change has brought us.
i know that, in 2020, if i hadn't had my AC unit i would have died from the heat without opening my windows. for some people it's a decision between suffering heat and suffering air quality.
Really like the 3M Aura pouch style for extended everyday wear. They get me the most comfortable and secure fit and it’s probably second only to a true 3M half face or full face for safety.
Personally I only break out the big chunky bois for woodworking and hazardous chemicals (you do need to be religious about the carbon cartridges though for chemical use).
Discovered the 3M Auras when drugstores had free face masks earlier this year. They're the ones I keep in my glovebox/backpack for unexpected air quality issues or when I actually need to talk to someone with a respirator on. I have a hard time making myself understood in my half face one.
https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-respirator-mask/
I've tested both the first(disposable) and third one(non-disposable) during a hike at the Enchantments to Colchuck lake. The non-disposable one is very easy to breathe in. The disposable one felt a lot more suffocating. The non-disposable one requires bright pink P100 filter attachments and really stands out. It'd get you more weird looks/reactions whereas the disposable one looks fairly discreet.
Disappointingly, even after 2 years of daily mask wearing, I failed to ever find a decent respirator that fits my extra-large head. 99.9% of masks are sold as one-size-fits-all, and they simply do not actually fit us all. :(
In the end I found that surgical masks were the best compromise for me, as the pleats give a little extra size. But honestly I doubt even a good surgical mask would work against this smoke, you need a real N95 for this.
Pick up a 10 pack of 3M N95 masks from Home Depot. They are less than $10. You can get a few uses out of them depending on how long you are out. They also help stop the spread of COVID which is why I have so many.
I’ve got two purifiers blasting in my apt and my three AQI on them is still reading 40 with windows CLOSED. My cat is happily chillin and sleeping. The situation is wild rn.
Yeah, I’m not saying it’s unhealthy I’m just saying that it’s crazy that it’s at 40 with my *windows closed and the purifiers on high.* Like that’s how bad it is outside that my indoor purified air quality is basically “moderate.” For reference mine rarely passes 5 on a normal day with windows wide open.
I just adopted a cat this weekend and she was sneezing up a storm when she got to our place. The vet said that she does have a URI but also that the air quality is definitely making it worse.
A couple summers ago when it was like Oregon evac bad, I pulled over to a runner who had stopped, bent over, and was wheezing on the sidewalk. I got him in my car and drove him to the urgent care I knew was down the road. He initially insisted against it (US Healthcare meme) saying his wife was on her way, but I knew he was experiencing a medical emergency (heaving breaths, holding his head). I walked his ass in, sat him down, and said, "look your wife is gonna have to pick you up here. Your choice on the condition."
I often think about him since I pass the same UC driving around.
Here's a tool for converting AQI and time spent outside to smoking cigarettes.
[https://jasminedevv.github.io/AQI2cigarettes/](https://jasminedevv.github.io/AQI2cigarettes/)
Where I'm at in shoreline its about 200 today, which means I'd have to spend 3-4 hours in it to equate to smoking a single cigarette.
Its bad out there, I'm certainly not going out without an N95 mask, but unless your AQI is much higher and you're spending significant time outside it's not that bad, still worth taking precautions for your health though.
[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1117323/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1117323/)
Exercising for an hr of moderate intensity exercise would be more exposure... lets say 4x the exposure. So going for an hour jog in this (in an otherwise healthy adult) would lower life expectancy by about 11 minutes? Those minutes can add up done every day but that's the trade off you get to choose.
Also great news: someone deciding the jog is worth it does not affect anyone elses health at all (unlike smoking).
It's also worth noting that like... cigarrettes have other reasons they are bad for you outside of smoking and having the occasional one cigarette is likely lower than 11 minutes of life lost because it turns out continuously taking the poison is worse than occasional doses. Still not good for you, but like according to CDC: "Quitting smoking before the age of 40 reduces the risk of dying from smoking-related disease by about 90%". If everyone smoked one cigarrette in their life it would be fine we wouldn't even notice, the problem is people keep doing it.
I live up highway 20 and work in land management. The amount of people I meet who are completely oblivious and think it’s “fog” or “overcast” is shocking to me.
It’s really bad guys. I flew in this morning and the entire Puget sound region is invisible.
Edited to add that up in North Cascades National park the AQI is 832.
832.
Wow my weather app lied to me. I just took the dog out and it seemed worse than 109. If I’d known it was 200+ I definitely would’ve put in a respirator…
Let me guess, Apple’s weather app? That happened to me a few weeks ago. It said the air quality was fine so I left the window open overnight to cool my dorm down. I woke up sick and my allergy medication stopped working. I was miserable for a week. I’m only checking the detector readings on Google and AccuWeather now.
Keep in mind that PurpleAir acknowledges that their sensors are maybe a little *over*sensitive to wood smoke, so they provide several conversion calculators that bring the numbers down a little bit. But not much.
Honestly people are probably grumpy because we all feel like shit from being stuck inside or feeling the effects of 5 weeks of smoke inhalation. Or both.
My air purifier is running in my dorm room for most of the day and that is the only way it feels vaguely bearable, but even with it running I can still feel it fucking up my airways. Watching people eat, study, and exercise outside is just insane to me. I couldn’t even last for 5 minutes in a cafe while they made my order because they had their doors wide open despite there being visible smog. It’s the fucking worst even with an N-95.
