As smoke chokes the Bay Area, some advice from veterans of dirty skies
With thick acrid smoke being swept into the Bay Area from the Camp fire nearly 200 miles to the northeast, residents from Monterey to Napa are getting a taste -literally – of what residents in smog-choked cities like Beijing have been choking on for years now.
And while it feels a bit shameful to complain, as the wildfire's death toll climbs higher each day, the air quality in San Francisco and neighboring towns is threatening to meet or break records set just last year when the Bay Area filled with smoke from the North Bay fires.
Local air-quality officials are warning residents that with possible rain still days away, and with the Camp fire still raging and spewing smoke our way, air-pollution levels will continue to hover at dangerous levels. That Air Quality Index is the federal system that shows pollution levels on a spectrum of zero to 500 and officials say anything between 150 to 200 could potentially and adversely affect even the healthiest of people. Much of the Bay Area has been hovering at levels between 150 and 200 since Friday and officials warn that they could still be as high as 150 through Thursday.
For residents in cities in India like Faridabad and Delhi, and in Beijing, where longtime air pollution has outraged the populace and spawned calls for the government to do something, living with smoky skies is unfortunately a way of life. People try and cope and they come up with ways to make it through each smoke-filled day. Here are some tips from those who have known air pollution in the most intimate of ways: by breathing it.
Know what you're breathing
It's important for those living either temporarily or longterm in a smoggy city to learn exactly what's in the air that's entering their lungs. A guide for newcomers to China called HealthAndSafetyInShanghai says that “smog is made of up of sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide(NO2), carbon monoxide(CO), particulate matter (PM 2.5 and PM 10) and ground ozone (O3). Though all these substances are harmful, PM2.5 and Ozone (O3) will have the most impact on your health, due to their microscopic size. PM2.5 is emitted during combustion activities such as coal burning, diesel combustion in motor vehicles, wood burning, power plants and industrial processes. The winter months in China see the highest levels of PM2.5 due to increased coal burning and weather patterns.” Ozone, says the guide, is created when Nitrous oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs)react with sunlight. ”VOCs and NOx are emitted by chemical plants, refineries, car exhaust and vapors from consumer solvents. Shanghai weather in the summer is ideal for creating Ozone.”
Learn about levels
The World Health Organization provides guidelines for safe levels of pollutants like particulates and ground ozone. For example, “for PM2.5, exposure within a 24-hour period should not exceed 25 micrograms per cubic meter (ug/m3), while the average exposure over a year should not exceed 10 micrograms per cubic meter (ug/m3).” But note that Chinese standards are less strict, allowing for a yearly PM2.5 average of 35 micrograms per cubic meter. But here in the US, with the federal Air Quality Index of zero to 500, anything between 150 to 200 is considered unhealthy.
Consider using a mask
The Shanghai guide describes pollution face masks in detail, pointing out that while many residents in polluted Chinese cities do don masks, they're not necessarily the best mask for the job since many of them are either surgical masks or masks created with cloth. The problem is these low-quality masks are permeable and only offer real protection against certain large particles, not the more lethal pollutants in the smoggy air. Another problem with surgical maps, says the guide, is that they are “not designed with carbon filters, nor do they fit tightly against the wearer's face,” so they are not effective against PM2.5, PM10, viruses or bacteria.
But select the right mask
The Beijing Expat Guide says to make sure you buy your mask from a reputable source “because many of the 3M masks sold for cheap are fake. All air should come in through the filter, not through some opening between your skin and the mask.” The site suggest you buy a rather simple make that consists of a washable shell with a filter insert. It recommends routinely replacing the filter insert according to the product's instructions. “Wearing a face mask can be effective in protecting you from air pollution. While you may think of it as unsightly, everyone here is used to it, so no one cares. But it can also be a bit uncomfortable. It can get a little warm and humid under the mask, which my skin doesn't like that much. And wearing sunglasses with the mask can cause the glasses to fog up. But that's a small price to pay for better health.”
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