Got Smoke?

Got Smoke?

By Dan Stih
This month’s Bozo Award goes to the Forest Service for "controlled burns". The flames might be under control but the air quality sure isn't. Do they realize they are literally killing people?

I measured 4,000,000 particles 0.3 micron in size or larger in Santa Fe during the controlled burns, a record high for me since I started using the instrument almost 10 years ago, measuring particulate levels in several states and large cities like Phoenix. Most people's air purifiers are good enough to protect people from these small particles. Studies find more people go to the hospital (some die) when small particles pass through their lungs, enter the blood stream, reach their heart and reek havoc with their body. Some die, never realizing the culprit was poor air quality.

Are controlled burns worth it? In May 2000, citizens held their breath as raging fires encroached upon the town of Los Alamos. The fires were not the result of a cigarette butt or lightning - they were set by the National Park Service. The disaster burned 47,000 acres and hundreds of homes.
If we can't quit for our own health, do it for pets. Smoke from fires is 12x worse for our health than cigarette smoke. According to Ron Davis, president of the American Medical Association "Dogs whose owners smoke are more likely to get lung cancer and cats are more likely to get feline lymphoma". Cited in Indoor Environment Connections (http://www.ieconnections.com ).

Dan Stih Author, Healthy Living Spaces: Top 10 Hazards Affecting Your Health
President, Healthy Living Spaces LLC Council-certified Microbial Consultant
Council-certified Indoor Environmental Consultant
Board-awarded by the American Indoor Air Quality Council
Chapter Director, The Indoor Air Quality Association, Santa Fe
Healthy Living Spaces
369 Montezuma Ave #169 Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501
tel: 505.992.9904
fax: 505.992.9744 email: dan@healthylivingspaces.com website: www.HealthyLivingSpaces.com

From----The Wood Smoke Activist
December Newsletter
Educating the world about the health and climate impacts of wood smoke and combustion aerosols.
Editor: Shirley Brandie
12/1/2009