Wildfire smoke in the air has become a signature of summer in the North. While rarely welcome, smoky days are growing less rare every year as climate change continues to create the ideal conditions for wildfires SA国际影视传媒� and wildfire smoke.
ItSA国际影视传媒檚 common knowledge that wildfire smoke can cause a range of short-term health issues, like headaches and a runny nose. However, like other forms of pollution, wildfire smoke can have long-term effects SA国际影视传媒� like dementia, as a recent study has found. The Yukon health authorities don't feel the need to wait for research specific to the territory before recommending action.
Researchers showed wildfire smoke was associated with an increase in risk of dementia diagnosis SA国际影视传媒� especially for marginalized people. While the study population was located in California, health officials in the Yukon and Northwest Territories say there are things to be done to mitigate the health effects of smoke here, too.
The study, published in the journal JAMA Neurology on Nov. 25, showed that a one-microgram increase in the three-year mean of particulate matter from wildfire smoke exposure was associated with an 18-per cent increase in risk of dementia diagnosis. In contrast, the same increase in non-wildfire smoke particulate matter is associated with a one per cent increase in risk.
The scientists, affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania, University of California, San Diego, University of California San Francisco, University of California Los Angeles, Columbia University, University of Washington and the French University of Rennes, looked at data from a cohort of healthcare users within the Kaiser Permanente Southern California consortium. The study specifically looked at the healthcare members 60 years of age and older. The final study population was 1,223,107.
The study found that Black people, Asian people and people living in low-income neighbourhoods were at higher risk of developing dementia associated with wildfire smoke exposure.
While the overall risk of dementia associated with wildfire smoke particulate matter exposure was 18 per cent, the risk was 62 per cent for Asian people and 47 per cent for Black people, as opposed to the 2 per cent increase in risk for white people.
For people living in areas with high poverty, the increase in risk was 30 per cent SA国际影视传媒� whereas for those living in areas with lower poverty, the increase was 8 per cent.
Indigenous Americans were not part of the study, but study author Joan Casey said prior studies have shown that they tend to have the highest level of exposure to wildfire smoke.
SA国际影视传媒淚 suspect this is another area where climate change is going to exacerbate existing health disparities, unfortunately,SA国际影视传媒� said Casey.
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Sudit Ranade is the chief medical officer of health of the Yukon. He said he didnSA国际影视传媒檛 think one would even need local data to expect a similar outcome for marginalized people in the Yukon.
SA国际影视传媒淏ut the reason I say that is because what that data points to is foundational, structural inequalities. And so because those exist here as well, you would expect the results to be similar,SA国际影视传媒� he said.
Courtney Howard is an emergency physician in Yellowknife. She has researched the health effects of wildfire smoke on the population in the capital of the Northwest Territories.
She said that the health effects of wildfire smoke are informed by multiple different factors: the mixture of components burned, how far away you are from the source, and how fast the wind is blowing.
Howard said the study does add to a growing body of evidence that there are later-in-life consequences in terms of brain health to wildfire smoke.
SA国际影视传媒淭hat's a relatively new finding,SA国际影视传媒� she said. SA国际影视传媒淲e didn't have evidence for that until a couple of years ago, so even if this is different material burning, it's still pretty useful for us to know that that's a thing.SA国际影视传媒�
According to the study, prior research suggests long-term exposure to PM2.5 may accelerate neurodegenerative processes in the body. The study said the proposed routes of entry of tiny airborne particles into our nervous systems include via the olfactory nerve, which is the sensory nerve giving us our sense of smell. Another proposed route of entry is via peripheral circulation across the blood-brain barrier, the filter which surrounds our brains.
Particulate matter from wildfire smoke often comes from combustion at very high temperatures, and there is evidence it can cause more inflammation in the body than particulate matter that comes from sources other than wildfire smoke, Casey said.
However, more research is needed, Casey said, as composition can differ between wildfires. She gave the example of the 2018 Camp Fire in Northern California, which burned through thousands of structures.
SA国际影视传媒淲hat was being released from that from that wildfire, versus a wildfire in the northern Sierras, in a forest in California ...SA国际影视传媒� said Casey, SA国际影视传媒渢hat smoke is going to have a really different composition.SA国际影视传媒�
Howard said when conducting her own research, she worked with the Yellowknives Dene and the KaSA国际影视传媒檃SA国际影视传媒檊ee Tu First Nation. She said leadership from the First Nations told her that it was important to emphasize the need for good-quality housing.
Common advice during smoky days is to stay indoors with windows shut tight, said Howard. However, she said, no house is airtight SA国际影视传媒� and houses that are poorly constructed have more smoke seeping in.
SA国际影视传媒淲e know Indigenous peoples in the North frequently have poor existing housing. We need to make sure that investments are made so that they're not disproportionately impacted by both the smoke and the heat during the summers,SA国际影视传媒� she said.
Ranade, the chief medical officer of health in the Yukon, said the solutions lie in the structural issues of marginalization.
SA国际影视传媒淗ow do we manage or mitigate or work with this? And the solutions are different because they're actually not about wildfire at all,SA国际影视传媒� he said.