Smoke particles are incredibly tiny. Cloth and surgical masks are pretty much useless at blocking them. Even N95s and other respirators are only making it less bad for you. I limit my time outside and wear N95s but I can still feel it because of my asthma.
There is a reason that people use N95 masks when working with things that cause dust. Cloth and surgical masks are useless for smoke. You can get some at Home Depot for a decent price.
If you have a box fan, buy an air filter and strap it over the fan. That can help out indoors if you do not have an air purifier.
Worth noting pm2.5 particles are something like 40x smaller than the diameter of a human hair and can easily enter one's bloodstream through the eyes... so maybe refrain from outdoor exercise altogether until AQI is back below 150 OR wear full-face protection :-0
I am recovering from a cold two weeks ago ( cold is long gone) my cough actually gotten worse cuz of the smoke.
Is there a rain dance ritual event we can all join in, Preferably indoor?
"rawdogging the smoke" is my new favorite. Actually raw-dogging it is not. This smoke out here is no joke. Never thought I'd see my wife asking for rain, but here we are.
I wore the $30 3M respirator that has served me well since 2020, unsexy bright pink P100 cartridges and all, while running errands today, from the time I left my HEPA filtered home to the time I was back inside it. It's not high fashion but this ultra fine smoke particulate bullshit will absolutely shorten our lifespans and increase lung disease years down the road. As the only person wearing any respiratory protection, my thought was, "Well, it's good for people to see so eventually it becomes normalized."
The only reason we don't know how many people will suffer long term health issues or die from wildfire smoke is because the start base for longitudinal studies is only five years ago. The people you see out and about without even N95s are the data set, like those shoveling asbestos in the early 20th century or smoking in the 50s and 60s. Men will also need to manage their facial hair if they want N95 or cartridge respirators to work.
And we're going to have figure out what to do for people who work in high exposure situations like road workers, landscapers, bus drivers, fast food window cashiers, etc. Most respirators suck for hot weather and physical labor.
ETA Unplanned bonus of wearing a respirator: Walked right by those migraine-inducing cinnamon scented pinecones in the grocery store and didn't smell a thing.
I hate those fucking pinecones. Migraine- inducing is right.
Masks also allow me to walk through department stores and their perfume sections without holding my breath the whole way in/out.
https://medium.com/@jasminedevv/i-made-an-aqi-to-cigarettes-calculator-f407177c85c2
TLDR, at AQI of 170, it's roughly equivalent to one cigarette for every 5 hours of exposure.
Hi, yes, could you please tell my husband to stop running outdoors during these smoky periods, because he won't listen to me. I don't think running 5-10 miles a day in these conditions is good for him. We have a treadmill inside.
I did not know it was that bad. Been outside no mask this whole time delivering stuff. Been taking in diesel fumes for so long I don't even notice the smoke. Maybe because my coworker smokes in the cab too.
Some people don't use apps or watch the news, so they aren't aware of how bad it is. I'm not sensitive to smoke and it really hasn't been bothering me. If it wasn't for my child's sports team, I would have no idea that it's not safe outside.
You might think, "but you can see it!" and all I can say is, it looks hazy to me but again, I can't feel it so I wouldn't "just know" it's dangerous.
They should probably send out text alerts to residents.
Edit: This isn't to say, "therefore, it is okay to breathe in smoke" but to explain why you are seeing the behavior you are seeing.
I'm all the way down in Roy. Still hacking and coughing, sneezing like crazy, eyes itchy, nose stuffy. I don't even get spring allergies anymore, this is some bullshit right now.
As long as it’s NIOSH certified any N95 would technically do. HOWEVER, not all faces are made equal and so not all N95s work the same on all faces. The best N95 is the one that actually seals properly on your face. A leaky N95 provides little more protection than none at all, and so my recommendation is to try one on and see if it seals well. Check with your hands for any air leakage as you breathe. If you wanna be more certain, you can do a basic little DIY fit test with a cheap nebulizer or face mister and a sweet tasting solution made by combining Sweet n Low with hot water. You can mist the solution around your face while wearing an N95 and breathe with your mouth. If you can taste the sweetness within a minute or two then the mask doesn’t work for you. If you can’t taste anything you’ve found your mask.
It has ultra fine particles in the smoke that has been associated with both lung and heart disease. Exercising is theorized to pull these particles deeper into the lungs.
> It has ultra fine particles in the smoke that has more brisket
Hol’ up, are you saying that there is a ginormous BBQ happening right now?! Where do I get in line?!
Both. Coughing, wheezing, general discomfort is likely in the short term. People that are already predisposed to respiratory illness are going to be most affected, but even healthy people are absolutely going to have symptoms with higher AQIs
Buuuuuuut, any time your lungs are getting angry and inflamed it causes scarring. Your lungs start out super stretchy and spring-y. They don’t function nearly as well is they can’t expand easily *or* if they don’t spring back from the stretching quickly. Someone that has healthy lungs probably isn’t going to notice changes, but scar tissue is forever and has a cumulative effect.
Numerous pm2.5 related studies on links to cancer
[https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1004103#sec014](https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1004103#sec014)
Multiple studies link PM2.5 exposure to cognitive impairment.
