Smoke rolls in along the Columbia River corridor near Cascade Locks as wildfires burn across Oregon, Thursday Sept 10, 2020.
Stephani Gordon
Since Oregon wildfires destroyed thousands of homes and entire communities last week, heavy smoke has lingered in the air across the western half of the state.
In many places, air quality reached record-breaking levels of danger. The air is still hazardous in many populated areas.
Perry Hystad, an associate professor in the College of Health and Human Sciences at Oregon State University, has studied how air pollution affects health.
Hystad says there is clear evidence that both long- and short-term exposure to air pollution have negative health impacts. He said breathing poor air for years at a time can lead to cardiovascular and respiratory disease. Breathing it for days or weeks can cause headaches and nausea.
But there is little known about how short-term exposure to hazardous air — breathing in heavy Oregon wildfire smoke for days or weeks — impacts health years down the line.
Changing wildfire season
The lack of long-term health research on wildfire smoke exposure is partially because wildfire seasons have become longer and more intense in recent years, Hystad said
“A lot of the research has really treated wildfires as this one-off event where you get really high exposure for one or two days,” he said.
Related: What 'Moneyball' can teach us about how to manage wildfire
Current smoke levels are challenging this understanding, Hystad said, because one day of current smoke exposure could equal about 60 days of normal exposure in Oregon. He hopes more research will start now.
“We really need to understand how important are these relatively shorter time periods ... that have really, really high levels, and what that could mean for disease development and progression in the future,” Hystad said.
Immediate and long-term exposure to air pollution
“This is the first time that I’ve had headaches from the level of air pollution … even compared to when I was in India measuring air pollution out in rural areas,” Hystad said.
In his own research, Hystad studied 160,000 adults living in 21 different places around the world with varying levels of air pollution — from Dehli, India, to Vancouver, B.C. He studied how long-term exposure to air pollution leads to the development of cardiovascular and respiratory disease.
Over the 10-year period of his study, Hystad found that 14% of new cardiovascular disease among participants living in highly polluted areas could be attributed to the fine polluting particles in the air.
Because it’s the size of these particles that really matters, Hystad said the particles that people in highly polluted areas like Dehli breathe in on a daily basis are comparable to the ones Oregonians are breathing in from wildfire smoke. The particles, less than 2.5 microns big, settle deep into our lungs where they cause inflammation and can even enter the bloodstream.
Related: Wildfire smoke can lead to smaller newborns, more ER visits
When particles enter the body, Hystad said, they trigger a similar immune response to a virus. But the body’s immune response can’t break down the particles, and over time, the immune response hurts organs like the heart, brain and liver.
Smoke and COVID-19
Hystad said there is also research that shows people with health conditions like asthma, heart disease and diabetes are more vulnerable to smoke.
These are the same people who are also more at risk of COVID-19 — and he said preliminary research shows high levels of air pollution can make people more susceptible to the virus.
“This is just the worst combination of two different things that unfortunately have different advice in terms of, air pollution — stay indoors — and COVID — don’t stay indoors and mingle, go outside,” he said.
Take precautions
Hystad suggested precautions to minimize poor air in your home.
He recommends running air conditioners on circulation mode and using portable HEPA air filters. He said the filters are more effective in smaller areas like bedrooms. By doing both, he was able to reduce the pollution in his Corvallis home by about 70%.
He also suggests wearing N95 masks to keep particles out. Cloth and medical masks are ineffective for smoke protection.
And of course, the best way to stay safe from the smoke is to keep it out.
“If you can stay indoors, keep your windows closed, that is the best way you can reduce exposure.”