How can pollution impact health?
Different chemicals can have different effects on the body, but most symptoms of short-term irritation start the same. Watery eyes, runny nose, congestion, coughing, wheezing, sneezing, difficulty breathing, sore throat, a heavy feeling on the chest, fatigue, and dizziness are common throughout reactions to emissions in the air. When you have these feelings in your body, it is important to get somewhere with fresh air.
With longer exposure or higher concentrations, breathing in chemicals can have more pronounced impacts. Links have been made to health issues ranging from the agitation of existing heart and lung problems, to hospital admissions, sick days from school and work, the development of cancers, and even death caused by health complications or pollutants like carbon monoxide in unventilated areas.
What is the AQI and what does it mean?
The Air Quality Index is a ruler for the air developed by the Environmental Protection Agency. It takes into account their standards for various levels of pollutants and reports back a rough translation of how many parts of what chemical are in the air to a number rating between 0 and 300.
Visit the EPA’s site on the AQI and how to use it here.
What is a sensitive health group?
Most health standards consider a healthy adult when making assumptions about what is healthy for the overall population.
When it comes to air quality, a person in a sensitive group could mean a few different of things. You might be sensitive to air pollution if:
- You are under the age of 18
- You are over the age of 65
- You are pregnant
- You have asthma
- You have a heart condition
- You have respiratory issues
- You have a compromised immune system
- You have COVID-19
How can I protect myself from poor air quality?
Luckily, bad air isn’t the end of the story. Personal action can make it easier to breathe in your day to day life. Running the hood fan or opening a window while cooking can help reduce the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning or particulate buildup in the air. Turning off the engine of your car while parked instead of idling helps reduce how much nitrogen dioxide is in the air in the parking lot, and rolling down the windows while driving lowers how much nitrogen dioxide you breathe during transit (even if they’re not down the whole time!). Wearing an N-95 or KN-95 mask helps reduce irritation from particulate matter, like wildfire smoke. Using an air filter from the hardware store attached to a box fan can filter particles from air in your home.
Reporting emissions you observe can help us at Breathe Easy Berkshires address local sources of pollution with real data about how they lower the quality of our air – find our google survey to report what you see here.
And, encouraging our politicians and industries to make changes towards alternatives with lower emissions than burning fossil fuels and releasing toxic gases helps make a bigger change.
To learn about the specifics of the six “criteria” pollutants identified and controlled by the Environmental Protection Agency, from the ambient air quality standards to health effects, visit our pages on pollutants.