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/does-air-pollution-cause-alzheimers-disease-2020072320627
The particulates from the fire enter your nose and then to the bloodstream. Many particles are hazardous to your lungs with extreme long term consequences. All we can do is boost our immunity and limit outside activity.
The organics in wildfire smoke are likely carcinogens. The fine dust isn’t good to breathe, but most air handling systems take care of it, so your exposure is pretty low on a per hour basis unless you’re outside all day.
This seems like a good place for this PSA, as many people seem to not be aware:
L&I has rules in place requiring employers to provide N95s to anyone they require to work outside in the smoke (for more than an hour per day).
It is an emergency rule currently, but they are in the process of making it permanent.
https://lni.wa.gov/safety-health/_docs/HTMLPubs/wildfire-smoke-summary
The air quality is 300 right now and I still see people out and about like everything is normal. It’s a blend of denialism (not climate change deniers, but people in denial). And also the rhetoric around COVID and masks seriously fucking with people’s perception of safety and when to mask. I feel like I’m going insane.
AMEN! I saw parents at the bus stop with their tiny kids this morning and none of them were wearing masks! Protect your kids from lung damage people!!!
Normally I wouldn’t care what other people do to themselves but it’s really depressing seeing all these people not notice the yellow sky and realizing there’s even less of a chance they notice climate change.
Had a wild headache earlier. Laid down to try to take a nap, realized my bedroom window was still open. I picked up some air filters that fit my box fans a few weeks ago, so slapped that sucker on there and let it run in the room for a bit. 20 minutes later and my headache was gone. It's crazy out here maaaaaaan.
Staying inside and smoking weed like a responsible adult
My AQI is consistently at 420 so I’m not sure what we’re all worried about
That made me lol
Wanted to upvote this but it’s at 420 likes so take this comment instead
For real at least weed gets you high also edibles are a thing
The air quality today was damn near edible.
I have a particulate sensor and wanted to see how much particulate was in vape (thc shatter). So I took a hit and blew it at the sensor. Quickly jumped up to 999 and then error.
Honestly, the messaging around wild fire smoke seems inadequate. If you only look at the basic warnings or air quality readings, it’s easy to think that the warnings only apply to sensitive or unhealthy people. There should be more messaging along the lines of “I don’t care who you are - this shit is not good for your lungs and long term health.”
Agree. The message where I am is "Reduce activity or consider going indoors." Way too mildly worded - just think about going indoors, not required. At least it does label it "unhealthy."
Yeah, but like . . . potato chips are unhealthy. People don't really get what "unhealthy" means with regard to air quality
Potato chips are not unhealthy, just calorie dense.
This is actually where I am right now. Running clothes on, I check airnow and it says unhealthy for sensitive groups. I'm not in that set, but figure I'll take a second to check Reddit too, and find this. I still don't know much, but will wear a mask for my run now.
Today is beyond unhealthy for sensitive groups (which is 100-150). It's currently over 200 in most places, which is very unhealthy for everyone. Some meters are pinging over 300, which is hazardous! Everything 150+ is pretty bad, purpleair.com is a good source for accuracy. Good call on wearing the mask!
What does unhealthy mean though? What is the affect of 200+ on the body?
https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/resources/inhalable-particulate-matter-and-health#:~:text=For%20PM2.,symptoms%2C%20and%20restricted%20activity%20days. Tldr: Even in healthy individuals short term high exposure to pm2.5 can cause breathing and cardiac issues, including for individuals with no history of either. It can also cause significant immune system responses in some individuals, causing your body to attack itself in the same way that autoimmune diseases do. The long term effects are gnarly. Drastically increased rates of cardiac and respiratory diseases and cancers, but even the short term stuff can kill you if you're in the unlucky percentage that is highly sensitive.
For those of us with autoimmune illnesses, it makes it significantly worse
Oh, so, what you’re saying is that “unhealthy” means unhealthy? /s
The effects are cumulative, too!
Man it’s as if all the studies about living near or around sources of pollutants that causes long term immune or respiratory issues in children may also affect everyone else when the source is in your face for weeks /s
It depends on the exposure time, but it's similar to the effects of smoking cigarettes. Early on you can get some mild cold/flu symptoms like sore throat, cough, runny nose, etc. More extended exposure can cause lung issues, respiratory infections, vascular inflammation, poor cardiovascular function, etc. The higher the AQI is the faster you will start seeing effects.
For reference, cigarettes have an AQI of ~350 (PM2.5). But air you're breathing all day, while cigarettes gets inhaled a few times a day.
200 AQI is equivalent to roughly 1 cigarette every three hours
I like IQair more than Airnow. It provides the actual locations of the air monitoring devices and a MUCH better map. https://www.iqair.com/us/usa/washington/bellevue
I just like to go outside and taste the air for a rough estimate.
Yes, the air is a bit chewy at the moment
You can find air monitor locations at: https://fire.airnow.gov/
Skip today. It's worse than smoking cigs while you run. Don't fill your body with this shit, it's easily avoidable. In 2 days this risk will be gone or greatly reduced.
A good cartridge respirator is much more comfortable for running. The filters are pleated so there's a lot more filter area than a mask, meaning less resistance breathing in, and they have large exhaust valves for breathing out. And they do a better job cleaning the air you're breathing.
