With a toxicity level that is higher than typical air pollution, the thick blanket of smoke from Ontario wildfires currently blanketing a good portion of the East Coast can pose a big risk for those whose jobs don’t allow them to remain inside.
According to the EPA, wildfire smoke contains a mix of gases and tiny particles that can irritate the lungs and airways. In sunlight, some of those gases can also react to form ozone, another harmful air pollutant.
As the Air Quality Index in Pittsburgh reached 240 at 1 p.m. Friday, a UCLA pulmonologist recently told NPR that AQI levels of 100-200 roughly equate to smoking a quarter to half a pack [of cigarettes] a day.
Construction workers, like those on the Commercial Street Bridge project, landscapers or others who work outside for a living and must still venture out, should limit their exposure, wear a mask and limit physical exertion.
“The N95 mask is absolutely the best way to protect yourself and your lungs,” said Dr. Sally Wenzel, director of the University of Pittsburgh Asthma and Environmental Lung Health Institute at UPMC. “If you can’t do that, a surgical mask would probably be next, but not nearly as good.”
A good fit is important.
“You want to be able to — the way we did during covid — put it on your face, breathe in and get a little bit of a suction feeling,” she said. “The mask should collapse a little bit when you breathe in. You want to have as few empty, open spaces for the air to go through so it has to go through the mask to get to your nose and mouth.”
There is no hard and fast rule on break frequency.
“The longer you’re ‘exercising,’ the heavier your breathing is going to be and the more you’re going to inhale the stuff that’s out there,” she said. “[Breaks] might allow you to regain a little bit of your energy, not to have to breathe quite as hard as you were at the end of that hour.”
For those who can stay inside, the focus shifts to keeping the smoky air out of the home.
Steve Boehmer, owner of Boehmer Heating and Cooling in Beechview, offers some insight.
“Have a good filter in place, a clean filter,” he said. “Another thing you can do is run your fan all the time. Most people’s thermostats have a fan switch: auto or on. Auto means that the fan runs when the air conditioner runs. If you turn it on, the fan runs all the time. That fan running all the time can make your filter work more of the time, keep the air clean and the particles down.”
Filter choice, he said, is important, too.
“There are different levels of filters based on their MERV rating,” said Boehmer. “The higher the number, the tighter the weave is and the more particles it can capture. But the higher the rating, the more restrictive the airflow is and it can start to hurt your system. A piece of cardboard is a great filter; it’s not going to let anything through. But it’s not going to let any air through either. So you want to be careful you don’t go too high on that rating.”
The EPA recommends setting the air to recirculate when driving as well.