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That onetime clean whiff of summer doesn't seem to mean much anymore. Bad air days just keep coming and going, and lingering now, all too often. Pulmonologists don't like what they're seeing and breathing.
It's smoke from California's fires that is giving us visible pollution in the valleys right now. Even though the actual measurement of particulates in the air is not critical, the smoke, which comes from combustion, is feeding our ozone level.
While we see the smoke, we can't see the ozone. "The ozone forms oxygen radicals in the lungs, which can first irritate and then injure the breathing passages. In addition, they are out in the air sacs in the lungs where they can potentially cause structural damage," explained Dr. Nathan Dean, pulmonologist at the Intermountain Medical Center (IMC) Pulmonary Clinic.
Dean says, over time, that damage can prematurely age the lung.
IMC had five patients in ER today being treated for airway irritations, and they were too sick to talk to us. Two patients were transported by ambulance yesterday.
"Anyone with airway disease, whether it's asthma or emphysema, they're the canary in the coal mine who are the first ones affected," Dean said.
People with compromised respiratory conditions are mostly feeling the effects of this summertime air. But over the long haul, when these inversions linger, healthy folks feel it too.
"Some people who are normally not asthmatic will begin to tighten up and wheeze if they are outside exercising. [They're] probably, as well, more susceptible to viral respiratory infections," Dean said.
Again, the State Department of Environmental Quality says avoid exercising outside between noon and about 4 p.m. Since unregulated power mowers emit dirty air, cut your lawn in the morning or evening hours. You should also car pool or use mass transit.
Dean says pulmonologists are also seeing more Utah cases of lung cancer in non-smokers. While some are related to second-hand smoke, he believes long-term exposure to year-round pollution might be a factor as well.
E-mail: eyeates@ksl.com