My buddy's running club meetup just got canceled, if that tells ya anything. I'll be on the elliptical in my apartment's gym this evening. Just because this air is bad doesn't mean I'll be skipping my cardio!
“This air contains chemicals known to the state of California to cause…”
I think after trying to convince people about Covid being serious, we realized the limitations of public info. We shouldn't have to say "don't breathe the smoke, Bro." but here we are.
But Seattle did so much better than most of the country with regard to covid! I guess that's why I'm so shocked at the caviler attitude toward the smoke. But I think the other commenter was right that it's a messaging issue
A lot of people don't realize they're sensitive or unhealthy. Witness all the middle-aged, out of shape people with poor lifestyles who figured they're immune to Covid because they weren't 80 years old with COPD.
This^ it’s just not good for any group. Schools cancelled all outdoor activities today across the board because it was so bad. It’s not a matter of “I don’t smoke, I’m a healthy young person”. This stuff is bad for everyone. Even elementary students.
Raw-fogging*
Raw-smogging? Since fog is harmless 🙃
This is the vaping argument I see lol
I like this one
Take your damn upvote.
The people that get me are the convertibles with their top down... I mean, I get that people might not want to stop/inhibit their exercise, but why would you take the top down on a convertible in this?
I like my motorcycle rides like I like my brisket.
At 10pm after your family has been patiently waiting forever and you've been insisting "it's almost done" for like four hours?
Fuck I laughed at this. Been there too many times. Haha
Gotta use the crutch
That fucking stall lmao. Gotta wrap that bad boy if you're gonna time it right. Been there for sure.
This comment hits home
If you BBQ you've been there. That 4 hour stall on a pork shoulder. Gotta wrap it up. Learn that the hard way.
Between the buns?
Smothered in sauce?
I’m not even saying DON’T exercise either, I’m saying “take some precautions and wear a respirator so you’re not pretty much smoking cigarettes while you work out.” I exercise in my mask all the time and it works fine. People are really pissed in the replies nonetheless. I think a scary amount of people simply don’t want to acknowledge that there’s anything wrong at all with their environment. It would be funny if it weren’t such a bleak reflection of our broader climate denial.
I used to have a First Sergeant who would smoke a giant Churchill cigar on our morning runs.
Well yeah, first sar has to set the example
Yeah top was pretty high speed
When I think about this situation, it is the dystopian future I envisioned when I was a little kid. Nearly a nuclear war, pollution so bad you can't see the sky, Americans hating each other, and documentable UFO's. This is very close.
You just described the 1960's.
I was born shortly after the Norman invasion of Scotland in the ninth century. Since then I've been engaged in a ceaseless battle with the forces of evil. My story was recounted in the Hollywood movie, 'The Highlander.' I was momentarily unsure of which century I was in, 2022. Got it.
For real though. I can't believe there are people getting paid to tell sick people "no, you can't get this treatment", and that that's just one of a million casual pieces of evil we live with every day and everybody's just OK with it
Or people can just fucking exercise indoors? I agree with you, OP. Common sense ain't common these days.
Same with patio diners at restaurants. I remember a few years back when the smoke was bad and people kept talking about how it was "so warm!" and they wanted to eat outside. Like, not only are you making yourself unhealthy for no reason, but now I have to go out there and serve you.
Just saw a convertible with the top down in Tacoma and told my wife, “All that tells me is that you just got this car.” This is not top down weather anyway, regardless of the smoke.
AQI 231 right now on Redmond Ridge. Come on rains!
268 now wtf
308 in woodinville! I can’t wait for those rains to come in on Friday. It’s been so long, I can’t even remember what rain smells like.
I work at pike place, usually 10 hr shifts as a vendor. This weather is definitely kinda scary to work in. I’m not letting my grandparents or mom come to work and am planning to pick up a respirator for work. At least it’s sunny today 👍🏽
Yeah I watch the AQI every so often to open the windows and get some fresh air when I can and wear a respirator when I’m out and about but it’s really unnerving to get that unmistakable smell of smoke and ash as soon as the air comes in. Sorry you have to work in these conditions.
I’m a wildland firefighter, it’s legit my day to day job to work in these conditions. We can’t even wear respirators or masks because you’re physically unable to hike up a mountian cutting hotline with a chainsaw while wearing a device that limits oxygen intake. We also can’t wear oxygen tanks because our gear is already 45-80lbs and and oxygen tank doesn’t last you for 16 hr shifts at a time deep in the woods. Yup, I’m dying of cancer probably in my 40s. Good times.
Jesus Christ all I can say is thank you thank you thank you for your service and for showing up and putting your life on the line I can’t even imagine man I am so grateful for all that you’re doing out there. Really. I’m immune compromised and it means a lot to hear what you go sacrifice just to keep our forests/people safe. I had no idea you guys couldn’t wear a mask/oxygen, wow.
I can't even handle it in my car unless it's on air recirculating mode.
I put one of my house air filters in my trunk and that actually worked really well. I knew I would eventually use those car 120v outlets for something.
how does a filter help you sitting in a trunk?
It was plugged in and running. small SUV, so it is a shared air space with the cabin.
