THE DIRT: Air quality concerns
A haze of wood smoke and other particulate matter hangs around the mountains surrounding Kellogg.
Courtesy photo
Take a deep breath. Notice anything? Perhaps that breath tasted resinous like the fir you cut in June. Was it more of a feeling? Itchy/burning making you sneeze, cough and water at the eyes. Your last batch of festive sugar cookies got too “crispy.” Or maybe tendrils of your neighbors’ chimney smoke infiltrated crevices in your home, allowing outdoor air unwanted access. We often take air quality for granted; it is usually unseen, unscented and fills our lungs to contentment — until it is making us sick. The quality of our air is a graded thing, one we do not control completely but can affect with forethought or oversight.
Short-term symptoms of particulate matter exposure include dizziness, fatigue, shortness of breath and mild respiratory irritations. With repeated exposures, long-term effects can take root. Tissue damage and lung inflammation can lead to increased risk of heart disease, lung cancer and chronic bronchitis. For people with preexisting respiratory disease, worsening symptoms may occur. We encounter these particles because our daily activities create them. Day-to-day errands in our cars on dusty roads, cooking, cleaning, firing up the woodstove, blowing dust, burning backyard waste and uncontrolled industrial processes are all potential sources of exposure.
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