Wildfire smoke is more toxic than other forms of air pollution

[Judi Lynn]

By Karen Graham 3 hours ago

Researchers examining 14 years of hospital admissions data conclude that the fine particles in wildfire smoke can be several times more harmful to human respiratory health than particulate matter from other sources such as car exhaust.

The extensive study was published on March 5 in the journal Nature Communications by researchers from Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science at UC San Diego.

"We know wildfires are going to become more extreme, due to climate change," Rosana Aguilera, study co-author and postdoctoral scholar at the University of California, San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography, told The Guardian. "And it's important that we start to reckon with the health effects of that."

Focusing on Southern California, the researchers examined hospital admission records between 1999 and 2012. They found that admissions for respiratory problems saw an uptick from around 1.3 percent to 10 percent following an increase in wildfire-specific air pollution.

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/tech-and-science/science/wildfire-smoke-is-more-toxic-than-other-forms-of-air-pollution/article/586657#ixzz6oZAoqEd1