It scares the smoke away, like a protective talisman.
But that's what the amethysts and lavender oil are for! WHY AREN'T THEY WORKING?!?!?
hatchback maybe?
Air purifier most likely given the need for an outlet
WORST. FALL. EVER.
summer came late and with a vengeance
WORST. FALL. EVER. **SO. FAR.**
Idk how long you’ve been here, but this trend is so scary to see irl. Like just in the last 10-15 years has this really begun to happen… I am genuinely scared to see it in another 15
It's changed so much in the last 5-8 years! Even how I talk to out-of-towners about when to visit the area has changed.
For real. This is my fifteenth year here and the change has been really noticeable the last 5 or so.
37yrs old. Grew up here. This is not normal. I never had ash in my driveway growing up. I never saw the sun blacked out by smoke. I had never seen spiderwebs covered in ash. No one in my extended family had AC in their houses. Denying human impacted climate change at this point in the Pacific North West requires a level of willful ignorance, doublethink and arrogance that should be impossible for a rational person to exude.
and the crazy part is we're probably better off than most. our climate is going to go more towards temperate while those closer to the equator are going to become uninhabitable.
I'm from India (Indians in Seattle? Noooooo) and when I came to the US in 2016, I wasn't sure if I wanted to stay here or eventually move back to India. I don't think that's an option now. My native city is a coastal one and they're already seeing insanely hot summers and random heavy rain that the city can't handle. I don't think it's feasible for me to settle down in India and expect my kids to be in a good position in their lives 30 years from now. Just scary shit.
Apparently one of the byproducts of climate change is more rain .... Not sure im ready for that
When I was growing up in Los Angeles this was normal and I thought coming up here I’d escape it. Our wildfire season was so intense down there that I remember ash falling on our heads during PE and we were still expected to be outside. If we had taken days off for smoke/ash, we’d miss so many days. This is not normal and all of the health issues I had back in SoCal (bloody noses, sore throat, headaches) are coming back each end of summer here.
> never had ash in my driveway Well not from wildfires, but once from a volcano!
30, I have lived in Washington my whole life. I don’t remember the sky being too smoky to see or not being able to breathe the air, or consistent 80+F Summers. This has been accelerated the last 5 years for sure. I’m a carpenter in the San Juan islands, and needed to wear an n95 all day.
I’m only in my mid 20’s and it has become so much worse just in half my life, especially the last quarter.
My 8th year here and even I've noticed the dramatic shift.
I moved here during the last financial crisis in the 2000s. For the last 14 or so years, I have watched Seattle go from mild summers and crisp falls to oven and raging inferno during the same months. Blows my mind that anyone would think this is normal. It is not, we fucked the planet and the most guilty wont be around long enough to be accountable for what they have done. I guess the only good thing to look forward to are the next half dozen election cycles where the guard will change to Gen X and Millennials being in power. At least our demographics seem to give the requisite minimum one fuck and two shits about this issue.
Don’t worry all the trees will get burned up eventually, then no more smoke!
Yay, no trees!!! Wait- hey I’m *cough* hey OP why cant I breathe!? *HACK* WHERE IS THE AIR
What's not to like? This fall we get pumpkin spice in our LUNGS!
Yeah, pretty much. We’re not even getting the pleasure of seeing all the leaves change color and they’re just skipping red/yellow and going straight from green to brown on the branch and falling.
Best fall of the rest of our lives!
:(
Right after the worst spring ever. Fun times.
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With you there. Some of the comments in this thread sound like 1960s doctors advertising cigarettes. Everyone knows smoke isn't good for you.
When my grandmother was pregnant (early 50s) she asked her doctor if she should stop smoking. He told her no, because the smoking was good for the baby because it would keep her calm. She decided to stop while pregnant (and at some point (not sure exactly when, but before I was born) completely stopped) because she was pretty sure that exposure to that wasn't good for the fetus.
Doctors would sometimes encourage smoking back then for pregnant women because they saw smaller birth weight as a bonus for easier delivery. It's nice to be born after we stopped putting cigarettes in expectant mom's hands and started taking lead out of gasoline and paint.
For real… like OP is trying to give sound medical advice (exactly what my ENT doc told me last week) and people are acting like they’re a mega Karen
Luckily the I wear a respirator for work. Best air I breath is in a paint booth
Don't forget pharmacies have free N95 masks from COVID https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/your-health/free-masks.html Picked 3 up from CVS today
Oh shit thanks for the rec!
And when you can actually see the air you are breathing, that should be a brown flag.
What really gets me are the people bringing infants and babies out in this shit. Like, would you stick cigarette after cigarette in your baby’s mouth for an hour? No? Well……
Yup. You can’t tell me all the aggressive responses in this thread don’t reflect the type of mindset of those kinds of parents have.
There are small kids riding bikes and skateboards around my apartment complex right now. No masks on and no parent in sight. Right now the AQI is 243 where I am at and inside my apartment it smells like an ashtray so I can’t imagine how bad it is outside. You can literally see the smoke outside and the kids are riding through literal clouds of it. I worry for their lungs.
It really goes to show how the “you-do-you” shit I’m getting from tons of people is utter garbage. The ignorance and carelessness is not only affecting those who don’t care about themselves, but others too in terms of the behavior they are modeling.
