Context

Notes

Hi friends, I attended this webinar and logged some notes:

AQI scores (i.e. AirNow) do not include extra-small particles or dangerous vapor / gases that come from urban wildfire debris
breathing debris is very bad for health, especially for kids/elderly/pregnant people. it increases your risk for heart-attack, strokes, and lung issues
in excess and in the long-term, it can increase your risk for Alzheimer’s and dementia down the line because the debris is small enough to get in your brain
if in Pasadena or Palisades, avoid contaminated water lines until it is thoroughly flushed (might take weeks/months); drink from water bottles
it could take 1-2 years for air quality to come down to pre-fire levels of toxins; by the way, LA does not have the best air as a baseline due to general air pollution
these health impacts are like those experienced by survivors in warzones
it’s not possible to live risk-free anywhere, but you can make choices to limit your risk
- exercising indoors until rain & higher-humidity help take debris from the air
- using air purifiers and closing windows
- staying hydrated
- using PPE especially near recent burn sites and when downwind of wildfire smoke
- see more wildfire and smoke safety resources here (Coalition for Clean Air)

main message: smoke, soot, and ash contain many toxic chemicals so avoid exposure
“criteria” air pollutants are measured continuously (pm2.5, pm10, CO, ozone), but hundreds of other gases and particles are more challenging to measure due to lack of equipment/sensors etc; aka just because the AQI is green doesn’t mean that the air is safe from other hazardous ultra-fine particles in the air from the wildfire
airnow.gov provides high quality reliable data for criteria air pollutants