As smoke from wildfires across the Pacific Northwest and Canada descend on the city, Denver’s air quality ranked as the worst in the United States for two consecutive days (July 24 and 25).
Air quality alerts have been reissued by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) for several counties in Eastern Colorado. In this article, air quality experts from Camfil explain the causes and effects of Denver’s poor air quality.
Air Quality Alerts Issued in Eastern Colorado — Wildfire Smoke Air Quality Impact Explained
CDPHE stated that warm and stagnant weather, coupled with rising levels of out-of-state wildfire smoke, may lead to unhealthy ozone concentrations and fine particulate matter, affecting air quality.
Wildfires in the U.S. mainly impact the West Coast and northern states, but their smoke can travel hundreds or thousands of miles, leading to hazy conditions and poor air quality even far from the fire. While the majority of the large ongoing fires responsible for poor air quality in Denver are located hundreds of miles away in Oregon, Washington, and Canada, wind has carried high concentrations of pollution south.
Wildfires result in both complete and incomplete burning of wood, plant matter, and other organic materials in forests, leading to varying emissions of gaseous and particulate pollution. The pollutants most frequently found in wildfires include:
- ozone
- sulfur dioxide
- nitrogen oxides
- carbon monoxide
- carbon dioxide
- volatile organics compounds (VOCs)
- water vapor
The other category of pollutant is particulate matter. Particulate matter is defined as any solid or liquid particle small enough to remain suspended in the air. Particulate matter is a common result of the combustion processes that occur in wildfires, including substances such as soot and black carbon.
Why Is Wildfire Smoke a Health Concern?
Breathing in wildfire smoke is harmful to your health. If you reside in the United States, chances are you’ve felt the effects of wildfire smoke at some point in the last year, including eye, nose and throat irritation, difficulty breathing, issues with concentration, dizziness, headaches, and other symptoms.
The discomfort caused by acute exposure to wildfire smoke is usually temporary and may not cause any lasting damage, but exposure to wildfire smoke can cause severe long-term health issues.
Tiny PM2.5 particles can deeply penetrate the lungs and bloodstream. Even smaller ozone gas molecules can enter cells and major organs, causing irreversible damage. The EPA labels ozone as “sunburn for the lungs” due to this effect. Wildfire smoke pollutants can result in severe complications, especially with repeated short-term exposures or chronic exposure to wildfire pollutants.
How to Stay Safe When Denver Air Quality Is Affected by Wildfire Smoke
To account for air quality advisories and poor ambient air quality during wildfire season, it’s crucial to consider the effects of wildfire smoke and prepare accordingly, regardless of whether you live in an area directly affected by wildfires.
- When there’s a wildfire smoke pollution risk, protect yourself by staying indoors when air quality advisories are in place or if you notice haze. Keep doors and windows shut to keep indoor air clean. If you must go outside, minimize time spent outdoors.
- Air quality experts recommend refraining from exercising outdoors; in particular, strenuous activities such as running, cycling, and hiking should be avoided. Deeper, more frequent breathing during these activities results in inhaling a higher volume of polluted air.
- To uphold good health during periods of high air pollution, it’s vital to seek indoor areas with regulated, well-filtered air circulation. Additionally, while ample ventilation is good for indoor air quality when outdoor air quality is good or fair, it’s crucial to guarantee that any exterior air undergoes appropriate filtration before entering enclosed spaces during periods of heavy pollution. Remember that being indoors doesn’t shield your lungs from pollution. Due to outdated building design, insufficient air filtration, and other variables, indoor air quality could be up to 50 times worse than outdoor air.
- Ensure proper filtration in your home. It’s important not only for purifying the air you breathe but also because typical HVAC systems can’t manage the high pollution levels from wildfire smoke. The panel and fiberglass filters in HVAC systems are designed to shield the equipment from regular air pollution. In wildfire season, you might need to replace your HVAC air filters more often.
READ MORE: How to Improve Indoor Air Quality in Areas Affected by Wildfires
About Camfil Clean Air Solutions
For more than half a century, Camfil has been helping people breathe cleaner air. As a leading manufacturer of premium clean air solutions, we provide commercial and industrial systems for air filtration and air pollution control that improve worker and equipment productivity, minimize energy use, and benefit human health and the environment. We firmly believe that the best solutions for our customers are the best solutions for our planet, too. That’s why every step of the way – from design to delivery and across the product life cycle – we consider the impact of what we do on people and the world around us. Through a fresh approach to problem-solving, innovative design, precise process control, and a strong customer focus we aim to conserve more, use less, and find better ways – so we can all breathe easier.
The Camfil Group is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, with 30 manufacturing sites, six R&D centers, local sales offices in 35+ countries, and about 5,600 employees and growing. We proudly serve and support customers in a wide variety of industries and communities across the world. To discover how Camfil USA can help you to protect people, processes, and the environment, visit us at www.camfil.us/
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Lynne Laake
Camfil USA Air Filters
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