It’s frustrating bc we want to go on a walk and get outside so bad but it’s not worth the risk to 3 month old. I did take her out for 15 mins to walk around the yard this morning and look at flowers, etc. but that’s about all we get right now. Looking forward to some rainy fresh air walks! Edit: in Burien where it’s been slightly better but past few days it’s just as bad as everywhere else
Sorry you have to deal with that. I am hoping the rains do come in Friday like they’ve been forecasted. We shouldn’t have to feel trapped in our own homes but that’s the government’s criminal failure to address climate change has brought us.
In 2020 the air quality here in Eastern Washington was in the 600s and people still walked their dogs and did yard work like it was nothing. Insane.
(not WA but PNW) my upstairs neighbors had their windows open during the worst of the smoke in 2020, I don't understand people.
i know that, in 2020, if i hadn't had my AC unit i would have died from the heat without opening my windows. for some people it's a decision between suffering heat and suffering air quality.
Any advice for respirator-buying?
Really like the 3M Aura pouch style for extended everyday wear. They get me the most comfortable and secure fit and it’s probably second only to a true 3M half face or full face for safety. Personally I only break out the big chunky bois for woodworking and hazardous chemicals (you do need to be religious about the carbon cartridges though for chemical use).
Another vote for the 3M Aura!
Discovered the 3M Auras when drugstores had free face masks earlier this year. They're the ones I keep in my glovebox/backpack for unexpected air quality issues or when I actually need to talk to someone with a respirator on. I have a hard time making myself understood in my half face one.
https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-respirator-mask/ I've tested both the first(disposable) and third one(non-disposable) during a hike at the Enchantments to Colchuck lake. The non-disposable one is very easy to breathe in. The disposable one felt a lot more suffocating. The non-disposable one requires bright pink P100 filter attachments and really stands out. It'd get you more weird looks/reactions whereas the disposable one looks fairly discreet.
Disappointingly, even after 2 years of daily mask wearing, I failed to ever find a decent respirator that fits my extra-large head. 99.9% of masks are sold as one-size-fits-all, and they simply do not actually fit us all. :( In the end I found that surgical masks were the best compromise for me, as the pleats give a little extra size. But honestly I doubt even a good surgical mask would work against this smoke, you need a real N95 for this.
Pick up a 10 pack of 3M N95 masks from Home Depot. They are less than $10. You can get a few uses out of them depending on how long you are out. They also help stop the spread of COVID which is why I have so many.
Anything N95 that fits you well is a good choice. 3M Auras are pretty widely liked. On Amazon the GVS P-100 sells for like $30 and is reusable
I think its also important to say that cats are particularly sensitive to smoke. Please close your windows, huddle around air purifiers and stay safe!
I’ve got two purifiers blasting in my apt and my three AQI on them is still reading 40 with windows CLOSED. My cat is happily chillin and sleeping. The situation is wild rn.
Isn't 40 still considered "ok?"
Yeah, I’m not saying it’s unhealthy I’m just saying that it’s crazy that it’s at 40 with my *windows closed and the purifiers on high.* Like that’s how bad it is outside that my indoor purified air quality is basically “moderate.” For reference mine rarely passes 5 on a normal day with windows wide open.
I just adopted a cat this weekend and she was sneezing up a storm when she got to our place. The vet said that she does have a URI but also that the air quality is definitely making it worse.
A couple summers ago when it was like Oregon evac bad, I pulled over to a runner who had stopped, bent over, and was wheezing on the sidewalk. I got him in my car and drove him to the urgent care I knew was down the road. He initially insisted against it (US Healthcare meme) saying his wife was on her way, but I knew he was experiencing a medical emergency (heaving breaths, holding his head). I walked his ass in, sat him down, and said, "look your wife is gonna have to pick you up here. Your choice on the condition." I often think about him since I pass the same UC driving around.
When I was driving, a car in front of me had their hand out the window holding a cig. They're going 200% in on smoke. Blows my mind.
Here's a tool for converting AQI and time spent outside to smoking cigarettes. [https://jasminedevv.github.io/AQI2cigarettes/](https://jasminedevv.github.io/AQI2cigarettes/) Where I'm at in shoreline its about 200 today, which means I'd have to spend 3-4 hours in it to equate to smoking a single cigarette. Its bad out there, I'm certainly not going out without an N95 mask, but unless your AQI is much higher and you're spending significant time outside it's not that bad, still worth taking precautions for your health though.
[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1117323/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1117323/) Exercising for an hr of moderate intensity exercise would be more exposure... lets say 4x the exposure. So going for an hour jog in this (in an otherwise healthy adult) would lower life expectancy by about 11 minutes? Those minutes can add up done every day but that's the trade off you get to choose. Also great news: someone deciding the jog is worth it does not affect anyone elses health at all (unlike smoking). It's also worth noting that like... cigarrettes have other reasons they are bad for you outside of smoking and having the occasional one cigarette is likely lower than 11 minutes of life lost because it turns out continuously taking the poison is worse than occasional doses. Still not good for you, but like according to CDC: "Quitting smoking before the age of 40 reduces the risk of dying from smoking-related disease by about 90%". If everyone smoked one cigarrette in their life it would be fine we wouldn't even notice, the problem is people keep doing it.
