By Diane Christin Zenchenko-Esser, Writer/Producer of the documentary, The Green Connection-Climate Change
The Canadian Wildfires produced an onslaught of toxic smoke throughout the United States. Canada had health directives and information that included N-95 and respirator masks, but the United States appears to have no masking safety directives for our residents, nor was there any issuance of masks in Erie, Pennsylvania. The particulate matter of smoke is toxic for all who go outdoors in a smoke event. The CAMERIE team, an Erie-based documentary production team, has produced Smoke Knows No Borders as public health information so you can make informed choices for the health of your family.
There’s no evidence of a safe level of exposure for some of these pollutants. This means that smoke can impact your health even at very low levels. As smoke levels increase, your health risks increase. Air pollution may be present even when you can’t see or smell smoke. PM 2.5 can penetrate deep into the lungs, enter the bloodstream, and move to other organs. It can cause coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath, palpitations, and fatigue; it can also aggravate asthma and chronic bronchitis and has been linked to cardiac arrhythmia and heart attacks. In New York City, PM 2.5 is responsible for 3,000 deaths, 2,000 hospital admissions, and 6,000 emergency room visits each year.
This blog was included as part of the November 2023 Sylvanian newsletter. Please click here to check out more articles from this edition!