SA国际影视传媒淟et's say that you were to address those things, the benefits would be like manifold. It wouldn't just go back to wildfire and dementia, it would actually have lots of impacts on rates of communicable disease, it would have impacts on quality of life,SA国际影视传媒� he said.
Howard said there is no indoor air quality standard in the Northwest Territories, and she recalls days last year when the air quality inside the emergency room where she worked was worse than the air quality outside.
Indoor air quality in general is something to consider, said Howard, especially given the usage of clean indoor air shelters during smoke waves.
She said there needs to be structural improvements and ventilation improvements inside hospitals and schools to protect children and patients.
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Jacqueline Mills is an emergency management planner with the Yukon government department of health and social services.
She said the Yukon does not have an indoor air quality standard.
According to the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety, many Canadian jurisdictions donSA国际影视传媒檛 have legislation that specifically deals with indoor air quality in non-industrial workplaces.
Mills said when setting up a clean air space, they will try to use smaller sensors to compare indoor air quality with air quality outdoors.
SA国际影视传媒淲e try to get it as low as possible, but sometimes, if it's super smoky outside, it's never going to be zero, but we try to get it much lower,SA国际影视传媒� Mills said of the indoor air quality.
She said the territory has one air monitoring station in Whitehorse, and a network of PurpleAir sensors across the territory. PurpleAir sensors are sensors that only measure PM2.5 concentration, and are available for $229 USD ($330 CAD) apiece.
[photo of air sensor here]
Mills said the department has also received funding to pilot a DIY air cleaning program. She these DIY purifiers are essentially box fans with high quality furnace filters attached. They perform just as well as commercial air purifiers, said Mills, but theySA国际影视传媒檙e significantly cheaper.
She said that with the help of community health care providers, the department is identifying people who would benefit the most from these DIY air purifiers. She said the department is giving them away ahead of the next wildfire season.
Ranade said there are other reasons to worry about wildfire smoke exposure other than dementia. He said wildfire smoke exposure has effects on overall mortality SA国际影视传媒� the overall rate of death.
SA国际影视传媒淭he people who might have some risks, especially with respect to cardiovascular disease, those risks can be exacerbated,SA国际影视传媒� said Ranade. There are also short-term risks related with exposure to wildfire smoke, like asthma attacks.
He also said people worried about dementia and other long-term risks should focus more on their own daily routines.
SA国际影视传媒淚t's the physical activity, it's the healthy nutrition, it's the sleep, it's those kinds of things that actually have a very material impact on risk, on your risk of those things in the future compared to the incidental SA国际影视传媒業 breathed in smoky air for a few summers.SA国际影视传媒橲A国际影视传媒�
Casey said she hopes people start checking the air quality in the morning, the same way they check the weather. They can use that to help them decide whether itSA国际影视传媒檚 a day they can exercise outdoors, or whether itSA国际影视传媒檚 a day they should consider wearing a mask before leaving the house.
The response to wildfire smoke begins before the smoky days even occur, ideally, said Mills.
SA国际影视传媒淲e try to really work with community leadership. Do they need support with setting up or resources for like community cleaner air centres? Are there some residents that could use DIY filters at home? Is there any other information they need?SA国际影视传媒�
Mills said the Yukon Housing Corporation also offers grants up to $1,500 to purchase air purification equipment for the home.
Casey said if an individual canSA国际影视传媒檛 mitigate their exposure on a daily basis, then even adjusting behaviour on days of extremely high smoke concentration SA国际影视传媒� for example, 200 to 300 micrograms per cubic metre SA国际影视传媒� can have an effect.
SA国际影视传媒淪o, you know, if people can't change their behaviour every day, maybe they focus on the days when it's really, really smoky outside,SA国际影视传媒� said Casey.
Casey said also adjusting behaviour for SA国际影视传媒渟moke wavesSA国际影视传媒� -- two consecutive days of wildfire PM2.5 concentration above 15 micrograms per cubic metre SA国际影视传媒� could help.
Many weather apps show air quality, and firesmoke.ca forecasts the path of wildfire smoke during the wildfire season in Canada.
However, Casey stressed there are also things to be done on a policy level.
Occupational standards regarding air quality should be required to protect workersSA国际影视传媒� health, she said. Forest management such as prescribed burns and trimming should also be encouraged, she said.
SA国际影视传媒淲e've now seen that things like some traditional burn practices that tribes use actually reduce overall levels of exposure because there are fewer of these really large, horrific wildfires,SA国际影视传媒� said Casey, referring to First Nations forest maintenance in the USA.
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SA国际影视传媒淧robably most importantly, is strong climate policy,SA国际影视传媒� said Casey. SA国际影视传媒淪ince climate change is the primary driver of this increase in wildfires, the lengthening of the wildfire season, and why we're seeing people from coast to coast in North America exposed to wildfire smoke now.SA国际影视传媒�
In Yellowknife, Howard said the time to make investments and prepare for climate change is now.
"This isn't a one off. We can't sit here hoping that we'll never have a smoky summer like that again, and put off making a plan and making investments.SA国际影视传媒�
Contact Talar Stockton at talar.stockton@yukon-news.com