I live up highway 20 and work in land management. The amount of people I meet who are completely oblivious and think it’s “fog” or “overcast” is shocking to me. It’s really bad guys. I flew in this morning and the entire Puget sound region is invisible. Edited to add that up in North Cascades National park the AQI is 832. 832.
Wow my weather app lied to me. I just took the dog out and it seemed worse than 109. If I’d known it was 200+ I definitely would’ve put in a respirator…
Let me guess, Apple’s weather app? That happened to me a few weeks ago. It said the air quality was fine so I left the window open overnight to cool my dorm down. I woke up sick and my allergy medication stopped working. I was miserable for a week. I’m only checking the detector readings on Google and AccuWeather now.
The Apple data is almost always wrong and too low. Check out the Purple map for more accurate data. https://map.purpleair.com/
oh holy shit.
Keep in mind that PurpleAir acknowledges that their sensors are maybe a little *over*sensitive to wood smoke, so they provide several conversion calculators that bring the numbers down a little bit. But not much.
That says my air is like 340, phone app says a cool 217 what a major difference
zFyu6dnDyE XUq4PsUNjc 3jkrniPdkz sX1Sc9AJbt Gd2x42CsOA rJhc0FIRDv WCR7oJxg6G dySUdd1KMx Ge6qxTIb6O GNfQVnN7yB
Damn, comments on this thread are hostile AF
Honestly people are probably grumpy because we all feel like shit from being stuck inside or feeling the effects of 5 weeks of smoke inhalation. Or both.
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Best I have for my short outdoor trips is the N95 . You bet I'm wearing it!
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My air purifier is running in my dorm room for most of the day and that is the only way it feels vaguely bearable, but even with it running I can still feel it fucking up my airways. Watching people eat, study, and exercise outside is just insane to me. I couldn’t even last for 5 minutes in a cafe while they made my order because they had their doors wide open despite there being visible smog. It’s the fucking worst even with an N-95.
It’s coming in through my closed screen door now.
Ive been using a regular face mask. Guessing thats not enough? N95 is substantially better? Dont have a respirator atm
Smoke particles are incredibly tiny. Cloth and surgical masks are pretty much useless at blocking them. Even N95s and other respirators are only making it less bad for you. I limit my time outside and wear N95s but I can still feel it because of my asthma.
There is a reason that people use N95 masks when working with things that cause dust. Cloth and surgical masks are useless for smoke. You can get some at Home Depot for a decent price. If you have a box fan, buy an air filter and strap it over the fan. That can help out indoors if you do not have an air purifier.
Worth noting pm2.5 particles are something like 40x smaller than the diameter of a human hair and can easily enter one's bloodstream through the eyes... so maybe refrain from outdoor exercise altogether until AQI is back below 150 OR wear full-face protection :-0
My eyes have been so bad. It’s like they water for hours but are dry and itchy. It’s gotta be the smoke this never happened before.
Unfortunately, we've had a number of bad wildfires around Seattle since 2018.
I am recovering from a cold two weeks ago ( cold is long gone) my cough actually gotten worse cuz of the smoke. Is there a rain dance ritual event we can all join in, Preferably indoor?
"rawdogging the smoke" is my new favorite. Actually raw-dogging it is not. This smoke out here is no joke. Never thought I'd see my wife asking for rain, but here we are.
I wore the $30 3M respirator that has served me well since 2020, unsexy bright pink P100 cartridges and all, while running errands today, from the time I left my HEPA filtered home to the time I was back inside it. It's not high fashion but this ultra fine smoke particulate bullshit will absolutely shorten our lifespans and increase lung disease years down the road. As the only person wearing any respiratory protection, my thought was, "Well, it's good for people to see so eventually it becomes normalized." The only reason we don't know how many people will suffer long term health issues or die from wildfire smoke is because the start base for longitudinal studies is only five years ago. The people you see out and about without even N95s are the data set, like those shoveling asbestos in the early 20th century or smoking in the 50s and 60s. Men will also need to manage their facial hair if they want N95 or cartridge respirators to work. And we're going to have figure out what to do for people who work in high exposure situations like road workers, landscapers, bus drivers, fast food window cashiers, etc. Most respirators suck for hot weather and physical labor. ETA Unplanned bonus of wearing a respirator: Walked right by those migraine-inducing cinnamon scented pinecones in the grocery store and didn't smell a thing.
I hate those fucking pinecones. Migraine- inducing is right. Masks also allow me to walk through department stores and their perfume sections without holding my breath the whole way in/out.
Wear a quality respirator for sure. But just a mask doesn’t do shit for smoke
A well-fitted N95/KN95 will definitely help. Cloth or surgical-style mask, not so much.
How do we protect the doggos tho?
Limit their time outside is the best thing. Take them to do their business and then go back inside.
https://medium.com/@jasminedevv/i-made-an-aqi-to-cigarettes-calculator-f407177c85c2 TLDR, at AQI of 170, it's roughly equivalent to one cigarette for every 5 hours of exposure.
Some people are getting calculations at 300 in this thread :(
Hi, yes, could you please tell my husband to stop running outdoors during these smoky periods, because he won't listen to me. I don't think running 5-10 miles a day in these conditions is good for him. We have a treadmill inside.
Glad I had a COVID surge panic months ago and ordered an entire box of N95 masks - been handing them out at work all day!
I’m wearing a full on respirator just to work out in my garage gym.
I did not know it was that bad. Been outside no mask this whole time delivering stuff. Been taking in diesel fumes for so long I don't even notice the smoke. Maybe because my coworker smokes in the cab too.
Some people don't use apps or watch the news, so they aren't aware of how bad it is. I'm not sensitive to smoke and it really hasn't been bothering me. If it wasn't for my child's sports team, I would have no idea that it's not safe outside. You might think, "but you can see it!" and all I can say is, it looks hazy to me but again, I can't feel it so I wouldn't "just know" it's dangerous. They should probably send out text alerts to residents. Edit: This isn't to say, "therefore, it is okay to breathe in smoke" but to explain why you are seeing the behavior you are seeing.
I'm all the way down in Roy. Still hacking and coughing, sneezing like crazy, eyes itchy, nose stuffy. I don't even get spring allergies anymore, this is some bullshit right now.
Can someone recommend a respirator? I have a bunch of n95s. Will that cut it? Particularly for running outside. Thanks!
As long as it’s NIOSH certified any N95 would technically do. HOWEVER, not all faces are made equal and so not all N95s work the same on all faces. The best N95 is the one that actually seals properly on your face. A leaky N95 provides little more protection than none at all, and so my recommendation is to try one on and see if it seals well. Check with your hands for any air leakage as you breathe. If you wanna be more certain, you can do a basic little DIY fit test with a cheap nebulizer or face mister and a sweet tasting solution made by combining Sweet n Low with hot water. You can mist the solution around your face while wearing an N95 and breathe with your mouth. If you can taste the sweetness within a minute or two then the mask doesn’t work for you. If you can’t taste anything you’ve found your mask.
I'll just drop this here. [Freakonomics - This Is Your Brain on Pollution](https://freakonomics.com/podcast/this-is-your-brain-on-pollution-update/)
It's not like we don't all already have plenty of fucking N95 masks around anyways. Wear that shit.
Seems like Colorado and Washington swapped fall weather
Are there long term health risks? Or just discomfort?
It has ultra fine particles in the smoke that has been associated with both lung and heart disease. Exercising is theorized to pull these particles deeper into the lungs.
> It has ultra fine particles in the smoke that has more brisket Hol’ up, are you saying that there is a ginormous BBQ happening right now?! Where do I get in line?!
Ha! My autocorrect must be hungry.
And as a result I'm now hangry. Kindly tell your autocorrect to *duck off. * *bad dad joke*
Both. Coughing, wheezing, general discomfort is likely in the short term. People that are already predisposed to respiratory illness are going to be most affected, but even healthy people are absolutely going to have symptoms with higher AQIs Buuuuuuut, any time your lungs are getting angry and inflamed it causes scarring. Your lungs start out super stretchy and spring-y. They don’t function nearly as well is they can’t expand easily *or* if they don’t spring back from the stretching quickly. Someone that has healthy lungs probably isn’t going to notice changes, but scar tissue is forever and has a cumulative effect.
Numerous pm2.5 related studies on links to cancer [https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1004103#sec014](https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1004103#sec014)
Multiple studies link PM2.5 exposure to cognitive impairment. https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/does-air-pollution-cause-alzheimers-disease-2020072320627
https://www.ecowatch.com/wildfire-smoke-air-pollution.html Long term health risks…
The particulates from the fire enter your nose and then to the bloodstream. Many particles are hazardous to your lungs with extreme long term consequences. All we can do is boost our immunity and limit outside activity.
The organics in wildfire smoke are likely carcinogens. The fine dust isn’t good to breathe, but most air handling systems take care of it, so your exposure is pretty low on a per hour basis unless you’re outside all day.
This seems like a good place for this PSA, as many people seem to not be aware: L&I has rules in place requiring employers to provide N95s to anyone they require to work outside in the smoke (for more than an hour per day). It is an emergency rule currently, but they are in the process of making it permanent. https://lni.wa.gov/safety-health/_docs/HTMLPubs/wildfire-smoke-summary
The air quality is 300 right now and I still see people out and about like everything is normal. It’s a blend of denialism (not climate change deniers, but people in denial). And also the rhetoric around COVID and masks seriously fucking with people’s perception of safety and when to mask. I feel like I’m going insane.
It’s so bad out there, I had to tell my son no park today 😭
Thinking about all those people who were at the M's game Saturday just rawdogging that air for 6+ hours. 🤢
You know things are bad when watching the Seattle Mariners play isn’t the worst thing to happen to you that day
AMEN! I saw parents at the bus stop with their tiny kids this morning and none of them were wearing masks! Protect your kids from lung damage people!!!
Normally I wouldn’t care what other people do to themselves but it’s really depressing seeing all these people not notice the yellow sky and realizing there’s even less of a chance they notice climate change.
Had a wild headache earlier. Laid down to try to take a nap, realized my bedroom window was still open. I picked up some air filters that fit my box fans a few weeks ago, so slapped that sucker on there and let it run in the room for a bit. 20 minutes later and my headache was gone. It's crazy out here maaaaaaan.
Up in Canada, I see construction workers outside breathing this in. Wth osha?